Day 36 - 28 May - O’Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela

As The Proclaimers famously sang:

And I would walk 500 miles                                

But I’m not sure I’d walk 500 more                      

It’s a bloody long way and my boots are knacked 

And the little pinky on my left foot is quite sore

Regular readers of this blog will, by now, be able to anticipate the next sentence. Alarm at six, on the road at half six, stopped for coffee yada yada. Sooooo predictable. Such is life on the road.

From O’Pedrouzo we had an initial four miles of (yada, yada) lovely woodland paths and countryside and a long, long uphill until we reached the perimeter of Santiago airport. Previously the walk past Burgos airport was tediously boring but apart from hearing a couple of planes, we never saw a thing of the airport and skirted around it via, initially, more woodland paths which eventually morphed into leafy villages until we peaked at Monte del Gozo from where we got our first view of the cathedral spires, still three miles away. Even the walk through the city outskirts was pleasant enough as we neared the historic part of the city housing the cathedral. The official Camino route brings you around the side of the cathedral, through an archway where you are bagpiped through and then into the huge square in front of the cathedral main entrance.

We had made it. Half past eleven in the morning. It was already very hot but as easy a twelve miles as we have had over the last five weeks. Our friend Michael from Switzerland was there to meet us and then we bumped into Lars and Inger - the three people with whom we have become closest over the course of our Camino. 

Then it was off to the Pilgrim’s office to collect our Compostelas, something of a two hour fanny about but we spent most of the waiting time sat in the shaded garden. To be honest it was nice to spend time doing nothing in the knowledge that we didn’t have any more miles in front of us, just a modest few hundred yards to our hotel where we have the next two nights booked. And it is lovely.

Next stop Zara. Yes, one of us was in need of some retail therapy. One of us waited in a nearby bar. 

We returned to the hotel via another bar and a tortilla bocadillo and enjoyed a rest before venturing out for the evening. We had an hour to kill before meeting up with Michael and a Michelin starred restaurant so we sat outside a bar close to our hotel where Peggy (USA) joined us for a drink. 

The fayre at our Michelin treat Casa Marcelo was described as “fusion cuisine in a moody setting” which sounds both pretentious and expensive but it proved to be a lovely way to end our Camino. In all likelihood we may never see Michael again but we have enjoyed his friendship immensely.

Tomorrow, we hope to meet up with other Camino friends who should be arriving in Santiago during the day but our Camino is over. We have loved it. Until the next one. Buen Camino!