Day 36 - Santiago de Compostela at last - 8k

Leaving Monte de Gozo on a beautiful perfect morning

Let's traipse guys ;)

It’s a surreal feeling as we approach Santiago, walking the last few miles was a doddle and suddenly we’re in the Cathedral Square. We’ve made it! Group hug…

We're there it's hard to believe it but it's real we ARE HERE!

I've only ever been this ecstatic since - Not Before ;)

Off to the Pilgrim Office to register for Mass but most importantly to be interviewed for my Compostela. It’s a formality in the end but I put ‘Religious and others’ as my reasons for completing the Pilgrimage just in case they think about not giving me my certificate if I put Spiritual. Once registered, they read out the numbers of each nationality and their start point on the Camino in The Cathedral during the service but it’s in Latin so you’ve got to have your wits about you. Unfortunately they didn’t have the huge incense burner going today but it’s amazing just experiencing the Mass and there’s so many familiar faces, Andrej from the Czech Republic amongst others. Everyone is in celebratory mood with hand shakes and hugs all around.

Ola Emilio!!!

Hola Pepe You Legend

Catedral

Hey Emilio!

The next few days all roll into one huge celebration, eating out during the day, crazy nights out, meeting people I haven’t seen in weeks, sent off with a mission to explore Santiago for the ingredients for our wine and cheese party, shopping trips for souvenirs, plans for a day out to the end of the world at Finisterre, finalising travel plans.

Yves, German Girl, their friend?

I met up with Yves from France, he’s on the steps of the Cathedral with THAT German girl who I was worried would have perished on the mountain, what a relief I won’t have to worry about whether I should have done more to help her for years now. Luis and Charo! We get to say our goodbyes properly and I hope my Spanish did our farewell justice, simpatico.

This was meant to be but don't make me cry, adios Luis y Charo I will miss you

Santiago by night

A little squiffy but never been happier than I was in these days until now

We’re planning a reunion dinner on our last night so I give Cathy the nod on Facebook, she was five days behind us when we reached Santiago so it’s doubtful she’ll make it but you never know. The Bus trip to Finisterre made me realise I was missing out not walking there through some wonderful looking countryside but I didn’t mind, my knee was actually worse now I’d stopped the daily grind and I don’t regret ending my Pilgrimage at Santiago (especially as four weeks after arriving home it’s still my most obvious souvenir of the trip ;-)

My timing was impeccable as usual, we’d walked around the sea front and the street inland but come back to where we started to find somewhere to stay, backs and feet were unused to carrying rucksacks for long periods by now already and walking into the Bar to take the weight off and ask for rooms I thought I recognised the woman sat down there on the internet. Oh my

Mes Amies Quebecuoises - Gilles and Helenne

it’s Helenne and Gilles from Canada who I haven’t seen since 5k before Pamplona in Trinidad de Arre on my third day. The coincidences were everywhere. We met up with Harry and worked out an evening plan, Harry tells me that Astrid is here as well but I’m not getting my hopes up, I’ve made that mistake before.. "Astrid's here? Yeah yeah right! You're joking!" I daren't believe it...

The end of the world - The western most point in Europe - Finisterre Lighthouse

The Last Yellow Arrow?

We rock guys! Sorry terrible pun...

It’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that the journey is over. We spent a while looking out from the tip of Europe towards America although I’m not sure how good an idea swigging a bottle of red wine on the rocks was, at least unlike some people I could mention, we didn’t have three bottles each, light a fire and have a party. Hello, two Spanish pilgrims from weeks ago, there are reunions happening all over the place.

Jorge and friend where we are reunited and several times thereafter in Santiago

I see Stephen from Kentucky who tells me all about getting ‘leached’ after wandering around in the river after one of his sandals. This is wonderful, ok I’ve cheated and caught the bus to get here but otherwise I’d never have seen all my friends again. Jong Hee is here too what a surprise. The meal together is great as my French Canadian friends are there with their Camino companions too so we can catch up a bit. We started the Camino together and got to see each other again right at the end of the world.

