We got up and headed to the Cathedral to try and avoid the crouds. We got in line to hug St. James. No photos permitted during the hugging, but I was able to snap this view from the alter.
If you look closely, you can see a hand on his shoulder. This is a person in the space behind him giving him a hug.
The alter of this Cathedral is spectacular. The gold you see is wood with gold paint. The remains of St. James are directly below the statue. We went down there, but it was just an ornate box, so I didn't take a photo.
It actually feels a bit disrespectful to be taking photos in the church. That tolerance thing is super challenging because people are talking, filming, all while a person comes over the PA system and says - Silencio - shhhhhhh.
Yesterday during mass we were lucky enough to see the priests pull on a giant pulley system for a giant incense holder. They asked that no cameras were used, and I felt like breaking rules in a church isn't the wisest thing to do, so I didn't get any images yesterday, but today I got a shot of the ropes and the incense container.
A group of priests circle up and hold on to the ropes and maneuvers the incense holder back and forth with such force that it almost hits the ceiling. If you search for a video on YouTube, you'll find one.
The two of us love to learn new information so we decided to sign up for a guided tour of the cubiertas. We started down below the church and made our way to the roof! We got to stand directly above the St. James hugging statue.
From up here you can see the entire city.
We also toured some of the collection pieces that are being preserved.
I'm fascinated by what life must have been like 1000 years ago.
One thing you notice with all these granite structures are the purple flowers that grow out from in between the blocks.
After a busy morning of learning we decided to hunt down some different food. You know how when you travel for a while you crave certain foods? Well on about day 3 of 13, we started talking about nachos. That sent us into a mission to find a Mexican Restaurant and low and behold, there is ONE in Santiago.
After our short rest period, we did a little shopping and then met another pilgrim for dessert. You would like being a tourist in this town.
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