Saw this on the wooded trail. We are trying to find out what it is!

Our departure from Salceda this morning was very similar to the past mornings.

After breakfast we came upon a group of pilgrims with their guidebooks and maps out. After we got closer we saw what the discussion was all about. There were 2 monuments with conflicting directions. After the last time, we learned to follow the arrow with the km, not the c. complementario, unless you want a longer walk. The metal plates with that information had been pried off both of the monument markers. We have seen that information stolen on so many markers. Why??? With Steve’s app we determined the best way for us to go.

We also came upon a rock with a gold shield painted on it. It was unusual, and also one of the few monuments along the Camino that has not been defaced. We are going to try to find out it’s symbolism.

Near the Santiago airport we came upon a Santiago monument where we had another pilgrim take our picture.

Tomorrow we have a short day- about a 10.5 km walk into Santiago! Almost there.

We have arrived!

Woohoo! After 3 months (OK 1 plus portions of 2) we finally arrived in Santiago.

Today was the day we have been waiting for.

This morning our walk began as a very long steep uphill climb. After about an hour we entered into outlying Santiago. We were hoping for a great view of Santiago and the cathedral after we reached the top of our climb. We were disappointed.

We finally got our first glimpse of the cathedral through the buildings lining the street.

We walked around the city to get oriented, took a few pictures, attended a Mass with a youth choir, then got in line (that took about 1.5 hrs) to get our Compostela (the certificate that we walked the Camino) You must present your credential that you have had stamped along the way to get this document.

Tomorrow is our first day to take our time, relax, and walk without our packs!

Impressive Botafumeiro at Mass at the Cathedral

9 Priests concelebrating Mass

Today was much more relaxed. We had planned to go to the morning English Mass, but ended up in the wrong place, and participated in an Italian Mass. There were 9 priests concelebrating, and 2 were actively taking pictures of everything going on. Since there were several tourist groups, I figured they were with them. That also gave me hope that we would get to see the Botafumeiro.

Right after Communion, the 8 monks came in and headed to unfasten the ropes. It is quite an impressive experience!

Our apartment here has good news and bad news- the bad news is it is on the 6th floor with no elevator. The good news is it’s a great place in a great location with great views!

Tomorrow we go to FInisterra and Muxia- on a bus ? as tourists! Yes we are going to be total slugs.

Below is a video of the Botafumeiro ceremony at the October 7th mass at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela , as seen from our pew. For additional information on the Botafumeiro, please take a look at our Menu, Resources, Botafumeiro page.

At Finisterre

This morning we were prepared to be Tourigrinos all day, and met our bus at 9:00. (Tourigrino is a popular slang on the Camino for those that take buses or taxis to the popular sights, rather than walk to them as a perigrino or pilgrim does.)

Our first stop was Puente Maceira. This city is actually on the Camino- if you should choose to walk to Finisterre. Here we crossed an old Roman bridge to see the old mills on the water.

Our next stop was Paxareiras, for a great mountain top view. This overlooks fishing villages along a dangerous coastline. There were also lots of windmills lining this mountain, which unfortunately interfered with the amazing panoramic view.

The fishing village of Muros was our next stop. We walked up to the church which has an interesting holy water font; it has a snake carved in the stone, signifying the power of the holy water to conquer sin. We also walked along the piers admiring the views.

The Rio Ezaro is the only river in Spain that flows into the ocean. We stopped to view the waterfall. Due to the very dry summer, the water apparently is not falling as abundantly as usual, but we still thought it was beautiful.

Next we headed to the ‘end of the earth’ – Finisterre. It is one of the the ‘ends’ of the Camino, (Santiago is the traditional end, the other is our next stop of Muxia).

Our last stop was Muxia. It has a very rocky coastline with waves constantly breaking and splashing over them. It also is a very picturesque setting. This location was one of the closing scenes in the movie ‘The Way’.

We had an easy day! Only 32 flights of stairs and 4.75 miles.

The perigrino statue we were looking for at Monte de Gozo (Mount of Joy)

Overlooking Santiago and Cathedral spires- the view we were expecting.

When we entered Santiago last Thursday the Camino took us past the monument dedicated to John Paul II. That route did not give us the view of Santiago we were hoping for, nor did we see the 2 Perigrinos statue we were expecting to see.

So today, with little on our agenda, I talked Steve into walking the Camino in reverse to find that statue. We knew it was in the same park as the JPII monument, but it was not easy to find. We were finally successful!

We walked 10 miles today and up 90 flights of stairs.

We can leave Santiago knowing we saw all we wanted to see.

On to Madrid!

Most unusual surface

The most unusual surface to walk on while on the Camino was a 1/2 km section of concrete that was 12 feet wide and 8″ thick. You could have landed a small plane on this section. This was located on the entrance into Redecille, which is the first village in the Province of Castile y Leon. A Province in Spain would likely be larger than a County but smaller than a State in the US.

i wonder if one of the politicians in this area also was a cement contractor. Cement is a hard surface to be walking in, and 12 feet wide was unnecessary! Some trees for shade, and picnic tables or benches would have been more appreciated.

Other surfaces encountered:

Least Favorite

Occasionally encountered surfaces:

Most common surfaces::

We left Santiago early this morning for our flight to Madrid.

We arrived at our apartment after lunch. We are very pleased. It is a beautiful place, comfortable and within a 15 minute walk from most of the sights we want to see, and a 5 minute walk from the Metro station for convenient airport access. Our host also surprised us with several groceries to welcome us!

We spent the afternoon walking around to cover some of the city’s landmarks.

Our first stop was the Puerta del Sol. The Square was filled with people celebrating the national holiday- Columbus Day. Next we walked down Calle Arsenal to the San Gines church, and stopped at a local restaurant famous for churros and chocolate – yum!!

Next stop was the Royal Palace and botanical gardens. For EU residents it was free admission into the palace after 4:00. The line was very, very long!

We walked through the San Miguel market- a very busy favorite stop for gourmet tapas. Since it was Columbus Day it was unusually busy!

Tomorrow we are going to do as much outdoor sightseeing as we can, since Wednesday it is supposed to rain all day. It is extremely dry here, and they need rain- just wish it could wait 1 day.