Day 13 of my Camino experience was the shortest walk of the journey and the wettest. Apart from one short early morning shower, it was the only real rainy day of the journey. With only 14 km to walk, there was no point setting off too early. After leaving the Albergue Teo at 8:30 am we set off in light rain wearing our rain jackets. Despite the rain, it was not cold.
After 30 minutes, we stopped at a little chapel – Santa Maria Magdalena. We went inside to leave a small donation and say a prayer. The rain had almost stopped and the temperature had climbed, we decided to take off our rain jackets. A mistake as we were to find out.
A Rainy Day In Spain
By 10 am we were walking up a hill on a busy road in Milladoiro about 6 km before Santiago. The rain had started again and was getting heavier. We could see a cafe near the top of the hill so we kept going.
By the time we got to the Taperia O Camino, we were soaked. The cafe was full of wet pilgrims steaming up the windows. With a longer walk ahead, we would have used the washrooms to change and put on dry shirts. However with only an hour to go, we had a croissant and a coffee and pressed on. We were so wet it seemed pointless to get our rain jackets out of our packs.
We apologized to the owner for all the water we had dripped on his floor. Luckily, he was not concerned, after we paid our bill, he gave us an apple each to sustain us for the rest of our journey. He seemed genuinely happy to see his cafe full of pilgrims – no matter how wet.
From there it was an easy walk through increasingly busy streets. Until the confusing spectacle of adjacent route markers pointing in opposite directions. Referring to the guide book, we took the scenic route through a park and then through the university campus. It promised a better walk than the main route alongside busy roads.
Next, we walked on sidewalks through a newer part of the city, a mix of apartment buildings, older houses, shops and commercial office buildings. It was still raining so we did not linger. Soon, we were in the older part of Santiago, we could see the spires of the cathedral in the distance. Narrow streets, archways and plazas.
Arrival
Finally, at 11:55, we were in the great square – Praza do Obradoiro among hundreds of wet pilgrims. Pilgrims were sitting or lying in the puddles between the ancient paving stones. The air charged with emotion, everyone oblivious to the rain and wet clothes. I had only been on the road for 2 weeks, many had been walking for much longer, some even months.
I did not burst into tears as so many around me were doing. I did find it a deeply moving experience to be standing among hundreds of fellow pilgrims. The realisation that pilgrims had been arriving in that square, standing on that same spot for almost a thousand years was incredibly humbling. I was grateful that I had been fortunate to share an experience that few can. And grateful that although several years past “retirement” age I was still healthy and fit enough to have done it.
The End Of The Camino Experience
The Camino experience was so rich that I wanted to turn around and walk all the way back again. As with all great adventures, there has to be an ending. Accomplishing what I had set out to do gave me a huge sense of achievement. But it also felt like an anticlimax.
After taking a photo, we walked to the Pilgrims office a short distance away to find that it was already closed. More than 1000 pilgrims a day were arriving and the office staff- augmented by many volunteers could not cope with the huge numbers. The office would stop accepting new arrivals at about 12 pm each day. We were told that the office would open at 8 the next morning and to get in the queue by 7 to be sure to get processed the same day.
The manager at Albergue Teo had recommended an Albergue a few kilometres away from the Cathedral. While we were contemplating whether to go there or look for a closer alternative, we met up with Bas and Muna, two pilgrims we had met before. They had booked at a private hostel a few hundred metres away. We decided to check that one out first.
The hostel was part of a Hotel Linares, as it was a private not municipal hostel, I could book in for my remaining two nights.
We had walked 14.39 km on the route and several more exploring in Santiago. Our time walking on the road was 3 hours 19 minutes. I had spent 53 euros which included two night’s accommodation. Not bad for Santiago.
I spent the next day and 2 nights in Santiago. There is more to tell you about my Camino experience, I will leave that for the next post.
