Continued from Sigüeiro to Santiago.

When I started my walk from Sigüeiro, it was sunny and warm, but by the time I reached Santiago, the sky was grey and it felt like it would rain at any moment. This was exactly like my arrival in Santiago last year after walking the Camino Portugués. However, I was in a completely different state of mind this time, having learned a great lesson. I had prebooked a room so I wasn’t desperately trying to find a bed for the night. This time around, I didn’t care if it poured; I was going straight to Praza do Obradoiro by the Cathedral.

I headed right for the center of Praza Obradoiro and felt a euphoric sense of joy rush over me. I made it. My second Camino. And I was so high on life! Below is a video of my arrival.

I was keeping a lookout for Nancy, who was ahead of me since the last stop at Hotel Cortes. Then, I spotted the group of Italians I’d met in Bruma and greeted them as they arrived, singing and dancing to the center of the plaza. Bravo Italia!  We said ciao, congratulations, and gave each other high fives.

A trio of bikers took a photo of me holding my backpack high.  I took their photo as well.

Arriving in Santiago is truly a reason to celebrate, and most pilgrims want to capture that memory. I settled down under the archways of the gallery across from the cathedral and enjoyed people watching.

 

It wasn’t skirt weather any longer, so I put on my yoga pants and jacket. Remember that liter of red wine I bought from the food truck in Bruma? Well, I still had some left and transferred it to a small water bottle. It tasted delicious and warmed me up while I waited for Nancy.

Nancy finally arrived, and I gave her a big congrats and hug. It turns out, she stopped for tea, once she arrived in Santiago! And I thought she was way ahead of me. LOL! I guess  her trail name, Pokeyhontas, is appropriate.  I was happy to see her and celebrate, as we had enjoyed each other’s company since we met on the first day.

Pilgrims may arrive in Santiago at their own pace—with friends or solo, singing and dancing like the Italians, or silently, with tears of gratitude. In the end, it is each person’s own Camino, and the choice is theirs to make. I loved this Camino Inglés and would like to do it again someday.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

Ernest Hemingway

You will find a screenshot of each day’s tracked walk at the top of my daily posts, and below you will find all seven.  In total, I walked 81 miles (130 km) over seven days.

Click on the images to see more detail.

  

  

   

You can also see my hike recordings on my AllTrails App member website: https://www.alltrails.com/members/the-camino-provides/recordings

Up next, Albergue Seminario Menor.

All of my stages are linked from this page: Camino Inglés 2017.  There are more photos of my Camino Inglés on a Facebook album and Instagram.