We’re sat round tables outside a bar enjoying one of our last nights in Spain, yards from the Beach, when who should arrive but Astrid. It was fabulous to see Astrid again, we hugged, that one went straight into my top three hugs of all time. I was able to sneakily give her the note I’d written all those weeks ago when we were looking for paper to write peoples email addresses on before she had to leave to get to her Albergue in case they closed. Astrid reappeared, it was hard to remember what I’d written because it was so long ago but I managed to tell her now what a positive impact she’d had on my Camino and me. I’d wanted to spend some of it with her but that just isn’t how it worked out in the end. We all got pretty toasted until late but I remember Jess said some of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me, I nearly got a big head. I’ll always treasure that night.

Back to Santiago and there’s just Jess and me left, we’ve both got Hotels in different parts of town but meet to go to Mass again as Otmar should be there and our reunion dinner is tonight. Claudia from my first few days, oh what a nice surprise, Andrej is there too and knows her, what a small world the Camino is. We get to see the monks sending the huge incense burner up towards the roof by pulling together on ropes, what a spectacle.

Cathy is too far away to make it but has a never say never attitude judging by her message from a few days ago on the internet. We meet at 7:30 on the steps of the Cathedral and wait for Steffy and her boyfriend to arrive before setting off, my Canadian friends are there, Harry, Jess, Otmar, Stefan, Heinrich from Casa Marie not seen for a month until I bumped into him the day before, and his friend Gabriella from Australia.






The restaurant we’d wanted to eat at was closed so we traipse back through town to another and take half the place over immediately, tables being rearranged.

Harry pops off to the cashpoint and goes to the one near the Pilgrim Office only to bump into, Cathy! I thank Saint James for the amazing synchronicity and Cathy gets massive hugs all round and her pack is taken off her and a large wine is poured. The reunion dinner is complete.

Otmar - sent me several cd's of all his pictures what a lovely man

Get it down ya you bloody deserve it my friend

So um tipsy I manage to zip half of my new Camino fleece and my walking jacket up together

The drinking and bar crawling goes on until well past 2:00am interspersed with emotional goodbyes, how could I have thought an early night to prepare for my flight was on the cards? The Spanish are crazy, the bars are only getting more full as we leave and people are ordering food, I’m gonna miss all of this. Walk Jess through town towards her hotel and back hoping I don’t get dirty looks or complaints from the poor sod who is waiting to let me in back at mine. I don’t know about anyone else but I didn’t want that night to end or my Camino…

Day 35 - Monte de Gozo - 40k

Animo Jon? ANIMO JON! Animate yourself Jon.... sighing, ok better had... ;)

Cross growing in the woods

White bread, cheese and cured bacon. Not the best lunch every day for bungedupedness...

It’s an Australian feel to the day as we’re walking through eucalyptus woods as far as the eye can see.

Little Red Danish Man at our mid morning break - Lars or Arni depending on who you ask

We get a move on and our conversation takes us right past Arca where we’d planned to stop for the day. In fact we’d left Rebecca behind us on the trail as she wanted to walk at her own pace, weighted down by the huge pack she had, it’d gotten to the point that she was too near to Santiago to post any of it on to collect from there.

When we realised that we were walking past an Airport, Megan and Jeff commented that they’d landed somewhere similar to this and we started to wonder where we were. By the time we exited the woodland and walked along the main road a few yards, there was a stone sign with Santiago on it.

We’d walked five miles further than we’d planned and had a choice of walk back, take a taxi back, or walk another five miles to the next Albergue as it was imperative to get a stamp every day to earn your Compostela. We were gutted because we’d said to Rebecca that we’d see her in Arca and what would she think when we weren’t there?

Pushing on was the decision as I would have stood there for ages in despair otherwise, so we carried on and who should we catch up with?

Luis and Charo, you guys were meant to be in Santiago today weren’t you?

Statue atop the hill at Monte de Gozo with a view of Santiago, but not today ;(

We make it to Monte de Gozo only to find that thery’re setting up for the Festival of San Marcos with a huge sound system and stage being built as we passed by. There was a statue on the hill where Pilgrims in the past could get their first glimpse of Santiago and most importantly of the Cathedral spires.

