Day Thirty-six - Arca to SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELLA - 21km

Our final day of walking started off at 5.15 when we crept out of our hotel and headed off for Santiago. We knew it wasn't going to be daylight but I don't think either of us had realised just how dark it was going to be. We had a small torch (flashlight) and I had a safety light on my rucksack. 
We headed through the nearby town and gradually other pilgrims joined us but somehow we were in the lead as we headed into the woods! I'm not sure if it was hysteria but it was quite funny not being able to see where we were going (especially when a woman appeared in front of us - she was walking on her own and didn't have a torch!).  For me it was the perfect way to begin my 50th birthday!
As we left the woods daylight meant that we could put away the torches. 
As usual we had a lot of hills to climb and some steepish descents and all the time we were getting nearer our final destination - I cannot describe how exciting that felt. Exciting and disappointing as it also would mean the end to a fantastic 6 weeks.
As we neared the city more people appeared, including "bus people" who were dropped off at Monte de Gozo to walk into the cathedral. Once we hit the city we had to keep our eyes open for the signs which weren't that clear. The streets of the old town are very narrow with tall buildings so it wasn't until we reached the square that we were finally able to turn our heads and look up at the cathedral we had just walked 800km to see! 
We hugged each other for ages and it didn't matter that our hiking poles fell to the ground (which is normally quite annoying as you have to bend over to pick them up!). It was so exciting and amazing to be standing in the middle of Santiago after months of planning and weeks of walking. - Truly amazing!

We made it to pilgrims Mass and saw them swinging the Botofumerio, we visited St James tomb and stood in a line up for ages to collect our Compostelas. We waved at people we had met on the way and hugged and chatted to others. We marvelled at how many people were arriving that we had never seen before!

And then we went to our hotel and had a fantastic bath and drank champagne with some friends to celebrate my birthday!

It's very dark at 5.30 in the morning!

and there's not many people about!

Thank goodness we had a small flashlight and a light
on my backpack as we had to walk through the woods!

Just as it became light we got to our first coffee stop.

We had to walk around Santiago airport.

Monte de Gozo - the hill outside Santiago
where we got our first sighting of the city.

Lots of people were lining up for one of their last sellos
(the stamps we had to collect as proof of our walk).

Santiago de Compostella.

We followed the signs through the busy city.

We are there!!!!!!

The Botafumeiro - used to dispense incense over the pilgrims.

Originally this would have helped cover the smell of the 

unwashed people attending Mass after arriving in Santiago. 

8 men pull on the rope to make it swing.

The Cathedral was full of pilgrims.

This pillar at the entrance to the church was always touched by pilgrims.
Centuries of hands have left a hand shaped print embedded into the stone
and no-one is allowed to touch it anymore!

Lining up to get our Compostelas.

Our Pilgrim Passports are now full of the 'sellos' or
stamps that we have collected to prove our path along the route.
We have filled two passports each.

Our Compostelas.

These certificates actually record how far we walked.

The shoes and feet that got us here!


Thank you to our family and friends who have supported us throughout our pilgrimage. It had been a truly amazing journey and we feel very privileged to have had this experience. 
Thank you also to the friends we have met on the way to Santiago - you will always hold a special place in our lives.

Day Thirty-five - Arzua to Arca - 21km

Our penultimate day! How did that happen?

We left town at 8.15 this morning - with a million school children! That put a quick end to a quiet start to our day!

Apparently, when job seeking, having the Camino on your CV makes a big difference, so I guess these children's school was helping them have a head start. It was just a shame we hadn't started walking 10 minutes earlier as we had to negotiate getting past them as they wandered along!

There seemed to be so many more people around today. We have got into the habit of stopping for a drink at each cafe - today the cafes were crowded and we only stopped once. This had the bonus of us walking very fast and completing today's hike in less than 5 hours.

We have been very good at being mindful and having positive thoughts (well most of the time!) but today we kept having to remind ourselves as we got stuck behind so many slow walkers! Everyone has to do the Camino in their own way - even the people that seem to be doing it by bus!!!!!!

Tomorrow we are going to break a rule - we are going to leave at 5.30 in the morning. We have just over 20km to walk into Santiago. We want to try and finish our Camino as quietly as we started it and so we hope to avoid the school children! Also we would love to arrive at the Cathedral in time for the 12.00 pilgrims mass which is meant to be an amazing way to finish the walk. Wish us luck!

The view from our window after an enormous thunder storm last night.

At least a million school children were walking with us this morning!

Looking back over Arzua.

Another memorial to someone who didn't finish the Camino.

After the rain last night the eucalyptus woods smelt amazing!

More wood.

What a sad story!

After arriving at our hotel we walked into the local town.

Day Thirty-four - Melide to Arzua - 14km

Yesterday evening we had a huge thunderstorm and a lot of rain. However, the streets had dried up by the time we left this morning and only the paths through the forests were damp - but nothing like the mud we had back in Rioja!

We only had a short day today and so we took advantage of the many cafes in the small villages. The scenery has changed and it is like walking through south-west England - except for the eucalyptus trees! There are not so many farm animals in the villages but still a lot of vegetable gardens carefully tended by their owners.

It feels weird to be so near the end of our trip - we are excited to finally reach Santiago but we will miss the daily hike through beautiful countryside and sitting watching the world go by in little bars and cafes.

We saw these Citroen 2CV's in a shop near out hotel!
They were for sale!

The road out of Melide - straight up a hill!

It's getting closer.

We walked over hills and through valleys
- crossing over small streams on the way.

There are Eucalyptus trees in the woods - they smelt wonderful!

An example of our daily choice of food!

Like Melide, Arzua isn't the most attractive town
but the square is a little prettier.