Day 31: O Pedrouzo - Santiago de Compostela (20 kms)

We are here! We have arrived and finished the Camino de Santiago!  Our pilgrimage is over.  We are sunburnt, windburnt, blistered but happy-- no, ecstatic!  We hug and congratulate each other in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

For me, it took 31 days and about 764 kms from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain doing the entire Camino Frances a pie or on foot. For my sister Sonya, it took 22 days and about 598 kms from Logroño, also completely on foot.

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Upon our arrival at the plaza of Santiago de Compostela -- Sonya and I with our Irish friend, Joe

We woke up this morning at 5:30 am and left at 6:30 am from O Pedrouzo, determined to arrive in Santiago for the 12 noon pilgrim mass.  It was still dark but luckily there were some pilgrims in front of us who knew the way at the start through the forest trail as the yellow arrows were pretty hard to see in the dark even with my flashlight.  We went pretty fast on the trails which had both uphill and downhill portions.  The sun rose while we were walking.  Again, another beautiful clear sunny day.

Sunrise along the way

Twig crosses on fence

Ancient pilgrim bath before Santiago de Compostela

Pilgrim shadows

We arrive in Monte de Gozo at about 10 am. Here we see Joe, the Irishman, who then joins us in our walk. We hardly stop except for a coffee at San Lazaro close to Santiago, where we also have our credentials stamped.

 

And then, the spires of the Basilica appear through the streets and I know we are there.  It is 11:30 am.  We race to the Plaza, have some photos in front of the Cathedral and go directly to the pilgrim office on the right hand side street of the Basilica near the fountain with the horses.  Luckily there are no queues.  Our pilgrim passports/credentials are checked and we get our Compostela certificate with our names inscribed in Latin.

From there, we go to the Pilgrim Mass at 12 noon at the Basilica. There are other pilgrims but I do not see any other familiar faces.  During mass, the huge botafumeiro is swung from side to side, controlled 8 brothers in brown robes. What a sight!  We are lucky to have witnessed the botafumeiro ritual as it is only done during special occasions or when it is sponsored (for about 400 euros, I hear).  It was said that this incense burning ritual was actually done in the olden days to cover up the smell of sweaty pilgrims crowding in the church.

After mass, my sister and I pay homage at the tomb of Saint James in the Basilica, the end point of the pilgrimage.  We join a long queue to go up behind the altar to hug the statue of Saint James.

After this, we check in at the Hospederia Seminaria Mayor then have  lunch at their comedor.

For me, the Camino is a metaphor for life.  In the space of a few weeks you go through different seasons, different experiences.  You are tested with hardships and difficulties which you need to endure as you need to go on.  In the morning you look out or ask about the weather, but does it really matter? As one pilgrim told me, whatever the weather, you still walk anyway so why ask.  If the day is windy and cold, you put on your jacket and an extra layer and trudge on.  If the day is sunny and clear, you revel in the warmth and have an extra spring in your step.  You take whatever comes.  It is a voyage of acceptance and accepting. 

Part of the experience is the journey with fellow pilgrims -- you are all in one quest.  You pass each other, leave each other, talk and share stories with each other.  You do not know if you will meet again on the trail or even in life after the Camino but you are all the more enriched by having met. Each one is their true self, free of the dictates of society.  You may not speak the same language but you understand each other anyway.  All that you bring with you are your clothes and the pack on your back.  You are vulnerable by having shared a hall of bunk beds and maybe food in the kitchen.  Truly, the Camino is a voyage of self-discovery. 

So have I found what I am searching for?

This I have found -- the answer is not in the Camino -- it is within yourself.

This journey is not yet over for me.  I plan to go to Finisterre, what they call Fin de la Tierra or the end of the World.  It is 100 kms away and I start tomorrow.  The journey continues.

 

 

 

  

 

At the 12 noon pilgrim mass

Botufameiro with 8 men controlling it

Day 30:Melide- O Pedrouzo(34.6 kms)

It is only 50 kms left to Santiago! I cannot believe I have been walking for 30 days now. The goal is so near.

As usual, we are one of the last to leave the albergue.  We are out of the door at 8 am, say a prayer at the church of Melide a few meters away, then after a pan neapolitana and a coffee, start our walk at 9 am.

Old laundry stop

From Melide, we reach the next town of Boente at about 10:30 am.  We stamp our pilgrim credential at the church as we found out that once passing the 100 km mark, which is around the Sarria area, one needs to have two stamps per day to get the Compostela certificate that you have finished the Camino.  At the church, we find that a pilgrim has left his credential-- not good as you need it to sleep at the pilgrim houses and as proof of finishing the Camino. We look at the name and see it is a man from Hungary, a pilgrim we had met before. We met him first when we saw him having problems, sort of dizzy and totally exhausted one day.  We asked someone to look out for him and told him to just hitch a ride to the next town (which we found out he did when we saw him later at another stop).  This morning we had seen him just outside the albergue and we had asked how he was doing and where he was going this day.  We brought the credential to look for him and we found him after about a kilometer of downhill trails, actually looking through his bags and remembering he had left his credential at the church. When he saw us waving his credential, he said -- you are two angels.

Galician landscape

Long and leafy trail

I leave a euro - the price for a small pack of strawberries at an unattended fruit stand along the Camino. Honor system here. They are delicious. We arrive in the town of Arzua and look for a place to have lunch. We are lucky to find the Restaurant de Peregrinos where we share a pilgrim menu of spaghetti carbonara, ternera asado (beef stew) and the super best blueberry cheesecake ever.  The generous servings were more than enough for the two of us.

Roadside fruit/food store - honor system

Rock crossing

Later, after more trails going through rolling terrain and through farmlands, we pass the Cafe Calzada at 3:30 pm and have a coke.  There are 2 men sitting outside who have gaitas, an instrument that looks and sounds like bagpipes.  I ask the man who looks like the leader if he could play something and he did. It was great! The music sounds Irish but it is actually Galician folk music. He tells me that some other people will come to play in 10 minutes or so as they were practicing for a fiesta for los gentes mayor in Arzua.  They do arrive in a few minutes and play some music which I record on video.  I ask the name of the band. They are called "As sobreiras do ulla".  The leader says it is in Gallego, the language of the Galician region of Spain.

 

 Gaita music by the group As sobreiras do ulla

Cafe Calzada with the gaita music players

After staying about 30 minutes there, we continue on to O Pedrouzo another 12 kms away.  We arrive at 7 pm and check in at Porto de Santiago, a very nice private albergue.  We put in some laundry at their washing machine then go for dinner at O Boi pulperia.  Dinner is a shared menu of pulpo (octupus), churasaco (grilled meats), a bottle of wine and an apple tart.

Churrasco!

We need to sleep early for our last Camino day -- a 20 km walk to Santiago.  We want to get there in time for the 12 noon pilgrim mass.