Day 15 Santiago de Compostela

I don't know what it is with Italians, but the ones in our dormitory got up just after 0400... and put the lights on! It actually took them over two hours of packing bags, coming in and out of the room, having breakfast, and talking to each other before they finally left.

As everyone else was now wide awake, they all just got up and left.

We also got up but waited as we were aiming to get the 0845 bus to Santiago.

We had gone out last night for dinner dnd discovered thst every café, bar, and shop was closed until today. I had forgotten how ghost-town-like Spanish towns are on a Sunday.

One of the things that you lear on the camino is to make the best of what you have without whining about it. So, for dinner, we had a Belvita soft bake biscuit - red berries, my favourite. Followed by a small pot of custard and a banana. A Swiss lady, unaware of our predicament, also gave us a small handful of cherries. Spanish cherries are the best in the world, as big as golf balls and sweet and juicy.

It was all we had, and we made the best of it, and it was good.

Still, we were delighted to discover that the hospitalera had left a basket of mini quassants for our breakfast. I found some butter and peach jam in the fridge, and we ate some with our tea and coffee. The coffee was instant and decaf, but I'm still alive.

We walked the 1.5km up to THE bus stop, and some of the young women that had met my friend also arrived, including the girl with the burns.

The 0845 bus was 30 min late, and the 0903 one arrived at the same time. Thirty minutes later, we were in Santiago. The bus and train station were together so to save time and walking we decided to get our train tickets to Madrid. But first... since every train station has a café we went for a second breakfast like true Hobbits.

Once we had the tickets, thanks to the help of a very efficient, friendly, and English-speaking Renfe staff member, we set off for the cathedral, just 1.3km away.

It is always a very emotional moment arriving in the Cathedral square at the end of your camino, and it is difficult to put into words...so I won't try.

We met several people we had encountered along the way, and there were joyful reunions happening all around us.

For some people, the arrival at the Cathedral is an ending, and for others, it is a new beginning.

As you might expect, Tolkien put it best...

"The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I can not say."Read more