Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

One of the main ways to get to Santiago de Compostela is through Vigo, whose rocky bay is reminiscent of northern California.


The legend goes that a ship bearing the remains of James the Apostle washed ashore near here and so believers reverently gathered them up and placed them on an ox cart and let the ox wander as it willl until it stopped, and that would be his final resting place. Why the ox wandered miles inland instead of stopping at the first nice patch of grass is unknown.	"James" actually comes from "Jacob," and The Spanish version is "Iago," and Saint James is Santiago. According to legend he appeared to rally the Spanish against the Arabs, earning the nickname "Matamoros," or "Killer of Moors." So when Spanish forces went to Iraq wearing the cross of Santiago, it was not a popular move.


	Left and above: the Iglesia de San Francisco.
	Left and below: The final approach of the pilgrim way to the cathedral. The spire can be seen in the final two views.







	The pilgrimage kit. Staffs for walking, gourds for canteens, sea shells for scooping water. In the Middle Ages, the pilgimage was dangerous, not so much from violence as contaminated water.




Above, the flag of Galicia.	Below, Santiago rallying the Spanish.






































As separatist movements go, Galicia's is pretty polite. This poster, in Galician, says "Galicia is not Spain." Note that Galician has similarities to Portuguese.

Inside the Cathedral
















That mammoth censer over the altar takes several people to get it swinging.