Day Twelve - Easter Sunday in Santiago De Compostela

TFeliz Dia De Pascua. Today we as a group got to experience Easter in a completely different and exciting way; a Spanish Easter. We woke up this morning a little tired but grateful we got to sleep in. We headed down to a delicious breakfast in our hotel when we were treated with a beautiful surprise.

To all of our parents reading this, thank you so much for our Easter cards. We were so excited to receive cards and letters from home, you have no idea how much that meant to us to receive something on this special day. 

After breakfast we had a bit of free time and then headed to the cathedral for the Easter mass, one of many masses the cathedral holds. Let me just tell you something, the cathedral is amazing. While it is being revamped, it is still very beautiful. It's also very big. The mass was just as amazing as the actual church. The most amazing thing about the mass was the swinging of the Botafumeiro. The Botafumeiro is a big incense burner that hangs just above the altar in the cathedral. Occasionally it is swung from side to side and doing so, it releases incense. It was absolutely amazing to see this magnificent event. While the mass was said in Spanish, there was some parts said in English. I couldn't believe that so many people gathered together in this sacred place, to celebrate one of the most special events in the catholic churches calendar.

After mass we had a few hours of free time to explore the historical and mesmerising town and just chill. Then it was time for what we had all been waiting for. The long awaited Easter egg hunt. As you might have read in an earlier post, we are staying in a beautiful monastery that was turned into a hotel which has a spectacular garden in the centre of it, and this is where the hunt occurred. Everyone got involved, teachers and students both, and we all had a fantastic time looking under rocks and around corners for chocolate Easter eggs. After all of the 50 or more eggs being found, Sam was crowned the winner, having found the most eggs. We then headed off for an Easter dinner provided by the hotel. We had a enjoyable time eating a pleasant dinner and chatting about our trip together. Overall our Easter celebration in Spain was one we will never forget as it's not every day you get to celebrate such an important occasion in one of the most beautiful places in the world.