On Friday evening I took the roof tour of the Cathedral with about 20 other English speakers, and led by a very knowledgeable Spanish guide.
There were lots of ancient locks, secret passageways, and stairways up towers. Loved it.
Then we emerged on top of the granite (!) roof. Granite because the Cathedral was also a fortress in the medieval era.
The tour would never fly in the U.S. No hand rails, disclaimers or warnings except the guide saying, “keep up, we’re locking doors as we go.” Believe me, when she said, “shall we go?” in her Gallegan accent, we all said, “si!”
There was a green cross on the roof. No one knows how it got there. In the Medieval era there were many around town, places where pilgrims shed their filthy clothes to be burned. The church gave them new garments. It was symbol of new life after the Camino, and practical. After my month of a very limited (but laundered) wardrobe, I wish there were still green crosses around Santiago.
One Footestep at a Time 