[Gocamino] NO Botafumeiro; pilvgrim fined; "Pillgrims without Faith " new book; Obradoiro encounters

[thesouds at comcast.net]

Any sense of when (or if) the botafumeiro will be back in service?

Steve

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: blaroli at aol.com 

> Hello you all. 
> You might remember that the Botafumeiro rope was replaced in 2004 because it had 
> become frayed. The new, donated, rope was made thicker so that it would be 
> safer, or so it was thought. However, the upper steel ring which sustains the 
> Botafumeiro was meant for a thinner rope and the new rope became damaged 
> through the constant forcing it through the ring.  The Botafumeiro weighs 80 
> kilograms (176 pounds) and it flies at a speed of sixty miles an hour, which 
> presents a serious risk unless all the components are in top shape. Because of 
> this, the Botafumeiro has been taken out of action and will not resume its 
> spectacular demonstrations until a new, secure, Â rope has been constructed and 
> tested. This might take a few more weeks. (Sigh!). The new rope is being made 
> in (beautiful) Valencia. 
> The Botafumeiro  and the structure that makes it work were first made in 1554 
> with funds provided by King Louis XI of France. The original one was made of 
> solid silver and it was stolen by French troops in 1809. The replacement 
> botafumeiros have been made of a steel and aluminum alloy. The original 
> purpose of the Botafumeiro was to mask the odors carried into the Cathedral by 
> pilgrims of yore. 
> -Those of you who, like me, are fond of the BBC Brother Cadfael programs will 
> remember that in one of them ("Pilgrim of Hate", I think) a similarly large 
> botafumeiro is shown as being in use in the pilgrim-full medieval churches, as 
> was the custom. Â Reportedly, those botafumeiros were moved back and forth 
> horizontally accross the churches, and that is how the one in the Cadfael 
> program is shown. 
> I wonder when, and why, the one in Santiago began following a different path, 
> 
> A pilgrim from Utreia (province of Sevilla) was spotted (tobacco) cigarrette 
> in hand at the Palas de Rey albergue. When the incident was reported to the 
> authorities he was assessed a fine of 30 Euros; because he had already left at 
> the time of the decision, the imposition of the fine was published in the 
> Diario Oficial de Galicia and the pilgrim was requested to pay the fine 
> forthwith or return to argue whatever arguments he may present in his favor. 
> The albergue's hospitalero testified, under oath, that all pilgrims who arrive 
> at the albergue are informed of the "Anti Smoking Law" which absolutely 
> prohibits smoking in the albergues. The Correo Gallego adds, tongue in cheek, 
> that the Anti Smoking Law does not understand such pilgrimage things as 
> indulgences or redemption. 
> 
> A new novel, entitled "Pilgrims without Faith" (Peregrinos sen Fe), by Sergio 
> Luis de Carvalho, has just been published. It deals with the stories of two 
> pilgrims, five hundred years apart, and it draws heavily on the influences upon 
> pilgrims of historical events, such as wars, the Inquisition, and such. The 
> point of the book seems to be that while today the overwhelming majority of 
> Santiago pilgrims make the pilgrimage for religious and spiritual reasons this 
> was not so in centuries past. In the middle ages many criminal offenders were 
> sentenced to walk the Camino, in lieu of other punishments, and many walked as 
> proxy for others who were seeking soul purification vicariously.  It would 
> appear that those who read fiction will enjoy the new book. The two pilgrims in 
> the novel walked from Lisbon to Santiago on the Portuguese Camino. Amazingly, 
> only today I got a message from a (U.S.?) pilgrim who will commence his Lisbon 
> to Santiago pilgrimage next September. 
> 
> Two pilgrims who did not carry their backpacks met yesterday at Obradoiro. One 
> of them was accompanied by a donkey (his friend and "pal") who had carried the 
> backpack and things for the 1,200 kms. from Toulouse which the human pilgrim 
> walked.The other pilgrim had built a rickshaw-type contraption to pull his 
> backpack. Both pilgrims, who did not know each other, arrived in front of the 
> Cathedral at the same time and became friends right away. 
> 
> Lastly, the number of pilgrims arriving at the Pilgrims' Office keeps 
> increasing. 
> It is a pity that they won't get to see the Botafumeiro, though. Well, 
> surely they'll go back, like most of us. 
> 
> Hugs! 
> 
> Rosina 
> 
> 
> Â Â 
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