The day begins as usual. Why change up the routine? The only difference is that almost no sleep was achieved. The brain was racing, the heart was pumping all night and the sleep never came. The adrenalin was flowing and it felt right to get going as quick as we could. The first few Km’s are through the stands of the eucalyptus plantations and the smell and fallen leaves on path make it very comfortable to start the early morning walk. It makes for a relaxed start.
Knowing that we have spent the last 40+ days along this Way and it is almost at an end, brings an upwelling of emotions and I find myself having a little cry to myself and really feel a sense of completion and connection with the Way of St James. It has been a long Way and there have been countless connections with the countryside, the people of the Way, my fellow pilgrims, my wife and my God. I feel humbled by the experience and we even begin to plan our next pilgrimage – may be in 2028? Who knows?
Anyway, we pass the airport in a thickening fog – we hear a plane take off, taking pilgrims onward after their Camions and reflect on our onward jouerney. We stop at the cafe “LAST 12km” for our last breakfast and cafe con leche along the Way. The nearby chapel of San Roque provides and ideal place to sit and reflect upon where we have come from and where we are gong.- I was very thankful for that opportunity. The quiet in the churches and chapels along the way have been a blessing.
After that quiet moment , the final rush is on. The last 100km or so from Sarria have been busier than most days and the last 10kms now have certainly compressed the line of pilgrims. But we are all in good spirits and revel in the pilgrim camaraderie and experiences as we chat to many along the Way into Santiago.
The final kilometres along the way start from Monte Gozo where Pope JP II visited on his pilgrimage to Santiago but the memorial has been removed. We find the new pilgrim memorial where we catch a glimpse of the spires of the cathedral through the distant mist and set off for the last 5km.
It’s a pretty uninspiring walk through the outer suburbs and shopping complexes. The k’s pass quickly as our strides lengthen in anticipation and our goal is within minutes. To give some context it has been 785km since we left St JPdP some 45 days ago. The last few km’s to the square cannot come quick enough. As we enter the old town. It is not long before we hear the bagpiper welcoming the pilgrims through the arch at the entrance to the Praza Obradorio Catedral and the emotions being to rise. The arrival in the cathedral square is overwhelming. That little cry at the beginning of the day was nothing compared to the rush that comes over me and to see the number of pilgrims in the square experiencing the same emotions is comforting.
There is so much to say about this arrival, but It is very hard to put in words. The feelings are unique. We spend some time in the square soaking up the atmosphere and reflecting on the achievement and journey. We trot off to the Pilgrim’s Office to collect our Compostellas – we are #647 & #648 of 1800+ pilgrims that registered their arrival that day.
There is so much to say, but this is not the forum. We are excited to meet up with Maryanne and Kingsley who we met on our very first day (and now the last). We also meet Leanne and Lisa – 2 Aussies who we kept bumping into – and most surprisingly Danis and her mother (the German pilgrims we also met on our first night). We have been blessed by so many others and we hope the have found the same peace and resolution that I have in completing this pilgrimage.
Oh! And what of Cathy and David? We had been keeping contact during the day. They started much later in the morning — we met up with them and celebrated later in the day. We were able to share two wonderful dinners together before we had to go our separate ways. Those were very special moments.
Tomorrow we celebrate our pilgrimage and offer it to our God at the Pilgrims’ Mass. We pay our respects to St James before mass begins. We are blessed as the botafumeiro swings and the pilgrims rejoice.
