Freezing

The weather is so cold 🥶 It feels like 2C with temps of 8C. I did not pack for these temperatures. I'm spending a lot of time under the duvets in my hotel as I'm not inclined to go out in this cold.

I do make my way out to finish my pilgrimage. One of the things you do at the end of the walk is visit the cathedral and embrace the apostle, St James. There is a long queue to 1st get in the cathedral and then an even longer queue to do the embrace. Pilgrims are arriving in the hundreds over the Easter period. Good Friday had over 3000 and today ended up being close to 3000 again so there are a lot of people wanting to do the embrace. Maybe even dome Spanish people who also just came to Santiago de Compestela for Easter celebrations as well. Once we're all cleaned up and in regular clothes it's hard to tell who's done the walk. Thankfully I don't have any real schedule for the day so I'm happy to queue.

There are signs that you should touch your face to the statue, probably from the pandemic times, and there is no photography. There is also a security guard making sure people just do the embrace quickly and move on. I do it and my face tingles. I should have been more careful with the embrace but I'm not tall enough for my face to be over the shoulder.

I reward myself with a churros and chocolate sauce after I complete my mission. It's decadent! So rich, I can't finish the sauce. I take some pictures whilst it's not raining. The old town is beautiful with cobblestone streets. There are lots of touristy shops and restaurants but it's still cute.Read more