Day 44: A Calle - Santiago de Compostel

Mileage: 21 miles !!
Elevation gain: 1,940 feet
Elevation loss: 2,247 feet
Weather: more of the glorious same - 50s-80s
Total mileage: 529.25 miles
2025 mileage: 135.75 miles

It was a long day but a great one. We had breakfast and hit the road by 8:00 because we had a lot of miles to cover. More of the same kind of scenery - eucalyptus and oak forests, corn farms, cows, etc. - but it doesn’t get old!

I had really expected to be just surrounded by pilgrims walking into Santiago but it was a very quiet day. We wondered at one point in the afternoon if we were even on the right road! Starting mid guidebook stage is the way to go, although it did make for the long day.

It was bittersweet to be on this final leg of this pilgrimage. So happy and proud to be finishing but also wanting it not to be over. Glad to have the walk to the coast left still!

I was surprised to feel so emotional when we rounded the corner and faced the cathedral. Of course I had seen it two years ago when I had to take a bus there while sick, but this was (of course) a very different experience. It helped that we walked into the cathedral plaza by a route I hadn’t taken before.

We took our pictures and made our way to our tiny hotel room, where I realized that I’d developed a blister on my right foot. Could be worse! We saw so many pilgrims hobbling and limping. I feel very lucky to be in relatively good condition at this point. Bed bug bites continue to improve.Read more