Day 36 Compostela, Laundry and Pilgrims Mass

You would think that after walking 40 km (25 miles) the day before we could sleep in? Nope, the internal clock went off and we were both up at 6 AM. After a good breakfast and several espresso shots, we set off for the Pilgrims office to get our Compostela.

Fortunately we arrived soon after the office opened and after a 5 minute wait we each received our last stamp and official Compostela.

While at the office we ran into Katie from Australia. Not sure if I posted about meeting her, but we met on the trail on the way out of Astorga. We saw her a few times over the last few days, but usually it was in passing at a cafe etc. Having completed the Camino she was off to another destination ” to be pampered for a week” before returning home.

After collecting our Compostela we spent about an hour walking through the St. James Cathedral before heading back to the hotel to check out and move to another hotel for the next few days.

We met Joe for lunch and enjoyed another couple hours with him before he had to catch his train to Vigo for his return flight.

After heartfelt farewell, we set off for our next task: laundry. One of the daily tasks on the Camino is to wash ones clothes. If you are lucky there is a washing machine at the Albergue or hostel. But you rarely get a chance to wash everything at once. Today was a day to wash it all. So we gathered it all up and wandered off to the “lavanderia” (laundromat).

Having completed the laundry chores, we enjoyed a much deserved siesta (nap) before heading to the Cathedral for the Pilgrims Mass.

Not being Catholic, nor raised Catholic it is a bit of mystery of what happens at Mass for me. You have the traditional singing, a message from the priest, communion etc. With it all being Spanish, it’s even more of a challenge.
At the end of Mass the priest gives a pilgrims blessing and if you are lucky they swing the incense urn. While the Pilgrims blessing was in Spanish, it provided a sense of closure for me.

We happened to be lucky, and having arrived earlier we secured a good seat to capture a video of the incense urn swing. I don’t think I will be able to post the video of it to the blog until I get home. The internet speeds here leave a lot to be desired.

After the Pilgrims Mass we enjoyed a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant for a change of pace menu wise.

Saturday we have plans to take a bus tour excursion to Finisterre, which is the most western point of Spain. More on the on the next post….