My Journey to Santiago de Compostela Part XXXII

This is a stage that they recommend doing in two days.  But Nadine and I decided to do it in one day and enter Santiago de Compostela on a Sunday!  So we walked for nine hours and made it on time for a shower then be at the cathedral on time for the evening mass, not that we are practicing Catholics but it is the right thing to do when you just walked almost 800 kilometers on Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

We left Arzua at dawn and headed west to our “almost final” destination.  The trail to O Pedrouzo was mostly flat with eventual small climbs up and down, with eucalyptus and oak trees adorning the way.  As before, we crossed many villages on the way and the most exciting moment was of course when we started go down from Monte de Gozo from where we could see the towers of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela!

WE ARRIVED IN SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA!!!!!!!!!

On Sunday October 2, 2022 at 5:13 pm, we made our official entry into Santiago de Compostela.

After checking in at the hotel, showering and changing, we went to the Cathedral to visit and attend the mass.  It was a disappointment because they did not perform the swinging of the “Botafumeiro” (Incense Burner).  The church was packed with pilgrims and tourists and we had to attend standing.  Looking at all the gold on the altars and decorations, I wondered how many poor Indians in Peru and elsewhere in South America had been slavered and died to extract the precious metal so Conquistadores could bring it to Spain.

In front of the Cathedral, we met Bernhard Zang from Germany.  He speaks Spanish fluently but with a funny accent and likes to be called Bernardo Cuello Negro.  We instantly became friends.  He would join us on our journey to Fisterra.

After mass, we found a great little restaurant and had a fabulous meal.  Then it was time for a good well-deserved night of sleep, for we had to collect our certificate in the morning before continuing our journey to Fisterra (Finisterre).

2022 was a Record Year with 400,000 pilgrims

“As of October 16th, more than 400,000 pilgrims arrived in Santiago, shattering all previous records for number of pilgrims walking the Camino- and we are not even done with the year yet.” Source hiketheway.com

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