Camino Frances - Day 33 - September 28th. 2013: O Pedrouzo (Arca) to Santiago (30th. day walking)
Click here for Google Map and my starting point today
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| Leaving Arca in the rain |
Woke early this morning and had to take more tabs for my headache and stomach. I waited about an hour to make sure my gut had settled and my headache at least eased up a bit.
Another day of belting rain and poncho time. The significant increase in pilgrim numbers was now very apparent from the moment I started out from Arca. I was back to very slow walking this morning because my legs were still very weak. I was determined to make it to Santiago today. I thought about Ger and Ed and wondered if they had managed to reach Santiago yesterday as we had discussed that night in Palas de Rei.
Along the way as I felt really tired I watched mini buses pull up, let people out for a walk only to board again a few kilometres up the road. I was so tempted to hitch a lift. I saw phone numbers for taxi services at the side of the road and for a fleeting moment though that would be so nice. Why, I thought, after coming this far would I abandon my mission, I moved along.
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| Pilgrims converging on Santiago |
I stopped after about 10Klms and ordered a cheese and tomato omelet. I only ate a small piece and left. I just had no appetite today.
Approaching Santiago:
I would love to have finished the journey by steaming ahead into the city but I was happy now as I passed the large stone carving on the pathway indicating that Santiago was up ahead. Passing this marker gave me a new burst of energy and I was able to pick up my pace. I was excited at the prospect of seeing Santiago for the first time.
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| Approaching Santiago at last : ) |
Seeing Santiago at last:
Arriving at Monte del Gozo and looking to my left, I first caught sight of the very large monument erected to commemorate the visit of Pope John Paul II. I then saw the Albergue Monte do Gozo, probably one of the largest I had seen to date. Now looking ahead I stopped as I saw Santiago for the first time at the foot of the mountain. I looked across the city from this elevated position to try and pick out the spires of the Cathedral but not knowing which direction to focus on and due to the poor weather conditions I gave up and moved along. I would see it soon enough.
The hike to the city and then through the streets seemed to take forever. I would make my way to the Cathedral to finish the journey and then decide what to do from there.
The Cathedal and Compostela:
At last, here I was, in the Praza Obradoiro standing in front of the Cathedral and for the first time since starting this journey I felt the absence of a friend to share this moment with. I asked a stranger to take a photo of me standing in my poncho, in the pouring rain in front of this great Cathedral. I stood there taking everything in, watching other lone travellers, couples and even families arrive into the square. Watching the expressions on their faces the relief, and elation, at reaching their destination. I would go into the Cathedral as soon as I secured my Compostela in Oficina de Pelegrino.
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| Belting rain but here at last : ) |
Oficina de Pelegrino:
I had received a message from Ger alerting me to massive queues at the Oficina de Pelegrino so I decided I should make my way there as soon as possible. I followed the signs and found it without any difficulty. I was pleasantly surprised to find a short queue in front of the building. The queue went through the arch outside the building and up the stairs but at least I would not be standing in the downpour and water gushing from gutters all along the narrow street.
The queue moved very fast and as I was standing on the stairs I spotted a broad smiling Jim from Northern Ireland coming down with his Compostela. I was delighted to see that he had made a full recovery since I had last seen hm. We parted but he returned minutes later and gave me a cylindrical case to store my Compostela and protect it from the rain and from being creased in my backpack. How thoughtful : )
There were a couple of ladies from the USA at the top of the stairs managing the queue and directing people to different counters. They had come to Santiago a few weeks previously to offer their services. They were very good humoured and obliged everyone by taking photos holding their Compostela.
My turn came and I approached the counter. I had been told that I would be asked a lot of questions and that if my motivation for doing the Camino was not a religious one I would be given a different compostela, not the full one in Latin. I had been thinking about this and asking myself would I be prepared to lie about myself and my belief system just to get the full compostela and I had decided I could only be truthful.
