Three Kings

Europe » Spain » Galicia
January 6th 2010

Published: September 21st 2017

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vagabondvoyager

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Getting ready to leave our cold little room.

Geo: 43.3718, -8.39592

Up early for mass at the Cathedral - scheduled for today is a swinging of the botafumeiro, a giant incense burner that swings through the nave. It normally only happens about 25 times per year, but we are lucky that 2010 is considered a holy year, when it swings almost daily. Supposedly, the tradition of the botafumeiro started as a means of combating the smell of the pilgrims that arrived at the cathedral, its sweet smelling smoke covering up the skank of dirty backpackers! We attended mass because we weren't sure if it was necessary to do so to also witness the botafumeiro in action; we definitely didn't want to show up at 11:30 only to find the doors locked.

But before that was breakfast at the same cafe as yesterday - even deader, as we were the only two customers in the whole place, as opposed to two of maybe five yesterday morning. the coffee was so good here that it warranted a return visit, though the pastries on offer were nothing special.

The last stop along the camino before reaching Santiago is only about a two hour hike away, so we had hoped to see pilgrims arriving and gathering

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Dangerous - you see quite a few of these shower stalls in Spain - the intent is to sit on the raised lip while showering. It's dangerous if you're showering while half-asleep, because you may not notice the lip and lose your balance stepping on it.

on Praza de Obradoiro just before the 10:00 AM mass, but there were none to be found. Perhaps it's the time of year, as hiking in such chilly and rainy conditions would make the journey even more arduous than normal. It was a shame, because I have some incredible memories from here the first time, of watching pilgrims arriving on the Praza, completely overcome with emotion.

They showed up physically broken, but you could witness an emotional and spiritual awakening as their journey finally ended, and actually see it physically manifest itself - the limps seemed to go away, and hunched postures improved. Even more powerful was when pilgrims who had arrived separately reunited with others they had met along the way, sharing hugs and laughs, and taking photos together. You can never forget seeing something like that, and it definitely makes you consider undertaking something like the Camino de Santiago. The idea entered my mind when I came here over four years ago, and crept back into my mind this time around. Perhaps one day ...

We sat through the first part of mass but partway through decided to tour the cathedral, which we later found out was a no-no

Breakfast at Cafe Jacobs - once again, the cafe con leche was the star of the show.

during mass. It ended quickly and turned out that we didn't need to attend mass in order to see the botafumeiro at 11:30. We walked around and had a coffee before returning for the ceremony.

During mass I remember seeing the botafumeiro and thinking "It's definitely not as big as the guidebook described, and not as fancy as postcards would suggest." But they ended up replacing the simple one with a fancy one, buffed to a sheen, for the actual ceremony. The cathedral was now packed for the swinging of the botafumeiro, as opposed to the nearly empty cathedral for the earlier mass. I was a bit surprised that so few attended earlier since today was a religious holiday, and you would have expected that people would show up in droves.

Having some time to kill before our afternoon train to La Coruna we wandered around town and over to La Alameda, a nice little park offering great views of the cathedral. Getting cold and also because it was a good idea to eat something before leaving town, we popped into a kebab shop - always a good place to warm up, because those kebab ovens put out an insane amount of

More churros con chocolate for Mary - though she doesn't like it all that much, she's been getting it quite regularly. Perhaps for her, it's the Spanish version of Moroccan harira.

heat! This is normally a bad thing if you visit a kebab shop during the summertime in Spain, where you can't sit inside or you'll be sweating buckets. But in the cold winters of Santiago, it's a very pleasant experience!

Back to the hostal to pick up our bags and off to the train station - on our way, a couple of locals stopped us and asked if we were Korean. I had a flashback to all those moments in Morocco where we were addressed in a similar fashion, and was half expecting some kind of hustle. They were just curious about pilgrims that visit Santiago, because over the years they are seeing more people coming from more countries, and were wondering what our story was. I explained that we were Canadian and that we took the shortest camino possible - walking from the bus station to get to Santiago, and walking to the train station to leave! They laughed, but were probably less than impressed by our tale.

