Lavacolla to Santiago de Compostela

Our plan was to get up an hour earlier than normal like we did for the two back to back 28 kilometer days. I was up at 5 AM and saw that it was pouring down rain outside. I went ahead and did my usual 30 minute morning routine and just as I had finished shaving, lightening struck nearby and for some reason we lost all water pressure. I decided to just let Savanna sleep for another hour and hoped the problem would be resolved by that time. An hour came and went and I woke Savanna up and luckily the water came back on and we were back in business. You just have to be flexible and adapt to the conditions when traveling in foreign lands. 

We grabbed some breakfast and set off for Santiago. 

This was the final 10 kilometers to the ending point of all of the pilgrim paths so we had a lot of company today. 

Walking into Santiago is like walking into any major city in the world. Lots of suburban sprawl and busy roads. 

The first historical thing we saw was this monument. We couldn’t figure out who the guys were that were shown on the sides. Maybe they were cardinals of the cathedral or maybe they were saints. My favorite was the guy holding up the cutout of the chickens. 

As we made our way deeper into the historical center of the city, the buildings got a lot older and in my opinion much more pleasing to the eye. Then we got our first glimpse of the cathedral in the distance. 

We wound our way through the narrow streets and alleys toward where we sighted the cathedral. On the way we passed this beautiful church. It was not the cathedral but that did not make it any less picture worthy.  

We also passed this statue of Alphonso II. He was the king that supposedly discovered the tomb of St. James at the town of Compostela which is now Santiago de Compostela. 

Finally we arrived at the main plaza in front of the Cathedral. This was the official ending point of our 500 mile pilgrimage that started in St. Jean Pied de Port, France. It was a very cloudy day and rain clouds were all around. I took this picture of the cathedral but due to the weather and things to do, better pictures will have to wait until tomorrow.  

We found out where the Pilgrims office was and walked to it to check in. It was filled with pilgrims that had come in today so we stood in line and waited our turn. We passed the time chatting with other pilgrims and said hello to some familiar faces we had seen on our walk.

Soon it was our turn to walk up to our designated counter. We showed our pilgrims credentials and answered several questions. The officials congratulated us and presented us with two documents. One was the official Compostela which is a certificate showing that you had completed the pilgrimage. It is in Latin and has our name on it and the date we completed our pilgrimage.

The second is the Certificate of Distance with our name, total miles walked and the date. 

We had planned on attending the Pilgrims Mass in the Cathedral at noon but by the time we had finished at the Pilgrim’s Office it was too late so we decided to go to the one tomorrow. It has been a big day and we were both getting tired so we found our hotel and checked in. It is time for a shower and to get a bit of rest. It will take a bit of time for things to sink in and have time to reflect. 

Tomorrow we will attend the Pilgrim's Mass, do some exploring and meet friends that are finishing their walk then. Until then we will call it a day and wish you a Buen Camino!