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| Compostela dedicated to Tom : ) |
There were no questions about the religious significance for me. I explained about walking it in memory of my brother Tom who died in April. The girl filled out the form for me, probably thinking it would be the quickest method and taking into account the queue outside. She then asked me if I wanted to dedicate it to my brother. I had also been told earlier that if I had not requested this at the start of the pilgrimage I could not have it done at the end. This made my day. Have a look at the compostela on the left dedicated to my brother Tom : )
Mass in the Cathedral:
I entered the Cathedral, the Pilgrim mass had just begun. The church was packed to capacity with as many people standing as sitting. Towards the end of the mass I observed the, now famous, swinging of the giant incense burner. I have video of this and will load it on Flickr once I edit it down to a size they will accept. I noticed many pilgrim became very emotional at this point.
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| Ger, Ed and Jack |
I think the spectacle of this giant burner swinging across the church held by half a dozen attendants triggered an awareness that the journey was over and whatever your motivation was for undertaking this pilgrimage came right to the fore of your conciseness.
Chance meeting with Ger and Ed:
I left the Cathedral and followed the guide book through the streets towards my hotel when Ger popped out of a bar/restaurant. Himself and Ed were inside having something to eat when he noticed me going by, what were the chances? : ) I joined them and had a coffee. I was great to catch up with them and hear the extraordinary story of their journey since leaving Palas de Rei. They had set off as planned, early on Thursday morning, and made good progress to their destination for the day. Unfortunately, after completing the 40+Klms they found themselves without accommodation. The circumstances they are best placed to relate to you. So, they pushed on, and on through the night arriving in Santiago, after walking a staggering (literally) 68Klms., in the early hours of the morning. They slept rough, among some of the homeless around the Cathedral square, until early morning when they went in search of breakfast and some warmth. A great achievement and a wonderful story to tell their grandchildren, some day. I said goodbye to Ed as he was heading home. I arranged to meet Ger later for a beer and dinner.
I have to thank my daughter Ciara for sourcing a great hotel for the few days I will be staying in Santiago. The Hotel Araguaney is close to everything and extremely comfortable. I sorted out my clothes, took a long soak in the bath, relaxed in the room updating my notes and catching up on texts and emails now that I had reasonably good WiFi signal. Now it felt like the walking was over but the journey to Fisterra still had to be done to complete my mission.
Heading back to meet up with Ger I bumped into Saoirse, Rachel, Christine and Santiago. I was delighted to meet them again. It's amazing how everyone sets off from St Jean Pied de Port within a few days of each other, we all walk at different speed, covering different distances each day, staying in different towns and yet we all end up in Santiago with a couple of days of each other.
I met Bob and told hm I would be joining Ger for dinner. We ordered a couple of beers and waited for him to arrive. Ger's sister and her partner also joined us and we went inside to eat. Jo and Kathy joined us, they had already eaten but stayed for drinks. Mary, sadly, had to go home due to injury. Kathy said Mary will be coming back to complete the journey soon. We had a good night. I said goodbye to Bob, he was going to start walking to Fisterra in the morning. Bob is really nice guy and I hope he achieved his goal on the Camino, I think, from observation, that he did : )
Back to the hotel for a good sleep, I hope.
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Other Links, relating to this section of the Camino, you may wish to follow
O Pedrouzo (Arca):
Images of O Pedrouzo (Arca) on the internet
Wikipedia on O Pedrouzo (Arca)
Santiago:
Images of Santiago on the internet
Wikipedia on Santiago
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Topic:
I slept reasonably well and when I did wake I found myself saturated in perspiration but able to go back to sleep without too much delay. 
I left at about 7:50am greeted by a light fall of rain. I held off on the poncho for about 20 minutes at which time the rain was beginning to bucket down. I had no choice but to cover up. The rain kept coming and getting heavier to the point that it was flowing like small streams along the pathways. 
I took to the road again keeping a steady pace but not moving at my usual speed. A couple I had seen many times over the past few weeks came alongside me and said something in Spanish. Up to this point we just offered a smile and a 'Buen Camino' to each other. Now they were speaking to me in Spanish. I had observed them on many occasions he was older than me. a very slight man. I'm not sure what age his partner was. I had assumed they were a couple. She looked much younger from a distance because she had a good figure and wild curly hair. Anyway they kept trying to get their message across and piece by piece I figured out what they were saying. They were asking if I was OK. They had seen me struggling yesterday and still not at full stretch today but clearly improving. I was very moved by their concern for my well being and for taking the time out to ask if I was OK and then wishing me 'Buen Camino' before taking off again. 
