The Cathedral plaza is quiet and empty as we enter it in the early morning. Our goal is to get ahead of the daily tourists and have a quiet moment to reflect on our pilgrimage at this sacred site. We take a moment to locate the last Camino marker and to admire the fountains, spires and monuments surrounding the church.
We enter the Cathedral to complete our pilgrim rites of hugging St James and visiting his relics.
The statue of St James that is the centerpiece of the altar can be accessed through a small hallway behind. It is a pilgrim ritual to hug or place your arms around the icon. Laura and I make our way to the small, narrow hall. There is no line and I’m thankful we get to take our time. I place my arms around St James and whisper into his ear my gratitude for a beautiful journey. Next, we take the stairs down to St James tomb and pay our respects.
Afterwards, we tour the Cathedral Musuem. There we learn the history of the Cathedral, view a collection of artwork and tapestries and visit a library with ancient texts. No photos were allowed inside. The tour includes an entry to the balcony that overlooks the main plaza. It was a great vantage point to watch the pilgrims enter in and celebrate.
The tour finishes just in time for Mass. We hoped to see the botafumeiro, a large incense burner that is swung in the Cathedral. In ages past, it was used to help conceal the stink from the pilgrims. Today, it is only used on special occasions/holy days or if a patron pays to cover the costs (around $300). It wasn’t used during the Mass when we entered town and, unfortunately, we don’t see it at this Mass either. It is supposedly quite a sight to see. Eight men swing the botafumeiro. It swings up high, nearly reaching the ceiling and achieving a speed of about 68 km/h (about 42 mph). Large amounts of smoke plume from it. (There are many videos online, if you are curious).
There were other museums we could visit, but Laura and I were exhausted. We head back to our room and enjoy a long and much deserved nap.
When we awake, we have some delicious tapas, browse the shops and go to the evening Mass. The botafumeiro is a no show again. It just wasn’t in the cards for us.
Tomorrow we head back to Muxia for some R&R next to the ocean before heading home.
The Way to Land's End 
