Experience Camino: Part 7 – The End Of The Story

Are we there yet? That was the question I had in my head that day since the morning. The last day. Strong emotions. We were switching from being incredibly happy and excited to walk our last day to being sad and almost crying because this was coming to its end.

DAY 13

O Pedrouzo – Santiago de Compostela

19,4 km (walked 18,79 km)

4:19:55

The sky was crying with us

The weather reflected our mood. The first thing we heard when we woke up was heavy rain. We got our gear out from the backpacks and put raincoats on. It stopped raining when we were getting ready. And started again the second we took the first step out of albergue. But it didn’t last for long. 

We walked into the first open restaurant on our way and got our last pilgrims’ breakfast. There was an atmosphere of excitement in the air, everyone having breakfast there was going to reach their destination today. 

Last kilometres to go

It started to rain again and we kept walking. At that point, we didn’t care at all. It was foggy, the day was showing its brown and grey colors. We were all getting wet the same way, we were all walking in the same direction. We stopped at the stone marker stating that we had only 10 kilometers to go. 10!

We passed the airport of the town of Santiago de Compostela. Then crossed the borders of the town. There were arrows and shells everywhere, pointing to the next street, around the next corner. We stopped to have the last break. Colacao and croissant, it was a good match for a cold day. Such a nice snack to enjoy just before ending our journey.

The last steps

Walking the very last kilometers, I could feel and hear the water leaking into my shoes, my leggings were soaking wet as well. I had to put the camera under my raincoat so it wouldn’t get wet, it was hanging around my neck. It was uncomfortable but I didn’t have enough space in the backpack. I wanted to capture a couple precious moments.

As we were coming closer, we could see pilgrims going the other directions. They already reached the goal and were looking for their albergue or having something to eat. 

The exact place we needed to reach was in front of the cathedral in the middle of the town. I visited Santiago de Compostela once before. I have seen the cathedral and the streets around it, so I recognized when we were getting closer. Only a few more steps. We approached the cathedral from the side. Under this arch and then turn left…

0,00 kilometre

…and we were there. With dozens of other pilgrims, we walked to the center of the small square, stopped, turned to face the cathedral, looked up at it, and started crying. At least I did. The feeling of achievement, the happiness, all those kilometers we walked to get there. The atmosphere was unique. People were laughing, singing, jumping, celebrating. 

We did it!

We hugged. Smiled, laughing that we completed it! We managed all the challenges and pain. We enjoyed it to the fullest. It was still raining, but we didn’t care. We took pictures while we were enjoying that moment, our faces shining.

Let’s get the Compostela

After we calmed down and soaked up the moment, we needed to find the office to get our Compostela – the certificate stating that we completed this pilgrimage. (You can read more about this in my first article about Camino). We didn’t know where to go, so we started looking around to find some signs as we were used to looking for the arrows and shells for the last 13 days. 

We walked past the hotel on the left side and down the stairs and then turned right to find a long line of people waiting. Pilgrims. Yes, that’s the spot. We needed to scan the QR code and fill out the form to make the process faster. Smart.

Then they called us according to the number we got on the ticket, it was like waiting for the appointment. Well organized, and I liked it. There were small souvenirs in the office to purchase, so I grabbed a small bracelet and went to the lady who was about to issue the precious document.

We have it on the paper!

I have to prove to that you I am a pilgrim and I walked the required kilometers to get the Compostela. The pilgrim’s passport we picked up on day 0 in León was now full of stamps at that point. We collected them from all the bars, restaurants, and albergues on the way, we had to get at least 2 a day.

Compostela is free of charge. It is written in Latin, they add your name and date to it. There is one more document you can get, which costs €3. It is a Distance Certificate written in Spanish, proving how many kilometers you walked, from where, and which route. I purchased that one as well, it is a nice souvenir.

More walking? Yes, please

Managed to get our compostelas pretty fast, and we headed to our accommodation. We changed to dry clothes and shoes and went to get something to eat. I had the craziest plan for that afternoon – I booked us a free walking tour around the town. I love going on those in any places I visit, especially when I am not familiar with them or/and when they have a rich history I want to know more about. This one was great! 2 more hours of walking, but it was worth it.

