All The Way

We knew the Camino was going to give us everything it had left today. If you’ve followed along here, you probably knew this too. We got the roughest day of weather since Day 1 in the Pyrenees, a hard driving rain that only increased in intensity as we neared Santiago. It rained, hard, all day.

Huddled inside our layers of plastic we just kept laughing. “Of course it would end this way.”

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve talked about this day, and how nothing could stop us when we got to this point. The Black Knight, from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, kept coming up. “Is that all you’ve got? ‘Tis but a scratch! Had worse!”

There are many pictures that I had planned to take that were not. All of the popular first sightings of Santiago were not to be had, as you couldn’t see 10 meters through the fog and driving rain.

None of that matters when you walk into the Praza de Obradoiro, the plaza facing the iconic western façade of the Catedral de Santiago, having walked there from France, with your son. The feeling is overwhelming.

We had a day before our flight home to relax, clean up, shop, and laugh about what we've done. We actually got in an automotive vehicle (cab) for the first time since the bus dropped us off in St Jean Pied-de-Port on May 2nd, 34 days ago. That's surely the longest time for either of us in our lives. It's amazing, and a little scary, how fast they are!

There will be an epilogue to this story in coming days, reflecting on some of this, for those interested.

Until then, buen camino.

799 km, 33 days, together we made it

Into the forest, the trees were are only shelter from an all day downpour

Passing through San Payo, 12.5 km to go

Lavacolla (from Latin "Lavamentula") literally means "wash your private parts". This is 10 km from Santiago and explained in the next photo.

Traditional pilgrims seldom if ever bathed on their journey. Here in the stream at Lavacolla they would clean themselves up to be presentable at the Cathedral.

Approaching the west entrance to the Cathedral, with traditional Galician (Celtic) bagpipes.

Hard to describe in words

Our credentials

Compostelas

St. James' crypt, houses the relics of Saint James and two of his disciples (Saint Theodorus and Saint Athanasius)

Statue of St. James. Pilgrims can walk up behind to touch his cape, which we did.

The brick at in the west plaza where all Camino routes join. The end.

Galician celebration with a Gran Reserva, that we Gran Derserva