Day 30 - AM - A Calle to Santiago

The Koreans' alarm went off at 6 am and with 5 of them packing, I won't be going back to bed. The restaurant here opens at 7 am so its a good idea to get up as well, have breakfast, pack up and leave too. There will be rain around 9am which is about half an hour to an hour before we'd likely reach O Pedrouzo and find shelter and another meal. We will get into Santiago in the afternoon.

Our albergue offered a very basic breakfast for 4 euros consisting of toast, butter, jam, coffee, and orange juice. Me and Toby partook while Dan and Dunyao will wait 2.5 hours to have breakfast in the next open town.

Yesterday was challenging with many ups and downs and it looks like today's route profile will be the same. I'm happy to get some food in me before starting the day and may have 2nd breakfast in a few hours :)

I left before Tobias and promptly got lost lol. I was lucky that as I turned back, Tobias and another pilgrim were coming towards me and we made the right turn at the same time. I just followed them with their bright headlamps until it grew light.

We caught up to the Koreans at Cafe Mira in O Pedrouzo around 10 am. Dan and Dunyao got lost twice so the Koreans must've gotten lost 4 times if they left 45 minutes before us lol. The rain started early and kept up much of the day so I was glad I had my umbrella.

I think Toby and I wanted to see if we really were faster than the South Koreans or not. We left the cafe at almost the same time and then Tobias just took off. I rushed to follow him because he always helps me set the pace. We passed most Koreans easily but there was one guy that was like full out running. Legend has it he is still running lol. We can't tell if he made it into Santiago before us or if he dipped into a cafe at some point because we never saw him again and we took no breaks for 4 hours until we arrived in Santiago. Trying to overtake him made the day go faster lol.

Me and Toby arrived first from our group and got some photos at the cathedral and then some ramen and dessert at an upscale food court. Dan and Dunyao met us after and joined for some food. They kept their meal light because they want to have a good dinner tonight. We all headed back to the cathedral for group photos before it got dark. I went to the albergue first while the rest of them went to get their certificates of completion (compostela). I already have one so didn't feel the need to get a second one.

We all got a private rooms with private bathrooms tonight in the same albergue.

Tomorrow Dan and Dunyao will take a bus to Muxia and plan to hike to Finisterre and then bus back to Santiago. I think Tobias plans to take a rest day in Santiago before hiking to Finisterre and then Muxia. Tonight will likely be our farewell dinner.

Note to self: I will need to pick up my stuff from the Santiago post office before heading to the bus station to catch a bus to the airport.Read more