After the tour, we went to check the cathedral and discover why all the pilgrims were coming here during the centuries – the tomb and remains of Apostle St. James the Great. The place is magnificent and breathtaking. 

Pilgrims family

Walking the town that day, we suddenly saw familiar faces. Our friends, the couple from Hungary! We were so happy to see them that we started crying. It was shortly after we reached the place, so we were still emotional about all of it. They cried, too. We made it! We talked a bit, shared the experiences of the last days, and said goodbye. More crying. We took a couple of pictures with them during the Camino and I know that we will never forget them. They were part of our Camino as well as we were part of theirs. And that’s for life.

We contacted the Italian couple we met on the very first day of Camino and decided to have the last dinner of Camino together. We didn’t know that this would be the biggest challenge of that day!

Too many hungry pilgrims

Santiago de Compostela is full of souvenir stores, small coffee shops, bars, and restaurants. The problem is that it is also full of people. We started walking around, looking for a place to eat. Checked some menus, walked inside the restaurant, and saw that it was full. This happened a couple of times. We met another pilgrims we know during this hunt for a table in the restaurant and they were waiting in a queue for one as well. Queues were everywhere. After at least half an hour of walking up and down the streets, we found one restaurant with tables available thanks to its location – there was only a door leading from the street to the staircase leading down to the restaurant. Not many people noticed it. Victory!

THE DAY AFTER

We woke up early, wanted to see the cathedral and the square without crowds and take nice picture. We had a little walk and then it was time to say goodbye. Time to say goodbye to this journey, which was one of the best in my life.

My friend was flying back to England, going back to work in a couple of days and I was catching the bus to Portugal. I booked a flight from Porto and had 5 more days I could spend anywhere around. I decided to go to 2 small towns on the way to Porto, stayed for a night in one of them and then continued to Porto. One of the most beautiful cities in Europe! But that story is for some other time…

More activities in Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is a town with a very interesting history and beautiful places to see, therefore there are many thematic tours available. You can even visit the rooftop of the cathedral! And also go for a day trip to Finisterre, which I mention in part 3 of the Experience Camino series. Check that out below!

Something extra for today

Not everyone finishes Camino

Every pilgrim’s goal is to come to Santiago de Compostela. To take that picture in front of the cathedral, laugh, cry, or hold the backpack above your hand as my friend did when we went there. Not everyone is that lucky to achieve it. Reasons? So many of them…

• Family issues or emergency: One of the pilgrims we met didn’t reach the end, because one of his parents died while he was walking Camino. Of course, he went to the nearest airport and flew home.
• Weather: Wildfires are becoming more frequent in many parts of the world. Floods or hurricanes can come, too. It is important to be aware of these things and listen to the recommendations of locals. People running albergues and restaurants in the area can give you advice.
• Health: Injury or illness. We are not made of steel. It can happen while you are in your hometown or while walking Camino. You can catch flu, diarrhea, food poisoning, or break a bone. Don’t push it too hard. Take a break, a few hours, or even a day or two if needed. Rest, maybe skip a day and ride to the next destination instead of walking it. Better than canceling Camino completely.
• Protests or wars, attacks: Safety first. If you know, that protests are getting ready in some of the areas you plan to walk through, change the route. Change the plans. Why would you risk it?
• Friend canceling Camino: It is good to agree on this beforehand. If you walk with another person or with the group, you should discuss what if… What if they will encounter the situation, that they will need to leave, or they will get sick? The solution is different case by case. If your friend is fighting for life after some catastrophic fall, you don’t leave her in the hospital and keep walking. But if they don’t feel well and you do, it should be okay to keep walking and meet later. We made this deal and I walked one day by myself. My friend got extra rest which helped her enormously. It was a good solution.
• Any other reasons or situations that happened to you or someone you know? Leave a comment to share with other people.

I hope you enjoyed my stories about Camino. I will be happy to read any comments or feedback! Let me know if you have any questions or any advice. Buen Camino!

Surprise! I am getting ready for one special article about Camino how to pack and some dos and don’ts. It will be out in a week! Until then, I keep posting more pictures and videos to my Instagram.

If you haven’t read the whole story yet, you can come back to part 1 where it all started.