Barb’s (?)tibia strain responded well to 24 hours of compression, elevation, and ice. So, being a good patient, she got out and walked around a little. We’ve walked to Mass and a couple of restaurants mostly to keep the extreme cabin-fever at bay. There seems to an inverse relationship between Barb’s pain and Joe’s! :>)
Pic from outside our hotel.
St James, one of the twelve Apostles, was the first apostle to be martyred. According to tradition, his remains are buried in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him. They earned the nickname “Sons of Thunder”. There are four Masses celebrated daily to welcome the constant stream of arriving pilgrims. We’ve enjoyed sitting in the courtyard and watching people arrive. It is heartwarming, for sure!
The Botafumeiro is the famously large thurible that hangs by means of a system of pulleys from the main dome of the Cathedral and swings toward the side naves. At five feet tall and 120 pounds, it takes eight men to move it.
We read this beautiful description of it:
In the same way that the smoke from the incense rises to the top of the temple’s naves, so must the prayers of the pilgrims rise to reach the heart of God. And in the same manner that the aroma of the incense perfumes the entire basilica, so must Christians, with their virtues and the testimony of their lives, impregnate with the good scent of Christ, the society that they live in.
Random pics from Santiago
On the way to a washateria this morning, we passed a simple green double doors in the middle of the neighborhood street. Peaked inside to find this beautiful Church of the Sixth Agony.
My mother always said “if you aren’t willing to try new foods, when we take our trip around the world, you will go hungry”.
Mom, I’m not sure if this is what you had in mind, but we are not about to try this squid stuff. No, thank you! We have not gone hungry.
We are off to Madrid tomorrow where it apparently is going to be in the upper 90’s! We have been enjoying lows in the 50’s and highs in the low 80’s.
