Santiago de Compostela

There is nothing I can add to what has already been written about Santiago de Compostela. It is one of the three most sacred sites in the Christian world, the others being Rome and Jerusalem. It has received millions of pilgrims for hundreds of years, all coming to pay homage to the remains of St James the Apostle. The Catherdral exterior has a patchwork of lichen and mosses on it, the stone carving is stupendous. We spend most of the day gazing at a myriad of chapels, and cloisters. We also see the silver casket holding St. James' remains and we file past the back of the High Altar. Here pilgrims kiss the cape of St James. They then make confession in one of the wooden confessionals which are lined up on both sides of the long nave, elderly priests ready and waiting to hear their sins. There are tapestries of Goya and Rubens to marvel at and a small statue by Miro sits incongruously, nearly lost amongst everything else, in the room next to the magnificent library.

I spy a St Ann, I'm not a Catholic, but knew she was Mary's mother. There is a beautiful statue of the three generations; Ann, Mary and Jesus, To understand all the religious iconography must be truly rewarding, but perhaps it would detract from the plain old awe we felt, and perhaps awe is what the works are designed to evoke. But it would be nice to know a bit more.

Later the same day, by way of a total contrast, and dare I say a little light relief, we dip into a technology exhibition, galicia dixital. It caters mostly for parties of school children. At 6.00pm we had the place to ourselves, which was just as well as a so called 'grown up' made a complete spectacle of herself by screaming the place down while watching 'The Vertigo' - a 3D rollercoaster ride from the roof of the cathedral. Its one of those things where you wear the special glasses, the seats move and wind howls past you. Harry Potters game of Quidich is very tame by comparison! It ends as we swoop through the front doors of the cathedral, up the nave, down, down into the Crypt and then out into the fires of eternal damnation where we are unceremoniously dumped! Fantastic! Interaction at its best!