Walking the Camino, Day 34: Santiago, The End of Our Journey

We arrived in Santiago after 34 consecutive days of walking, and we're ready for a rest. Our daily point to point walking stages totaled a little more than 520 miles, which didn't include any incidental walking we did once we reached our destination each day. We walked the entire distance carrying our packs and have really enjoyed the journey. Thanks to all who encouraged us along the way.

Adios.

Our last day of walking. A relatively easy day of woodsy and urban walking. 

Checked into our hotel in Santiago, cleaned up, and headed for the cathedral.

The police outside our hotel. Apparently an animal rights protest brewing.

The cathedral is being renovated of course.

Forget about getting a seat for noon mass. I think you have to get here at 11:00 if you actually want to sit.

Interior renovations.

So we skip mass and head to get our credentials verified.

 ....along with hundreds of others. Someone told us a thousand new pilgrims arrived in town today.

ur credentials have all the necessary stamps.

Anyone who walks at least the last 100 kilometers will get the Compostella.
We walked the entire 800 kilometers and obtained our mileage certificate as well.

So it's time to eat again. And we'll start with some fresh sardine tapas.

So, what next?

Walking the Camino, Day 33

We reach our destination tomorrow. It's been quite a ride so far. Here's some of what we actually remember.

Still walking but the end is in sight.

Blooming hills. So glad we walked in the Spring when all the flowers were in bloom.

Coming into little towns.

Churches. Churches. And more Churches.

Meeting other pilgrims. We saw this guy on and off for about a third of our walk.
He's always walking by himself, at his own pace, but everyone stops to say hello.

Eating more sandwiches. I think we've had more bread in the last month than we've ever had in any 30 day period.

Some really nice people on the Camino. This is Alicia from Queensland, Australia, wanting us to hike across Tasmania.

Constantly adjusting our shoes. Foot problems are the most common injuries on the Camino. 

Checking the damage at the end of the day. All in all we've been pretty injury free.
Toe socks, Vicks vaporub and changing socks halfway through a day's hike have all helped.

Staying in a monastery.

Our one and only bunk night. We didn't know it was a dorm with ten bunks when we booked it. It was billed as a "family room". What kind of family sleeps in a room with ten bunks?

Some pretty good food. French fries are served with practically everything here.

 After about a week, we were sort of pulpoed out.

 So now we're on to bacolao.

Beer break always welcome after a long day of walking.

Grilled peppers help too.

Alan with a stuffed _ _ _.

War games on Remembrance Day. Spanish people dressed as U.S. Soldiers for a mock attack on the town square.

Parading soldiers.

Walking the Camino, Day 27: Puertomarin, Spain

It turned into a beautiful afternoon after lunch and a siesta. We're in the last 100 kilometers now, which is all that's required to obtain your Compostella, so the pilgrim count has more than doubled.

 The bridge into and out of Portomarin.

Alan on the pedestrian bridge leading into town.

The pedestrian bridge.

The Main Street of Portomarin.

The square church on the main plaza.

Walking the Camino, Day 30: Rain

Day 30, and I guess we've been pretty lucky up until now with just a few days of light showers during our walking hours, but the skies opened up today.

Five plus hours of walking in the rain. All in all, it wasn't that bad.

It's going to rain.

We wore shorts anyway because it really wasn't that cold, and we wouldn't have to worry about muddy pant legs.

Entering Portomarin.

A more modern small town than most that we've stayed in.

The barn-like building we'll stay in tonight.

There's always octopus as a reward.

Alan's happy as long as there's wine and pulpo.

 Wooden cowboy.

The view from our room.

Walking the Camino, Day 28: FronFria & Pulposeris

We got up early today because we knew we had about 18 miles to cover and there was a chance of rain in the afternoon. A great day of walking through cow county and we're rewarding ourselves at the pulposeria.

Early morning and out of Fronfria.

Galicia's cow county. We probably walked through eight cow towns today.

It's a beautiful part of Spain.

More cows.

and tiny towns.

And finally at the pupolseria.

This is a double serving. We had a single serving after this. It's just boiled sliced octopus with some chili powder and olive oil sprinkle on it and that's what everyone eats here.

The master at work.

He's quick and never slices off a finger.

Lunch is finished off with spiked coffee.

She leaves the bottle so you can adjust it to your liking.

I think we're the only non-locals here. Lunch - three servings of octopus, a bottle of wine, and coffee, for 28 euros.