Me ol' mucker Pope J.P.II my namesake - A Great friend and supporter of the Camino

Modern building has meant that you can see the town but not the Cathedral from here so we would have to wait for that until tomorrow morning. At least this way we’ll be in Santiago early enough for Mass on the Sunday and won’t have a huge walk for the last day. I’m showered when who should arrive but Rebecca, thank goodness for that. She’d made it here and everyone could relax and enjoy themselves. Emilio was in another room so we should get a decent nights sleep too. Met up with all our friends and went for dinner, coming back past the party in full swing but finding that bed is calling louder than music...

Day 34 - Ribadiso de Baixo - 26k

We are in the middle of nowhere when we stumble upon Casanova a tiny hamlet (I think that big house was it) where the historical figure is said to have come from.

Just enough time to pose by the sign and move on down the road towards Ribadiso but it’s several kilometres past the last town today and a few outside of the next one we plan to hit tomorrow, so deciding that if we’re ever going to experience Jess’s fabled soup, we’d better buy ingredients in Melide and carry them until we reach our destination.

Stopped into a church. I passed along the way ;)
Beautiful Cross and Scallop shell of Saint James

We’ve stocked up and separated our purchases between our rucksacks so after a good lunch break in an attempt to miss the rain outside, sipping yet more sidra's eating some freshly prepared food in a bar, we raincover our packs and ramble on. It’s caught us out in the afternoon after a dry spell and we get a bit soaked but push on until reaching Ribadiso finally.

The only shop within hobbling distance is a garage, it's k's into town from our beauty spot
No eating utensils or plastic cups I just look at strangely named products
And avoid going back empty handed or clutching car parts

I make an excursion towards town to see if there’s a Vodaphone shop for Jess but have to turn back because it looks like a very heavy shower is on the way, five minutes later it’s bright sunshine instead. As good as my instincts are, they're not always right yet, if ever. When the meal is ready I come back to find the dining room is more like a banqueting hall with a huge open fireplace on one side and long tables. Our feast has been prepared in the one cooking pot provided so until we finish all the soup we can’t cook the main course. Between the jars that the ingredients came in for bowls and our water bottles for wine glasses and the forks we were able to borrow from the bar next door we just had enough utensils to go around.

I’ve never had a better meal although it’s tied with the one from Sarria, the Camino has taught me how little you need to be happy. Shelter, good food and drink and good company.

Day 33 - Palas de Rei (Palace of the King) or noisy shit'ole - 25k

Leaving Portomarin Over Rickety Bridge Over the Lake

The countryside around is bursting with life, there are brightly coloured lizards in the walls, scurrying away as you get a flash of a vibrant green body and blue head and it reminds me so much of home, big clumps of dandelions everywhere and lush green meadows. We stop in the morning for coffee / hot chocolate break and for a bite to eat. There’s a big black dog there and I assume as it’s got a collar but no lead that it’s the Cafe’s pooch. Everyone gives it a stroke as it’s very friendly, with wild wolfish face, bright orange eyes and a pronounced limp where it looks like its hip is seized or the leg is painful. It’s thin but with a glossy coat and in good condition apart from that.

Not Sirius but Another Very Large Dog

Stopping in the afternoon for a Sidra, this is becoming a habit at every stop now. My excuse is it’s very refreshing and when in Rome and all that. There’s a black dog like the one at the place earlier, it’s the same one someone says. In fact it’s the same dog that was at the place last night apparently. We leave the Cafe and try not to be followed by that dog, Megan gives him a drink of water in her hat but he just wants to get on down the trail and wanders off so we do too. Oh well nothing to do but walk on, the dog had terrible road skills and insists on walking right down the middle and doesn’t want to get over even when nearly hit head on by impatient road users.


Fields are full of young crops, cute lambs and kids, the woodland is oak trees and bluebells and feeling even more like home as the paths are soft dry mud and leaves instead of rough and stoney for once although there are a lot of ups and downs which is making it tough going and even harder work as it’s suddenly gotten hot out, well into the mid twenties so water has become an issue again although there’s bars or vending machines dotted about for that.

