Since I had such a short distance to walk today, I had visions of sleeping in late until 8:00, enjoying a leisurely breakfast, and sauntering into Santiago in the afternoon, after stopping at a cafe or two en route. But, as usual, I was awake before 6:00, feeling well rested, and eager to get into my hiking sandals and start walking.
That is why I arrived in Santiago before 10:30. But I didn’t go straight away to the Cathedral like I usually do. Instead, I took a detour down a side street to a bakery my friends and I had discovered on our last visit. It seems the bakery is quite popular because I stepped into a queue of ten people and spent my time in line praying that there would still be one cream-filled chocolate eclair left when I reached the counter. And as Santiago is the city of miracles, there was one left when it was my turn, so I bought it, while surreptitiously looking back down the line to see if anyone looked disappointed. No one looked at me in anger, so I was able to enjoy my pastry guilt free.
The walking today was lovely, with several sections of quiet forest paths. It was overcast and, although rain is in the forecast, I managed to beat it to Santiago. In fact, just as I was entering the final street leading into the Cathedral, my cream-filled pastry in hand, the sun broke through the clouds for the very first time on my Camino Ingles adventure.
Hallelujah!
I ate my pastry in the Cathedral courtyard, enjoying the feel of the sun’s rays on my skin, watching the masses of tourists receive information from their guides, and smiling at the pilgrims celebrating the end of their journey. Like me, most of the people looked confused as to how to properly put on sunglasses, as if we had all forgotten how to do it.
The city is very busy today, although I’m not sure why. It seems that quite a few pilgrims are finishing on the same day. The albergue I usually go to was fully booked before noon, and the place in which I eventually found a bed, the Roots Boots Hostel, began turning people away at 1:00 pm. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to get an albergue bed in the middle of summer when most people do their pilgrimages.
This is the end of the Camino Ingles for me. The English guidebook, the Galician stone way markers, and the tourist office all provide differing distances for this Camino, but I would say I’ve walked about 117 kilometers, give or take a couple.
The Camino Ingles isn’t the most exciting Camino with regard to stunning views and interesting history, but I still found it quite satisfying. The route is well marked, at least until you enter Santiago, where it seems the route-marking crew decided to go for coffee. But it’s easy to find the Cathedral from anywhere in the city. Myself, I just follow other pilgrims who are holding their phones out in front of them, reading their Camino maps.
I’ll relax for the rest of today, maybe take in a museum or wander around town, and then head to Leon by bus in the morning to begin a new Camino. The Camino San Salvador.
