We woke up excited to walk the remaining 11 k to Santiago. Thankfully, the rain held off for much of the morning. There was a different feeling about the walk today – excitement that we were almost at the end of our trek mixed with a little sadness that our adventure was ending. We walked for a while with a group from Israel who were there walking at their 50th reunion of officers training academy. They walked the last 100 k on the Camino Frances as many people did. It is necessary to walk at least 100K is to get a Compostela. We also walked with a young man from Malasia who was also walking the last 100 k.
A line of hikers heading to the finish in Santago
We made it to Santiago de Compostela just after noon. We were excited to walk under the tunnel entrance to the Plaza del Obradoiro to traditional bagpipe music. It is a festive atmosphere for all as it culminates the end of weeks of walking. It is a maginificent plaza and cathedral complex. We took the necessary pictures and found a cafe for lunch. While we were eating, we had a text from Slyvio and Eugeneo. While they made it to Santiago the day before, they returned to the cathedral for a few hours while waiting for their flight. It was nice to see them one last and final time.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela began construction in 1075 and was completed in 1211. It is quite old. It is located at the end of the Camino and the destination of pilgrims since the Early Middle Ages. It is the burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the aposcles of Jesus Chris. The crypt, below the main alter houses the relics of Saint James and two of this disiples. It is available for viethewing. The cathedreal offers pilgrm massess at least twice a day at noon and 7:30 pm. The Botafumerio, the largest inscense burner in the world is often used at pilgrim masses. It is 180 lbs and measures 5’2 in height. It is attached to a pulley mechanism in the dome of the church and is swung above the heads of the parisioners dispensing incense by 8 men in red robes. It reaches speeds of 50 mph. It is quite a site to see.
After lunch we checked into our hotel, The Santa Filomena. When I was planning our trip, I saw the Hotel Santa Filomena and made a reservation as that is my mother’s name down to the spelling. It was a nice simple hotel that is a converted convent. We then headed over to the Pilgrim’s Office. As I mentioned in a previous post, we each had a credential that we had stamped at each albergue and pension we slept at for the entire 35 days. We also received stamps at numerous churches and cafes we visited. At the pilgrims office we showed our credentials and were given a Compestela and a Distance Certificate. We had walked 828 kilometers (mostly up and down hills and mountains) over 35 days on the Camino Del Norte! We are already taking about returning. 🙂
