The impressive Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela.
Here is the account of the exciting last day of the Camino, our walk into Santiago!
The MAP
Day 20: Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Arco do Pino to Santiago de Compostela. 21.3 km / 5 hours
The sound of plastic bags echoing across the concrete floor of the gym stirred me from my sleep. I tried to ignore it, rolling onto my side. But soon the slab of hard asphalt made my body numb, closer to being stabbed by a really blunt knife, so I jostled to the other side. In the dark I fished for my cell phone. 4:30 am. You've got to be kidding me, I thought. By 5:30 everyone was up, and we slowly gathered our belongings for the last time on the road. In the predawn darkness we shared prepackaged pastries and sugary boxed juice, then headed out. The sun would not rise for another hour, a low mist giving the situation a cinematic feeling of a horror film. Put it this way: I was glad to be with friends.
At the edge of town we caught up to a pair of Italians with headlamps, and they acted as our guides while we trudged through the blackness. Around us the forest was alive with sounds. All we needed was a shaky video camera and we could have been filming Blair Witch. But soon enough, the earth began to warm, and the trail let up a large hill adjacent to the Santiago Airport. On one hand it felt like just another morning on the Camino, yet the anticipation on our faces and in our conversations told otherwise.
Soon buildings and highways became more frequent, and by 9am we had reached Monte de Gozo. This small settlement is where most pilgrims get their first glimpse of Santiago and the towers of the Cathedral, and the name “gozo” itself in Spanish means highest pleasure. I couldn’t believe a mere 5km or one hour remained on our journey. We stopped for café con leche and toast, trying to savor the moment. The sun was slowly breaking through, but unfortunately there would be no highest pleasure for us as a persistent fog blocked the view.
We bounced down a large hill and crossed a superhighway to reach the city limits. Santiago (pop. 90,188) was bigger than I expected, with shops and offices crowding the main road. We followed the yellow arrows down the applicably named Avenida Camino Frances, passing by the Palacio de Congressos and Avda. De Lugo. I walked next to Christie, and slowly the realization that we had Done It began to hit us. We shared about our separate journeys and discussed the positive lessons we had learned along the way. It was exactly as I had hoped would happpen, and it made my heart glow with joy. The number of the pilgrims at this point swelled, and everyone had the same stupid grin on their faces as if we all had chipped in to buy a winning lottery ticket.
At 10:45 we reached the edge of the old city at the Porta De Camino. In my head I tried to envision the thousands of pilgrims through the ages that had come before. I wonder how many had worn Nikes? Until 1835 this point was one of seven gates into the city, but to us it pointed out the true “home stretch” of our journey. At this point it really felt as if we had come to the finish line, and a feeling in my stomach could only be described as butterflies (but in formation). We walked down the narrow cobblestone street, passing the massive columns of the church Santa Maria do Camino – aptly named like everything in this city after the Camino. A sense of excitement hung in the air. People buzzed around us and it seemed every other shop offered Camino memorabilia.
The Benedictine Monastery on one side...
... and our first view of the Cathedral on the other! We were so excited!
After a few minutes the street opened out into a large plaza, the Praza de Immaculada, which was closed off on the right by the massive Benedictine monastery of San Martin Pinario. It had been founded in the 9th century after the discovery of James’ tomb, and the current 16th century building looked more like a parliament building than a monastery. We gazed at it in wonderment, then slowly cocked our heads to the left to see the north façade of the Cathedral. It soared into the heavens, and at first glance, appeared ancient. Was this really it? Were we there? In the morning haze the Baroque towers seemed to have an Eastern quality, as if the dark thousand year old concrete belonged in India or Southeast Asia. It reminded me of the palace in the movie Mortal Combat.
