Santiago
SANTIAGO
As we were getting closer to the Cathedral, Roz all of a sudden says, "I can hear them." You come into the Cathedral square through different portals depending on the route you followed. The Frances has a piper in the portal and you can hear it from quite a ways away. I was choked up because I was so happy to have managed to hobble in and complete this adventure with my side kick Roz and our companion Jarrod.
We made our way to the Pilgrims office to get our credentials stamped and receive our Compostela.
Mile zero.

In our Santiago hotel.


Our half way certicate that Roz and I received at Sahagun.

Our completion certificate. To officially say we made it.

Our distance certificate of 779km. Jarrod got his for 370km

Our credentials that we had to have stamped everyday on our walk.

The back of the Cathedral.

Sun going down on Santiago.

Night time at the Cathedral.

Quintana plaza.

So in the back corner of Quintana plaza is a spot that has a shadow of a pilgrim. Several myths surround this shadow.
Myth 1: Soul of the Outlaw -This myth says the soul of a criminal is trapped in the Cathedral. In the 15th a French nobleman was convicted of murdering his father. To redeem him he was sent on a piligrimage. But this man had no repentance and killed two pilgrims. He arrived in Santiago exhausted with nowhere to sleep so he chose the doorway of the Cathedral. At midnight his father's ghost appeared and said he forgave him but that he must repent for the other two murders and he was condemned to stay until the souls of the two pilgrims arrived. Eternity.
Myth 2: Pilgrims Faithful Companion
A soul that accompanies the walkers along their pilgrimage and appears as a silent companion at a time of greatest need by providing strength and shows itself upon the completion of the journey.
Myth 3: This is the most popular A Soul In Love. The shadow's true identity is a tragic story of a priest who fell in love with an nun. They met daily at sunset in the tunnel under Plaza da Quintana. He proposed that they meet, run away at night dressed as pilgrims and leave everything behind. The nun never showed and the priest continues to be faithful and wait every night.
In reality, when night falls and public lights come on, an optical illusion is created by the illumination of the Cathedral street lamp on a granite pillar and a shadow of a pilgrim appears on the wall of Plaza da Quintana.
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