Day 31: Hiking My Camino de Santiago

August 19, 2018

As I had originally planned, on Day 31 I arrived in Santiago de Compostela with the special individuals you can see in this photo. From left to right are Philipp from Austria, Denise from Austria, Astrid from Austria, Luca from Italy, Andrea from Italy, me, and Julia from Germany. You may recall that Philipp, Astrid, and Julia were three of the original members of the Fellowship.

Santiago de Compostela is Julia’s turnaround point but she will spend a day or two in Santiago before returning home. Astrid will be spending a couple of days in Santiago before she rents a car and drives to Finisterre. Philipp will begin walking to Finisterre tomorrow or the next day. I will begin walking to Muxia tomorrow followed by a walk to Finisterre. My plans are to spend an extra day of reflection in Finisterre. I will then return to Santiago to tour the Cathedral and hug Saint James. Of course, there will be additional time for reflection in Santiago.

We started walking at 5:00 AM this morning and committed to walk to the Cathedral together. It was cool to approach a hill overlooking Santiago and see the Cathedral. It was also amazing to see all of the pilgrims come to the plaza to take photos. And many of them sat there or lied down with their backpacks.

I ran into Karl from Germany and Christin from Germany today. They arrived on Saturday and took today as a free day. Both of them will begin walking to Finisterre tomorrow.

I went to the Pilgrim Office after I showered and washed my clothes to get my Compostela. When I get back to the USA I will try to scan it so you can see it

By the way, many pilgrims have been asking about the shoes. They seem to like the fact that I have extended their useful life with duct tape. It sounds like something a pilgrim would have done centuries ago except they didn’t have these shoes or duct tape.

Lastly, we walked 19.43 miles today from Salceda to Santiago de Compostela on the Camino de Santiago.

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See additional photos from August 19th below:

1) A view of the trail

2) Pilgrims on the trail

3) A marker on the trail

4) A scallop shell marker

5) Pilgrims on the trail

6) First view of The Cathedral

7) Monument at Monte de Gozo

8) A gate along the trail

9) El Templario Peregrino

10) Welcome sign

11) Santiago de Compostela

12) The Cathedral

13) The Plaza of the Cathedral

14) The Plaza of the Cathedral

15) The Plaza of the Cathedral

15) The Plaza of the Cathedral

17) Me at the Cathedral

18) The Cathedral

19) The Cathedral

20) Me at the Cathedral

21) A luxury hotel

22) My Compostela

23) A certificate

Brief descriptions of the photos:

1. This is part of the trail I walked.

2. This is a photo Julia, Denise, and Astrid on the trail in front of me.

3. This is a marker along the trail. It happens to be near the Santiago de Compestela airport.

4. This is a scallop shell symbol on a concrete wall in the village of San Payo.

5. This is part of the trail I walked.

6. This photo was taken at Monte de Gozo and is the first place pilgrims see the cathedral spires. They say medieval pilgrims would fall to their knees, shouting in joy and breaking out into song when they saw the cathedral.

7. This is a pilgrim monument at Monte de Gozo.

8. This is part of a gate I saw along the trail. I was attracted to the scallop shell design.

9. This is the "El Templario Peregrino" --a Knight Templar in full dress--that welcomes us to Santiago de Compostela.

10. This is a sign welcoming us to the modern part of Santiago de Compostela.

11. This is a street in Santiago de Compostela with one of the spires of the cathedral in the distance.

12. This is the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela

13. These are the individuals with whom I had the privilege of walking into Santiago de Compostela standing in front of the Cathedral. From left to right are Philipp, Denise, Astrid, Luca, Andrea, me, and Julia. Philipp, Astrid, and Julia are part of The Fellowship--the individuals I met on my first day of walking. They were a gift and a blessing to me on my Camino.

14. These are the individuals with whom I had the privilege of walking into Santiago de Compostela standing in front of the Cathedral. From left to right are Philipp, Denise, Astrid, Luca, Andrea, me, and Julia. Philipp, Astrid, and Julia are part of The Fellowship--the individuals I met on my first day of walking. They were a gift and a blessing to me on my Camino.

15. This is Philipp, Astrid, me, and Julia in the plaza in front of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

16. This is Philipp, Astrid, me, and Julia in the plaza in front of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

17. This is me in front of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

18. This is the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

19. This is the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

20. This is me in front of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela after a shower.

21. This is the Hostal de los Reyes Católicas next to the Cathedral. It was originally a hostel, infirmary, and orphanage but has been converted and restored into a luxury hotel. I booked four nights here for when I return from Finisterre.

22. This is my Compostela--a certificate I received from the Pilgrim's Office for walking a required distance on the Camino. My pilgrim passport was proof of my pilgrimage.

23. This is a certificate I received from the Pilgrim's Office. It shows the distance on the trail from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.