A surge of happiness washed over me, and we bounced the final 100 meters under an archway and into the most satisfying square in all of Europe, the Praza do Obradoiro. Hundreds of pilgrims, along with many tourists, filled the square. When we reached the final “shell” of the journey, a conch carved into the ground on the center of the square, we high-fived and hugged each other. Yes, we had done it. Above us the massive west Façade of the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela posed as the finish line. The church itself was glorious – one I instantly deemed worthy of such a pilgrimage. I felt at that moment the same exact way as when you win a championship. I wanted to grab a huge bottle of champagne and spray it everywhere, then put on a triple XL t-shirt and hat plastered with logos, maybe do an interview with Bob Costas. Instead we just collapsed to the ground, laying down in contentment to stare at the cathedral and soak in the moment. It HAD been a significant journey!
We made it!
When we had rested and relaxed long enough, we grabbed our belongings and entered the church. We attended the daily pilgrims mass at noon – which happens every day during the peak season – but found it difficult to enjoy as the church was overflowing with people and despite its large size had no available seats. It was difficult to follow as it was both Catholic and in Spanish (where were you when we needed you, George!), but the message was clear to all in attendance. Afterwards we found a small private chapel tucked into a small corner of the Cathedral that was off limits to tourists but open to pilgrims, and here we took the time to say a pray of thanks in silence and reflect on the journey – as it really had been about the trip and not this destination. We then saw the crypt below the alter where the bones of the Saint are supposedly kept in a silver chest, then climbed the steps above the alter to the Gold and Jewel encrusted statue of St. James. It is said that only when this statue of the apostle is embraced is the pilgrim journey officially at an end, and we took the obligatory photos to end our journey. Later in the evening we would visit the Pilgrims Office a few blocks away to collect ourCompostela, the certificate confirming our completion.
The official finish line: the statue of St. James.
The St. James statue overlooking daily pilgrim's mass, packed with not-so-sweet smelling pilgrims.
Getting our compostelas in the office. What a feeling!
A close-up of my certificate. The write your name in Latin, so it was "Iasonum Johnson" who finished the Camino! It is also great being married to "Christinum."
Having wrapped up the checklist of obligations for Santiago, we said goodbye to our friends for the moment and made our way across town to our personal reward for the journey – a night at the 5-star Compostela Hotel. I had walked across Spain, and now I was ready to return to the real world! In a sparkling clean bathroom lined with marble and hardwood I took the best shower of my life, washing away 3 weeks of the road. We napped. We chilled – it was glorious. We then went shopping for some new clothes, as the last thing we wanted to do was put on the stained shirts we’d been wearing for the past weeks.
Big Group Photo! From left to right France, Spain, Belorussia, Austria, USA, Canada, and Germany.
At night it was time to celebrate, and we met all of our Camino friends in the historic center. The international nature of our crew made us look like a meeting of the United Nations – our final group picture contained someone from Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belorussia, United States, and Canada! The Spanish among us led the fiesta, which involved tapas and bar hopping down Rue Franco in the heart of the old town. We laughed, shared stories, drank cheap drinks, ate expensive finger foods, and danced in the streets with our new friends. At 2am, we all returned to the Cathedral square for one final look. The towers were lit up brightly in the night sky. As I stared up at them, and looked at my new friends, one thought came to mind: it had been worth it.
Christie with our Austrian friends Georg and Steph. Georg finished the Camino on a unicycle!
Busy Rue Franco packed with restaurants and tourists.
Aleh loves his pork!
Tapas = small and expensive
The energy in the streets was so crazy... no one knows how to fiesta better than the Spanish.
Some celebrate by taking their own form of communion.
At 2am we came across a jam session of a Flamenco Band. They were awesome. Only in Spain!
Final Group photo...
... and the best ending to the journey!
FINAL SCORECARD
Days Walked: 20
Total Distance Walked: 663 kilometers
Hours on the Trail: 159
Distance to Santiago: ZERO!!!!
Final Thought: There are many pilgrims that do the Camino in stages, such as going from St. Jean to Burgos or from Burgos to Leon. While each person’s journey is their own, I could not imagine doing the Camino without ending in Santiago at this ultimate goal. It really is that cool. Not only is the city beautiful and the sense of accomplishment amazing, but ending in Santiago provides a true sense of closure to the experience. So if you have a choice – finish at the end!
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