El Camino: The walk into Santiago de Compostelo.

The timers on the cameras are set. I'm just checking the lights are flashing before running after Paul to take up position for our last group photo on the walk. 

After a delicious breakfast we were ready for our final leg of the journey.

We didn't have very far to walk this morning as we had covered so many miles yesterday. We ambled along chatting to other pilgrims that we had met along the way.

After risking our lives crossing the busy dual carriageway yesterday, we discovered there was a subway beneath the road just a little further along from the hotel!

Our first waymarker showed we had just over 9 km to go.

Walking through woodland we saw this witch flying between the trees . On the night of the Summer solstice many towns along the El Camino route celebrate its arrival with bonfires to keep bad spirits and witches away. Bonfires must be jumped over a number of times for good luck. There were still a few days to go before the Summer solstice so I'm sure many more witches will be appearing in the woods before then.

Time to take the layers off as the temperature began to rise.

By the time we reached this industrial site  the sky was cloudless. The first time we have seen a clear blue sky since we arrived in Spain. We decided to have a short break here mainly because we wanted to use the toilets.

We were now on the outskirts of Santiago. I had imagined us joining up with lots of other pilgrims the closer we got to the town, but it was just us. Apparently all the other routes approach the town from the other side.

The drain covers were decorated with the scallop shell.

For once a church that was open and we managed to find someone inside to stamp our pilgrim passports.

I.6 km (1 mile) to go

In the middle of this roundabout is a statue of St James (Santiago)

Didn't expect to see one of these tourist trains.

Our first sighting of the Cathedral.

Old cobbled streets lead us into the heart of the old city.

The narrow lanes led us into the Cathedral square where there were a number of pilgrims celebrating the end of El Camino.

 

There are routes for cyclists which are different to the walkers's routes.

We were delighted to have completed the walk but we didn't feel the same elation as when we have completed other walks. It wasn't particularly difficult nor was the scenery stunning. Our walk bore no comparison to those pilgrims who had completed the other very long routes of hundreds of miles taking them weeks to complete, carrying their clothes etc with them.



We decided to go and queue for our 'compostela' as we had heard it could take up to 3 hours.The compostela is a document granted by the Cathedral chapter that certifies that the pilgrimage has been undertaken and that the pilgrims have walked at least 100km or cycled 200km. Our proof of this is the credential which had to be stamped in at least two different places each day along the route.  Luckily for us we only had to wait 15 minutes and then we each went in and had our pilgrim passports checked. The compostela is written in Latin and so was my name. I just thought he had spelt my name incorrectly ,but no, my name in Latin is Miriam so that's what's on the certificate. All sorted we were then greeted by a couple of English speaking ladies who offered us some tea and biscuits. We didn't realise they were nuns in civies. They wanted to discuss  our reflections of the walk as a pilgrimage. As none of us had done it for religious reasons it was a little awkward but pleasant enough. We were now ready for a cold drink so made our excuses and found an appropriate bar down the road.





Not only did we enjoy a cold drink here but we were given complimentary tapas as well. Bread with ham, bread with oil, olives and crisps. This didn't happen in every bar but it did in many of them.







After checking into the hotel, where we would be staying for two nights, which is a treat after moving on every day, we went back into the town for a look round. This is the Cathedral. It didn't look as large from the inside as it does from the outside.

Inside the Cathedral is the cssket which contains the relics of St James.

This is the statue of St James which you can walk behind and touch. Most people seemed to be hugging it.

After visiting the Cathedral we went to the Pilgrim's museum which had a number of displays about pilgrimages around the world. I had a quick look at the displays but I was feeling tired so decided to go back to the hotel.

There were lots of shops selling momentoes of the trip from tee shirts to key rings.

I walked back to the hotel via the park where you get the best views of the Cathedral.

In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant for a change. We then met up with some of the other walkers we had met along the way.

If anyone is thinking of  walking El Camino here is some information about hostel accommodation that might be of interest. Or you could stay in hotels as we did which you can book in advance.