Our final day walking the Camino Del Norte started in rain. We tried to beat the rush by getting an early start, but there was no avoiding the crowds of people. We stopped at two cafes looking for breakfast only to find the offerings were slim to none. We kept walking.
The rain intensified as we weaved between the slower moving groups of pilgrims. Just past the Santiago Airport we finally found a cafe with tortillas and a place to sit inside. When we headed back out, the rain started to ease off. By the time we reached the edge of Santiago, the sun had come out.
The steady flow of pilgrims led us through Santiago, to the old walled city, and finally to the public square at the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela. I held back from leading for once, to let Mark and Shelagh experience their arrival for themselves. It has been a privilege to walk with first timers and to share their excitement and wonder. We spent 30 minutes in the square taking photos and just soaking up the experience before running from the rain to the office in search of our official Compostelas, Latin documents that verify you have completed a camino. My Latin name is Jakobum. With Compostelas safely stored in our packs, we walked to The last Stamp Albergue for our last night on the Camino.
Michel is from Montreal. He started the Camino Frances on March 24. I recognized him as Canadian in the sea of pilgrims walking into Santiago because he was wearing a Tilley hat. I suggested he leave it on for the portrait but he chose to take it off.
We met up with our friends Richard and Dudley, and a few of their new pilgrim friends for a celebratory dinner. Good food and much wine was consumed. We returned to the public square at the cathedral two more times, each time greeting more fellow pilgrims we had walked with earlier. And more celebratory meals were enjoyed. It is amazing how, so far from home, in a foreign large city, that we ran into people we knew.
Mark, Shelagh, Richard, and I shared a Booking.com apartment for two more nights before each going our own ways. Mark and Shelagh took a bus to Ferrol and walked the Camino Inglis before returning to Canada. Richard caught a flight to Scotland for 10 days of exploration before returning to the USA. And I took a train and bus to Porto, Portugal where I spent a couple days waiting for my flight home.
34 days, 830 km