Our Journeys End ~ Lavacolla to Santiago

The last leg of our Camino ended with a short 10k (6.27mile) walk into Santiago. It’s quite fitting that our last day on the Camino was shrouded in fog and rain just like it began 32 days prior. 💧We were a mix of emotions as we entered the large town square in front of the Cathedral with a bagpipe playing as we passed by.

Everyday, early Spring through late Fall, hundreds if not thousands of pilgrims end their journeys in the Cathedral square, it’s a very special place to be. As of May 23rd 2024, 120,399 pilgrims received their compostela so far this year. We went back to the Cathedral square many times after our initial arrival to greet friends and celebrate with other pilgrims finishing their own Camino.

As you walk the Camino you carry with you a Pilgrims Passport (Credential). The pilgrim passport is an essential document for any Camino pilgrim. It is used to collect stamps (sellos) from hostels, hotels, churches, bars and cafes and more along the way.

In order to access pilgrim accommodation and to obtain your Compostela when you reach Santiago, you will need Pilgrim Credentials. This document will be asked for at pilgrim accommodation along the route and it serves as proof of your pilgrimage.

After taking pictures & celebrating with our fellow pilgrims, we visited the pilgrim office to show our filled passports and claim our official Camino Compostelas!

In Santiago we each received 2 different Compostelas, one stating that we completed the last 100k of the Camino and another which lists the town that we stated from with the total kilometers that we walked. There are many different Camino routes through Spain of varying distances.

Our first night in Santiago we treated ourselves to a small 4th floor apartment with a beautiful view of the cathedral.Read more