Santiago

After dinner last night we are all back at the albergue, each doing our own thing! A fellow came in and had a bottle of wine. I noticed him but didn't pay alot of attention.  He was using a bowl as a glass and finished the wine in short order and went upstairs. He added quite a bit of excitement to the place as he banged his head and fell out of bed a couple of times! :-) Anyway by the time I headed to bed he was sound asleep. More adventures during the night though ... the fellow was clearly disoriented; he ended up downstairs in the sitting area, then in a different dorm, then tried to get in the wrong bunk (thank goodness not mine). :-) Saw him a few times this morning and he just greeted us and carried on!

Today started off wet but eventually sunny and stayed that way until we reached Santiago, got our paperwork sorted out and found a bed. Then rain! We headed out but first stopped for coffee and a crossiant. Tim from Texas joined us at the start of  the day! Interesting fellow... car dealer dude in Texas, 2 kids, married, walking for the challenge and to show his kids that they could set a goal at any age and complete it!  He set a pretty aggressive pace right from the start and although I was sweating big time I kept up! We finished almost 9km by almost 10am! I felt great although my pack seemed way heavier today. My book says that the last day into Santiago was relatively flat... not so! There were some big hills! We stopped for ice cream and a credential stamp and then headed up a big hill! Couldn't really complain though as the ice cream was covered in chocolate and almonds and I took it slow! :-)

The path today was busy! Lots of familiar faces and some folks who were just in a big hurry! Tim kicked up his pace and left us behind and we carried on. Through villages and country lanes we finally reached a little cafe - I was definitely in need of a sit down!:-) We went in and got our drinks and then listened to an English lady give the owner trouble over his attitude! Once all the noise had settled down and the English folks had left, the owner dude showed us me on the map where we were and talked about the tradition of putting coins on the stone walls in a house or in this case the cafe. He was nice to me/us!:-)

We got our gear back on and started off again! Now we knew we had approx. 4km to Monte do Gozo and then another 5km to Santiago.We reached Monte do Gozo about 12, and stopped for a bit of a break. Lots of folks here as this was a stop for the tour buses!  Not far out of Monte do Gozo we saw a sign that said 4.7km to Santiago (apparently this means to the cathedral).

Gosh this was a long 4.7 km! Anticipation a factor for sure, along with tons of pavement walking and tons of up and down! We reach the outskirts of the city and walk along cobblestone streets which sometimes were narrow and then finally into the city proper. Lots of traffic but not a lot of knapsacks in sight! The signage was pretty clear though so on we went. We see the steeples eventually and make our way to the back/side of the cathedral. I ask another pilgrim, just to be sure, and we were right around the corner! We sat for a minute and then decided to line up for our certificate and stamps so that it was done. We got directions, rounded the corner and there was the plaza. I was actually shocked as there were hardly any pilgrims or people in the plaza! All of the info that I had read or heard led me to believe that there would be masses of people milling about. We took pictures and then headed to the pilgrim office. Again, I was surprised as the line up was maybe 30-40 pilgrims deep, definitely not the hundreds or thousands that I anticipated! I/we stood in line and chatted. The fellow in front of me was from England and had walked about 100km with his wife and a group. His adventures were quite different from mine as they stayed in 4/5 star hotels, one with a pool, drank wine and ate great food! Nice fellow! As we waited, Tim came down the stairs certificate in hand, we wished each other well and away he went! Finally my turn! Got my stamps, and my certificate with my name in Latin!  It was around 2pm.

We now needed to find beds! Chris from Ireland had recommended Hotel Suso so we went looking, Were approached 3 different times to try an albergue, a pension and a hostal. We decided to check out a hotel which was way to much money, and they gave us the directions to Suso!  Very close and I have my own room, tiny but who cares  - the door locks!:-)

After dumping our gear and cleaning up we found great tapas! We snacked and then went exploring! Have to go to the cathedral and the plaza, etc! The girls and I separated ways after agreeing to meet at 8 at our hotel and then we would go for dinner! I checked out the church, put my hands on the pillars where many had before me and took photos of the huge incense burner! I also explored the  Museum and the strolled to find water for tomorrow! I was a little further from the hostal than I had planned and of coursethen the rain came! No boots on, just flip flops and definitely a challenge walking - so slippery! Anyway, made it back to the albergue without wiping out! :-)

Meet Pam and Terry and they have brought along Brigitte from Colorado! Interesting lady - retired, travelling the world and will eventually go to their family vineyard and winery in California and work at increasing their wine production. She just completed the Camino  and has 4 days to wait for her husband and then they are off to Turkey!  Dinner was so much fun and the latest I have been up since starting the Camino. We ate more but different tapas, drank wine and then changed restaurants and had more wine! We met folks from Santiago and Mexico and one young lady who had great memories of a long ago trip to Victoria's Minature World!

We said our goodbyes and I was in my room at 12:30!

Tomorrow the journey home! :-)