Pilgrim Cemetary From the First Time of Peregrination

Arriving at Palas de Rei we go to the Municipal Albergue which are cheap and figure out that we should save money on the accommodation and pay for dinner instead as there’s a big kitchen but never any utensils in them. We’ve been there a few minutes and met an old English gentleman who has walked since St Jean and regales us with tales of running up Kilimanjaro and his other travels. I pop out to get some bits and pieces only to nearly step on the big black dog who has parked himself on the doorstep outside. Tony the British guy reveals when it’s mentioned that he’d seen a black dog with a red collar in St Jean and warns us not to look the dog in the eye because he’ll follow you, so this dog must have walked 25k a day off the back of food and water from Pilgrims. Sirius as he is now called has walked as far as me and in less time darn it, I’m convinced he’s the reincarnation of a Pilgrim who is making the journey again in this life.


We head out for dinner, several Sidra’s later and another reunion with Snorey guy and Funky chick, I am embarrassed to ask them their names after all this time, they’re Luis and Charo from Madrid. It’s getting late and I realise that it’s five to ten already, we’ve been enjoying the nightlife so much times flown by.

Daughter of a family doing the camino, Megan, Rebecca, Jess, Me, Jeff, Emilio ;)
I remember the sunset was absolutely stunning but got back to my huge Litre of Sidra

I reach the door to the Albergue after paying my tab and find the door is being locked. I explain that there’s my friends still to come and Emilio is there to say the same thing after he’s just poured a plate of Octopus and a beer down his throat and sprinted round to placate the increasingly irate and flustered woman. We all get in but the room that gave such good views this afternoon is right by the road and between the noises of traffic, barking dogs and the heat in there with all the radiators on it’s almost impossible to get to sleep. Emilio is below me on the bottom bunk and every time i drop off he’s snoring and waking me up, I’m fast asleep finally and get jolted awake by the English pensioner Tony telling me I’m snoring and keeping everyone awake. I try my best not to disturb anyone although strictly speaking it isn’t my fault as far as I know. I’m asleep again when suddenly he’s having another go, “You’ve got a serious problem, you should leave and see a doctor.” This time I see others are awake and restless and despite Jess’s attempts to reassure me that it was him who woke everyone up by screaming at me, I leave and take my sleeping bag to the top floor. There’s only some leather sofas up here but pushing them together I get a single bed of sorts which is cool and open all the windows to get some fresh air. I wonder if he got up again to have a go at me and realised that it was Emilio making all the racket.

Day 32 - Portomarin, a big black dog and Hoots mon I need some new Boots - 21k

Showed off my knowledge of reptiles by picking up a slow worm
- Only for it to try to bite me, almost shat myself and let him go...

We reach the 100k marker today and also the realisation that every Albergue from here on in may be full of Spanish teenagers, oh joy. After last night though we didn’t have anything to worry about, because when walking off to explore we’d seen a huge group of kids enter the place we’d just left and hoped they didn’t wake Jess up as they traipsed in and I even wished they wouldn’t stay which was particularly uncharitable of me. They did but were in the rooms on the terraces out in the garden so were no bother. However when we got to Portomarin not only were Jeff’s boots suffering and falling apart but a huge group of kids arrived just after we’d checked in and on a coach too the lazy little… Their walk would start the next day, to complete the minimum of 100K to get your Compostela.

Meeting Snorey guy and Funky chick once again, we decide to go for a drink together. Rebecca, Jess and I had been sipping beers for hours when Megan arrived to say that Jeff was still working on his boots so I popped back to give the guy a hand at tying them up to give his newly purchased glue a chance to work overnight. I remember seeing a very large black dog wandering around out the back when I was hanging up my washing to dry but I kept my distance and got back to getting ready to go out for dinner.



Everywhere serves Santiago cake on the Pilgrim Menu. It’s an almond cake with the Cross of Saint James stencilled on the top in Icing Sugar and after the novelty of the first few times became like ‘Salad Mixed’ a staple of their offerings. As did Octopus or Pulpo as it’s called. The tentacles are cooked and served with a cocktail stick, suckers are still visible and yes I tried it so that I could say I had. We went for a nightcap at a bar down the street and set another habit for the rest of the Camino, late nights and late mornings. We hadn’t left Sarria this morning until after 10:00 because we’d stopped for everyone to have breakfast.

