O Amenal to Santiago de Compostela 16km

I’m going against what I said in my last post, but here is a post on the actual last day walking. I will do a summary post when I get home and had a chance to reflect a bit (and do it on a laptop, not this phone!).

I’d been transfered to a very nice hotel rather than the one I had booked. There were other guests, including a big tour group of all nationalities. Ten women and one man, and over last night’s dinner, the tour guide said they were the best group he’d ever had. I have no idea of whether that’s true or not, but I have my suspicions. I’d heard that they were leaving at 8:00, and I’d already asked the “boss” if I could go back to the original hotel at 8. So when I went to the lobby it was jammed. With people, but mainly massive suitcases with luggage forwarding labels. The lady running the cafe, knew about me, offered me a coffee and called a taxi. The group was getting in a minibus. The taxi driver was a nice lady in an ancient Renault Laguna who knew where she was going. Older cars certainly get a longer life in Spain. I’ve got some good photos of classic Renault 5s, Sierras and a whole raft of older Renaults in daily use. Anyway, I got to the hotel on the Camino where I’d thought I would be staying last night. The group from my actual hotel were amassing there as well. They had a minibus which needed to make three runs. It was still dark, and raining, and I stood under an awning putting my waterproof trousers on. Then I heard a shout, Matt! It was Joerg, merrily walking along the Camino. There really is a much higher percentage of nice coincidences on the Camino. The odds of him walking past at exactly that time are so large. He had found an Albergue 5 km further back, and had got a six bed room to himself. That just shows you the luck (or rather skill) in finding the right Albergue.

I finished putting my waterproofs on and headed off to catch up with Joerg. It was really dark. There was a steady stream of pelegrinos heading into the gloom. Everyone could see the end of their quest close at hand, and it was heads down focusing on the target.

Walking with Joerg was good. It was nice to have a chat for the last few miles. He had put his shoes back on, with plastic bag liners to keep his feet dry, but we joked he would take them off for the last few kms and finish in his socks (or flip flops). I still needed to get a first stamp of the day, so we separated when I grabbed a coffee and chocolate ring doughnut.

I wanted to walk into Santiago on my own, as during quieter times I was getting emotional about the walk. The enormity of it is a bit hard to comprehend leaving me tearful. My thoughts went back to trudging across the muddy fields south of Burgess Hill, a month ago, and thinking what a daunting walk was ahead of me. But yet while the walk itself wasn’t easy, it wasn’t hard either, due to the people around you and the services the camino offers. There were other things, but I’ll save those for a post about my reflections on the walk. In fact, as I walked towards Santiago, things became clearer. Just walking with people who have been through the same experience seemed to ground me. Also, as the surroundings got busier and busier, that also took my mind off it. The last 4km is really urban, walking from a motorway network, through the suburbs of shops and factories. Then through busy shopping streets (it was a saturday morning), and eventually into the historic district.

Here I came across Joerg again, he had been asking at Albergues and hotels without success. On the way down the last hill, Monte do Gozo with about 5km to go. The route passes a massive Albergue. It looks like 30 big blocks that could maybe house 100+ in each. Looking at the guide, there is a number of different Albergues in this area with capacity of way over 1,000 pilgrims. It is a bit far out of town, but shows the capacity available. Joerg was looking closer to the centre, without any luck.

Ironically, the camino signage petered out in the centre, and it was hard to know which way to go. There would always be a pilgrim in front to suggest the way. Suddenly, the side of the cathedral came into view, and the route led around to the front. The rain stopped enough for me to flip my poncho back onto my rucsac for the first time today. It was good timing.

The main square in front of the cathedral was really busy. It looked like the the remains of a bicycle race that had happened recently. It was all a bit overwhelming.

I had a hotel booked, but Joerg was still looking. He had done the whole Camino without a smartphone, only an old Nokia, which is impressive.  So I looked up on my phone for the tourist information. The first one was closed, but another hotel enquiry directed him to the right location down the road. While he booked a hotel at the tourist office, and then rushed off to secure the booking, I sat down for a quick beer and reflection.

I was planning on dropping my rucsac at my hotel which was about a 20 minute walk away, but then the rain started again. It really is like a tap being turned on and off. I couldn’t check-in until 3:00, so I decided to work out the Pilgrims Office. Each pilgrim is entitled to a free Compostela for completing a pilgrimage. This was introduced centuries ago to give pilgrims certain privileges and mark their journey. One of the privileges was to be able to stay for three days in Hostal dos Reis Católicos, right in the cathedral square. This became a hospital treating pilgrims. Nowadays, it is Spain’s oldest and most luxurious hotel. The hotel is The Parador de Santiago de Compostela, and is the same chain as I stayed in at Fuente Dé where I got “stuck” in the mountains. Unfortunately, it was full today, but at over €700 a night that’s probably a good thing.

I was expecting a long queue at the Pilgrim office, and even may have to come back in the morning. I think maybe due to the rain, I’d had to shelter in the main square for 15 minutes on the way there, it wasn’t too busy. I had to fill in my details on a computer terminal, which printed out a QR code, and my postion in the queue. Before I knew it, I was directed around a corner, where I had only about 10 places to wait. Soon my number came up 509, which I suspect was the number of pilgrims to arrive today, and I was directed to a desk. The guy behind the desk spoke good English and tried to make sense of my Credencial. He was looking up the different paths, but ultimately he just asked me how far I’d walked. I said about 780 kms (it’s actually 784 km from adding up my blog distances, 487 miles)  which he was happy with, and I got my certificates.

I just grabbed some lunch and considered  buying some new shoes as my boots are toast, and only fit for the bin (I didn’t as I had wet smelly socks which would be a major embarrassment), and generally waiting to get into my hotel to change out of my wet clothes.

I’ll draw a line under the blog for this journey here. I know that the lack of a daily post will be a disappointment for some of you, but thanks for your comments on here and other messages. I really write these for myself, and publishing them give me the impetus and discipline to do it, so I’m very pleased others enjoy them.

I will do a follow-up post on my reflections of doing the (my) Camino, as it definitely has had a positive influence on me. I will be going to the “Pilgrim Mass” in the cathedral tomorrow, as a lapsed Catholic it seems like the right thing to do. I’m not expecting to see the famous botafumeiro swinging, but if I do……

….. I’ll raise some health and safety issues (it weighs 80kg!)