This part of Spain is beautiful, offering some incredible scenery; it was a shame that the ride to La Coruna is only about 45 minutes, because some parts of Galicia are straight out

I don't think I'll ever tire of Santiago's cathedral.

of a fantasy novel - lush green forest and hills, all embraced in fog. You half expect to see dragons and knights emerging from the trees. Interesting note - we paid something like 10 Euros for our train ride today, but on the internet there was an option to get a private compartment with two beds. The price? 147 Euros!!! Who the hell would want a bed for such a short journey?

Because it was a holiday buses weren't running that frequently - rather than wait 40+ minutes for the bus from the station to the centre of La Coruna, we walked the 25 minutes. I remembered how difficult it was navigating certain streets in La Coruna, because there really aren't any direct routes to get to the centre from this area, and sometimes you have to climb up or down stairs to get to the correct street.

We checked in to Pension Las Rias - I had tried booking a room here this past summer but had no luck, as they were full. I regretted that greatly upon arrival today - Spain ... and its beautiful receptionists at its hotels, hostals, and pensions ... sigh ... and unfortunately yet again,

Arriving pilgrims usually stop here at this plaque to take in the grandeur of the cathedral, before setting foot inside.

this one appeared to be taken, as I think she ran the hostal with her husband or boyfriend. But perhaps I should inquire if she has a single sister ... or cousin ... she was the quintessential Spanish senorita, so pretty that it almost makes you want to cry. Spanish beauty is always difficult to describe and is something you need to experience for yourself. There's just something so striking about how a senorita's eyes light up when she smiles ... sigh ... Spain ...

Since there was a tiny bit of sun out and the temperature had risen slightly (or perhaps it only seemed that way after meeting the receptionist ...), we popped over to the two main beaches in town, Playas Orzan and Riazor, for some pictures. Though not quite as beautiful as this past summer when it was warm and sunny, it's still nice to go and see the ocean in Galicia. It's one of those places where the one thing more beautiful than the scenery, is witnessing the awesome power of the waves, continually pounding and receding from the coastline.

Praza Maria Pita was pretty dead as was most of the old town, a big difference

The Holy Door - open only during Holy Years.

from August during La Coruna's main festival season - the Praza was converted into a giant outdoor venue for numerous classical music performances. The square was always packed in the evenings with people attending the concerts, or just sitting in the restaurants and cafes along the perimeter having dinner or drinks. The surrounding streets were also bustling with people shopping, strolling, and enjoying the cafe scene.

Picking up some water at a little shop, I asked the lady why it was so quiet today, if it was because everybody was home with their families for the Day of the Three Kings. Apparently, it had nothing to do with that - it's too cold right now, so everybody is staying home. I absolutely loved it here this past summer for many reasons - the beautiful coastline, the gorgeous natural scenery of the region, the lively evenings, the friendly people, and the fact that La Coruna seems to be less touristy than other regions in Spain ... it was definitely near the top of my list for places to live in Spain if I ever decide to do so. But after experiencing the cold damp winter here, it's dropped a few spots!

Dinner on

Tough to see, but so many people have touched this pillar that finger holes have been worn into it.

Praza Maria Pita would have been ideal tonight but it was too quiet, with none of the restaurants offering anything too enticing, so we explored the nearby streets, finding a number of seafood restaurants with a few tasty-sounding options. We chose one of the busier ones, hoping it was a good sign.

Many places offered assorted grilled seafood platters, and this one offered a good selection for 35 Euros. Turned out that the price was no longer available, as the menu inside listed it as 50 Euros. Given that Spain's food can be pretty mediocre at times we decided the platter wasn't worth the risk, and also because the table next to us had ordered a cazuela, a big clay pot used to cook seafood soups in Spain, which looked positively yummy.

After last night's good experience with the caldeirada, we decided to order that again tonight. But unfortunately, it wasn't served to us by a beautiful Spanish Tina Fey, but instead by a pretty bad waiter, who never greeted us upon entering and never provided a menu for quite some time, until the bartender asked him to do so. All in all, it was a pretty decent meal, shoddy service aside.

Coffee break before the botafumeiro ceremony, at the same place where we had coffee with some free tapas last night - no tapas this time around, but the vanilla cake was still a nice bonus!

Spanish evenings are best enjoyed by walking around after dinner, people watching, and taking in the lively atmosphere. But tonight was too cold and dead, so our only walk was a short one back to the Pension. Unexpectedly, La Coruna was strangely quiet ...

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