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Published: October 17th 2006
Vigo
Not what you thinkOur next stop was Vigo, Spain which is on the coast and north of Portugal. While we were traveling we noticed that many of the houses along the road had a building in the yard that looked like a mausoleum that you would see in a cemetery except it was raised up from the ground. It turned out that these were granaries. The religious symbols are placed on the top to protect from evil spirits that might try to land on the roof. We saw in the estuary were the river flows into the sea what looked like rafts in a square pattern. It seems they farm shell fish like mussels. They secure ropes to the rafts and plant the ropes with fertilized eggs. After the mussels are grown they pull up the ropes and do their harvest.
Our tour at this stop was to visit Santiago de Compostela and visit the shrine of St. James the Apostle, Spain's patron saint. Santiago de Compostela is about one and a half hours by bus and is the capital of the Galicia province and is the final destination of the legendary medieval way of pilgrimship "Camino de Santiago" (Way of Saint James).
Vigo
A shell fish farm In 12th and 13th century the town had its greatest importance, and Pope Alexander III declared it a Holy Town, like Rome and Jerusalem. Pope Calixto II declared that the pilgrims who went to Santiago in a Holy Year should be free of all their sins. Every year many Christians make a pilgrimage to this site. The husband of our tour guide made the 900 mile pilgrimage a few years ago and they are planning on making it together next year. While we were touring, there were a number of people who had just finished their pilgrimage and were making their way to the cathedral. There is a very nice hotel facing the town square. The original building at this site was a palace for Ferdinand and Isabella and in 1492 was donated as a children’s hospital. The cathedral has two unique items in the entry area. There is a carved sea shell which is the symbol of the pilgrimage. The pilgrims upon completing their journey rub this symbol and have worn groves in it over the years. The second item is a small statue about four feet high. Custom says if you bump your head on the statue twice
Vigo
The cathedral you will receive wisdom. I didn't "bump" because there was a long line and I needed my coffee. This area of Spain was settled by the Gallic’s who drove the Moors out in the early years. As a result, the people in the area are very superstitious. Witches have been identified as being good luck and as a result the stores display hundreds of little witch statues each to protect you from something. They also play the bagpipes in this area which is another carryover from the early days.
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Jose Luis Esteban
you mean 'mussels' lol