The Chruch of Portomarin - Rebuilt stone by stone when the original village was flooded to create the lake we walked over to get into the village in the first place...

Leaving later was giving me less time in the afternoons for routines but what the hey I was having a blast, so what if there were massive patches of dead skin that needed attention or if my feet weren’t getting their ten minutes solid massaging before bed or not getting hold of an orange, bread, ham and cheese for daily rations because it meant I didn’t have to carry that stuff around. I’d had enough of carrying my world on my back so any lightening of the load was just what I needed right now. Once I’d gotten my travel plans sorted out for me and didn’t have to worry about that I went from being miserable and homesick to not wanting this adventure to end. From one extreme to the other in a day.

Day 31 - Sarria and the Fortress of Solitude - 25k

We got up late and left in minutes, Jess had been unwell and up several times in the night so we just walked and talked all day, reaching the Monastery of Samos as part of a detour of 7k extra for the day.

Instead of visiting said Monastery, even though attempts were made to persuade us by a large jolly gentleman called Emilio who they’d met back at O Cebreiro we sat in the sun and had hot drinks and a cider. Megan was raving about the local stuff called Sidra so we had one each. It was perfect, refreshing, like applejuice but six percent so quite a kick.







House with a tree growing in the doorway





We just carried on walking and following the river making it thankfully to Sarria where Megan’s perfect Spanish was starting to make everything easier although it’s harsh to put that on someone.







The Merry Wanderers - Oy wait for me































The last stretch was up loads of steps into the old town, I saw pilgrims I recognised everywhere including Funky Chick but not Snorey guy, I wonder where he’s got to? We headed for the place that our guide books said had a kitchen as we planned to make our own dinner this evening and boy did we choose the right one.

Albergue Don Alvaro was on the main street at the top of the hill that the Town was built around, a large Town house it had beautiful tiled floors, wood panelling everywhere and tapestries and paintings covering the walls even in the bunk rooms. We were shown around and offered our choice of rooms, the kitchen was perfect with a hob and work surfaces, the garden had a koy pond and a separate dining room through patio doors, there was also a room further down the way with a huge fireplace surrounded by stools. There was a guitar by the door and shot glasses with bottles of various brown and clear liquids on the table, we were invited to join our host after dinner, once his kids were in bed. Two sun terraces including washing lines on the top one with wonderful views of the whole of Sarria in every direction. Jess had made it this far but was flagging even after she’d managed to down a bottle of water during the day with one of the sachets I’d carried with me for nearly five weeks of salts and sugars replacement powder and went to bed, fair play to her for soldiering on though what a trouper.

Jeff, Megan and I left her and Rebecca to it to go sightsee as we’d heard about the Fortress and wanted to check it out. It was a bit of a let down in that all there was left of it was one tower with a castle-y bit of brickwork on top and cow sheds where the rest of ‘The Fortress’ was on the map. Apparently someone, the descendants of the original owner, still lived there although it was a tiny little place with a huge garden and not much else. The walk took us down and around past the Monastery school for a visit to its church and quiet courtyard, then onto the streets below where the Church we were looking for was either gone or had been surrounded so closely by tower blocks that we couldn’t find it. Two old women who looked so old, almost as though they were already dead, directed us towards a supermarket after an exchange between them. I wondered how many years they’d sat in that spot and watched everything change around here.

I must admit to making myself scarce while the preparations were being made for the meal but you know what they say about too many cooks? There was a huge spread of pork steaks with red peppers and garlic, fresh bread, salad, the most wonderful tortilla and lots to drink so we got stuck into that. A marvellous evening as Jess awoke in time to join us feeling a lot better and we all got a chance to get to know one another a bit more and tell our tall tales of the Camino so far to the shock and delight of our new friends. The wine went fast as did the Strawberries I’d bought for pudding, many conversations revolved around the cultural differences between us, especially the word pudding. After dinner our host invited us to join him in the fireroom for a nightcap but he wasn’t there when we made it through so we burned the rest of the midnight oil with a few shots of varying strengths and a chat whilst sat enjoying the flames and warmth.