Arca (Rua) to Santiago

Day 47  Rua to Santiago (22kms)

We wake to a misty and overcast morning…but the rain is not actually falling and so we rise in hope that our last day on the Camino will be rain free.  Breakfast starts at 8.30am so a late start for us and we watch many peregrinos pass by as we munch on our toast.  Some early starters drop in for a coffee and a bite.

It’s not raining when we start walking at about 9.15am, but one starts in full waterproofs while the other wears overtrousers with the raincoat slung across his shoulders.  It is not cold so humidity is the enemy today.

We leave our accommodation on an unsealed country road, very wet underfoot and the vegetation is dripping.  Eucalypt plantations abound as we cross the main road and walk down into a small village, the trail almost passing through farmyards.  In a shed, the old wooden ploughs are hanging from the roof, obviously used in the past and now stored alongside more modern relatives.

The forest changes from eucalypt plantations to mixed species as we continue on the unsealed road past another small village.  The bracken is bright orange and, when wet, adds a most striking contrast to the greens and greys of the eucalypts and the autumnal browns and golds of the deciduous species.  Cross a stream and then make the long, gradual ascent, passing through a ‘tunnel’…a narrow cutting with a full canopy of trees across the top…and to the top of the hill on a sealed road.

Wooden Camino signs point the way along a well formed trail through more farmland, soon reaching the main road where a bright yellow sign is painted on the road…”15.37 kms to Santiago!” 

We skirt around the airport and find a crowded bar which serves fine coffee and dispenses sellos…what more could a weary peregrino want?  There are now no markers telling us how far to Santiago, so while every step brings us closer, we have no idea how close.  Another climb along a senda sees us as at San Marcos, where there is a memorial to Pope John Paul II, and a rather curious tower from which hang numerous multi-coloured aluminium water bottles…not sure whether you leave one there to add to the collection or buy one from the tower.   Here also is the very humble Ermita de San Marcos, a small chapel where we collect a sello.  We are also afforded our very first view of Santiago! 

Now begins the long descent into the city…past the 800 bed Albergue at Monte de Gonzo with a lookout over the city and into the suburbs.  Hunger pangs are manifesting, so the first bar we see that is open…there aren’t that many in this area…gets the gig.  We enjoy tortilla and coffee and then stroll along the footpath into town, following the Camino signs which are very frequent. 

We reach the Old City sooner than we expect and are almost immediately in Praza de Immaculada and there is the Cathedral! 

We walk around to the front, Praza de Obradoira, and come across the staging for the Pope’s visit, fortunately not in front of the Cathedral as we had been told.  We find the Officina de Dean de Peregrinos, have our Credentiales checked, and fill in the form for our Compostelas.  The young lady takes some time to find “Elaine” on her list of Latin names.  We are now certified!

It’s 3.20pm and we are checking our map to find the best way to our hotel when we meet Canadian Chantal…great scenes of joy as she declares that meeting us again has completed her Camino!! 

We take a moment here to reflect on how we feel about finally reaching our destination…surreal is the word that comes immediately to mind.  We undertook this journey for a variety of reasons…historical, cultural, a physical challenge, camaraderie,  We are not particularly religious folk, but this journey has been a spiritual one for us  One cannot follow this path without feeling something of the ordeals suffered by the real pilgrims as they made their way across the inhospitable landscape with little or no refuge in many places, subject to the vagaries of the weather, facing bandits and wild animals, and enduring illness that stopped so many of them in their tracks. 

We have met people from many different countries, cultures, and religious backgrounds; we have shared food, shelter, humour and time; we have the Camino as our common denominator. Some of these people are now our friends and we will treasure the memories.

Our hotel, the 300 year old Hotel San Nicolas, is down a reasonably steep hill...a change for us as we usually have to go uphill to find our bed.  We feel very secure because not only do you have to ring the bell for someone to unlock the door to let you in, but also to let you out!

We return to the old city to check the Information Centre and the Post Office.  Both have signs indicating that they should be open, but we haven’t considered that today is All Saints Day and therefore a Public Holiday!  We note the times for tomorrow and move on.

Wandering around the narrow streets, we are delighted to meet up with Jan from Canada who suggests we join him, Amanda and Jeanette for dinner.  We haven’t seen them for more than a week so enjoy a chat over a meal and a beer.

Day 48  Santiago

Breakfast here is served on a tray in our room, old fashioned motel style.

We go through our gear and choose the things we won’t need any more and set out for the Post Office to buy a box to put them in for transport home.  The Information Centre is open and we find the bus timetable for Finisterre, which is tomorrow’s destination. 

Elaine goes to the 12 noon Pilgrim’s Mass while John packs the box and we meet up at the Cathedral.  After the Mass is over, we see someone waving madly across the crowd…it is Jose, whom we met with Berta at Leboreiro.  Berta’s parents are with them, visiting from the Canary Islands, and they invite us to join them for lunch.  We agree to meet them at 2.00pm, and the day, as we know it, is over at that point…it becomes obvious why the Spanish don’t eat until 10.00pm…they don’t finish lunch until 6!

Lunch actually finishes at 5.15pm, but Berta’s dad says, “We must go for coffee and you can have English tea!”  So at 5.30pm we are in another café having more coffee and English tea, finally leaving them at about 6.30pm…we now have an invitation to visit the Canary Islands!