We arrive in Santiago de Compostela

Day 17.5 Santiago de Compostela

On our last day on our Camino, we start walking just as the sun is starting to rise.  We have carefully bandaged the feet and hope they can last the day’s journey. 

With some anticipation we walk out of our last hostel and are immediately greeted by the astonished four Americans from Connecticut we have been leapfrogging these last four days.  Again the conversation and company makes these first few miles melt away.  We talk about meeting up after, exchange WhatsApp contacts, and the joy of finishing the difficult journey however long or short your individual Camino has been.  It keeps us all moving forward.

We part ways and hope to see them in Santiago.  The final miles are mostly uphill since Cathedrals are built to be that light upon the hill.  We are blessed with cool weather and count ourselves fortunate to not have had to do this in the heat of the afternoon as many of our friends did yesterday.

We meet up with the American grandparents who are completing this Camino with two of their 12 grandchildren. As I talk to the 11 year-old boy who has been carrying his full backpack for the last two weeks, he informs me that his older brother went on the 5 week Camino Frances a few years ago and all of his cousins are next.  When I ask him the best thing about the Camino, he doesn’t hesitate to tell me “Cats.” He then spends the next 10 minutes chatting away about all the different cats he has seen, “We went to church last week and did you know they had a pet cat?” I agree with him that all churches should have pet cats.  I think of Siri’s parents who did an intergenerational one week trip with all of their grandkids as well.  This is the same thing times at least 10. 🙂

In between these encounters, our last last day is surprisingly quiet and often we feel like we are the only ones on this path. We don’t see the lines of pilgrims we expected.  We don’t know if we started earlier than others, or if we have just all spread out, but we appreciate the solitude we find.  It feels like the ending is similar to the beginning of our trip.

As we crest one hill, we get the first glimpse of the Cathdral towers in the distance and our pace quickens.  We finally make it into the city streets and now see all of the other pilgrims converging with the morning city traffic.  We walk through the public park and then through the old town. Each time we wonder if we are on the right path, we can see the distinctive shell on the backs in front of us – and the hiking poles.  It is hard to blend in as a pilgrim.

We take the last few twist and turns and then we open into the Cathdral square where already hundreds are celebrating.  There are the traditional Celtic bagpipes to welcome us and even folkdancers since we have arrived during a five-day festival.

We find some shade to take off our packs and take off our boots.  There is relief, joy, sadness, and many other emotions as we end our journey.  We give each other a hug and a kiss to mark the completion of this – our Camino.  And we sit down.

Soon, our Denmark friend finds us and after a few photos to mark the completion, we find a nearby cafe to catch up since we last parted several days ago.  Soon, she has a bus to catch to head back home and we promise to stay in touch and will welcome each other into our homes when our paths cross again.we are also all planning what will be the next adventure.

We make our way back to the square to take in the Cathdral and the celebration going all around us.  I sort of don’t want it to end and Siri asks me what I am waiting for – I have to admit I am waiting to welcome more of our friends we have met along the Camino.  We don’t know when they will arrive, but I don’t want to miss them   I finally have to agree that if we were meanr to meet again – it will happen. We head to get our official certificate and right in front of us is the Stanford student we thought had already left.  It feels like another mini-reunion.

We finally make it to our hotel and can fully relax – and shower.

After feeling refreshed and a much needed change to clean clothes, we go back out on the town and get some drinks at one of the multitude of outdoor cafes. 

And as has been the case, and is what people told us, but we really didn’t believe them, one of our old friends walks by and finds us.  This is the ringleader of the Canadian group of women we met at Casa Fernanda.  We are soon joined by the rest of her crowd and pull up more chairs. Siri contemplates opening up an American chapter of this women’s trading group. We end up spending the rest of the day together, going to dinner in a local hang out with our guitar playing friend from Texas and then a few of us even stay out till midnight to enjoy the festival atmosphere.  

None of us want this magical day of arrival and joy to end.