Day 13, Sat Oct 10 - The Thirsty Pilgrims finally arrive at Santiago de Compostela

Buenos Dias - Day 13 - our final leg of our journey - a short 12 km to Santiago de Compostela. Again we left in the dark (despite agreeing to leave later) to get to Santiago de Compostela. As we entered the city, we followed the golden shells embossed in the sidewalk, that mark the way to the Cathedral. WOW! It was an amazing site, at first I thought I was taking pictures of the cathedral, but it was only one of the small chapel like buildings, when we entered the square where the cathedral was, I was in awe! Even though part of it is under construction, it is breathtaking. It kind of reminded me of being in Rome. A quiet moment to realize that we were there and enough time to wipe the tears from your eyes, we still had things we needed to do before we could say we completed the journey. We needed to get our official certificate for doing the Camino trail. We stood in line for almost 2 hours to get the certificate. Your stamp book is reviewed carefully to identify if you actually walked from where you said you did (my lady told me I should have gotten a stamp in Leon where we started, I informed her the whole other side was stamped.....oh - good job was all she said when she turned it over). They write your name in Latin and had you the certificate. You can buy a tube to roll it in for transport and given that it had started to rain, it was an ideal purchase. We walked a minimal of 312 km on this journey from destination to destination (this did not include our site seeing when we arrived at our destination for the day). Some walked more than others, but everyone walked the last day into Santiago. We even made it in time to partake in the pilgrims' mass at noon. The inside of the cathedral was beautiful, the service was special and the nun that was singing sounded like an angel, they even had incense at the end of mass! It was a bit breathtaking. The only downside to all of this, despite all the signage about not taking pictures, some pilgrims insisted of doing this to the point that they shoved a selfie stick in front of one of our colleagues (obstructing their view) just to get a picture. Cameras were flashing constantly through the service and there seemed to be a lack of respect for the religious ceremony going on...too bad for that. The Camino gave things to us many things - we saw beautiful sites as we walked through all the villages, breathtaking views, learning about the culture and learned some of the language, the amazing people we met, the spiritual aspect (personal to each of us), the great food and wine, the friendships we established with each other, the blisters, rashes, swollen joints, many hours of physicial exertion, a sense of pride and accomplishment, a life-time experience, and for some a new or found attire (a hat). And the camino taketh away - a lost hat, a few pounds that everyone shed, the ability to sleep in a noisy room, torn capris, worn in/worn down and now worn out hiking shoes and sad farewells. I do not know how to describe our feelings, it was great that we arrived, but there is a sense of sadness that it is over. Our group has developed a very special relationship and an openness that is rare to find when you combine 7 people together that may know each other a little (well let's hope that Dave and Kathleen know each other after 37 years) just colleagues that you know from work or heard of. We appreciate the organization that Marilyn did to arrange the trip, book the hotels, arrange for the luggage transfers, the recommendations and all the plans made in advance. We are now in the the San Martin Pinario Hospederia, a very large complex - I believe a former place where the nuns lived. We had an amazing meal, after the noon mass, of fish (a type of flounder), potatoes, fresh bread, dessert, appetizer (omelet with everything including turnip tops or green beans and ham (my choice - was delicious)) in the establishment and relaxed in the lounging area in the evening as we reviewed the events on the journey. For anyone contemplating this sort of journey, it would be highly recommended by 7 of us. We would have a few suggestions for you to prepare for this journey (a would encourage you to listen to our advice). Do lots of walking on uneven terrain (gravel roads) in hiking shoes, with a backpack ~15 pounds or so, practice up to 20-22 km, try sleeping in a noisy environment, bring some warm clothing, lightweight rain gear, hiking poles, a good camera, research about the Camino Trail - the spritual aspect, and bring some great companions to experience this adventure with....and if you are lucky, bring a masseur with you:)) I have enjoyed writing the blog of our journey and hope that those of you reading it also enjoyed and learned through us. Thank you to Meg, Gail, Amanda, Marilyn, Dave and Kathleen for allowing me to have this great honor. Adios et Hasta luego, Sandy