November 18, 2017, Day 23

The last day to walk. I started not quite as early as I wanted, but early enough to get to Santiago in the early afternoon.

(this bus just said hello right in the morning)

I guess every one of us walking this very last section to santiago was excited, and dedicated to make the best of the day and these last 20 km. Already at the beginning of the day I met people I haven't seen so far, and we exchanged a few words. Then I met a man, whom I have repeatedly seen in the last few days, we never talked a word, but greeted each other. And it went on like this the whole day.

A small mistake I made at the beginning of the day was to skip breakfast - I thought there will be plenty of possibilities to get breakfast along the way, as it was a continuous change between woods and villages. But none of the villages had bars open. So I walked almost 8 km to get my breakfast - it was just like any other roadside bar until now - but for me the last one probably for a long time. And the bocadillo con queso (cheese sandwich) came here with tomatoes and some olive oil and salt - perfect.

Soon afterwards I first saw a car standing in the middle of the path. Then it turned out there was also a table to it - a souvenir vendor had his pop-up-store there in the middle of nowhere - and apart from having souvenirs he also had a stamp - 12,5km to santiago!

Finally I arrived to the Monte Gozo - a monument is standing here, and according to my book you should be able to see the towers of the cathedral of santiago from here. But I didn't see them. I went a bit to the left, and to the right, but still couldn't see anything resembling cathedral towers. I was so focused looking to the front, that for the first 15 minutes I didn't realise there was a second monument as well - a bit more to the left - 2 huge bronze statues of pilgrims, pointing exactly in the direction I assumed the cathedral to be. So I climbed up to these 2 guys, and immediately saw the towers.

And immediately started weeping. It was such an overwhelming experience all packed in this second. The long walk. The nights I couldn't sleep. The blisters with blisters in them on my toes. The acquaintances I made. The beautiful scenery most of the time. And the knowledge now I will get there for sure. I just had to walk toronyiránt from now on.
So this is what I did - I started to walk in the direction of those towers. And had to share this moment with those closest to me. Unlike all the other days when I didn't have this need, now it was an emotional must to share where I was.
From here on I was walking through the streets of santiago - but I couldn't take in anything from the city, I just had one goal - to reach the cathedral. What I eventually did - but I somehow missed the wow-effect. I did read about the ongoing restoration works of the cathedral, but seeing exactly the main entrance with the staircase leading to it hidden behind construction Gerüst was not what I expected.

I lingered there for some time, then went to find a room. Again, my book had a great suggestion - a hotel right next to the cathedral kept a a whole story for peregrinos - on the first 3 floors the rooms are just like in any hotel - on the 4th floor however the rooms are quite like the must have been before the seminar was turned into a hotel. The rooms are small - just a bed, a desk, a built-in cupboard and a mini bathroom - but with a view to the cathedral, and costing only €23 incl breakfast for a single room. What more could I ask for?

So I dropped my luggage, took a shower, and went to get my compostela. And I got it!
I am so proud!

Then I walked to the train station to buy my ticket for tomorrow to Porto. And by then it was already time for my guided tour on the rooftop of the cathedral.
The tour started with a not-so-pleasant surprise - even though it should have been bilingual, the tour was only in Spanish. I really tried hard, but could hardly understand anything. But it was beautiful up there, the sun setting behind the surrounding hills - perfect timing for the tour.

Afterwards I went to the cathedral museum. On the wa there I met the Spanish girl we first met at the hill up in Foncebadon - I was really happy to see her, amd even the guy was there, whom we met collecting apples and nuts, and whom I spoke only once in La Faba, where he set out to go up to O Cebreiro at almost 6pm - he was walking up the hill there after sunset. I was glad seeing these people there and sharing our feelings and emotions at the feet of the cathedral.
Then I really did go to the museum, where the positive surprise came. I got me an audioguide, thinking that I was not able mentally to read myself through the museum. Originally I just wanted to quickly go through the museum, and from there directly into the cathedral - being on top of it, or walking around it is just not the same. The museum clerk told me I could not go in the cathedral now, as there was a mess. But she gave me a special ticket, so I could come back the next day with my original ticket and use the audioguide once more.
The museum was interesting, especially the fact, that it was all within the cathedral - an extremely huge building complex.
Afterwards I quickly went back to my room, and whom do I meet in the hotel lobby? Oyuki, the Mexican woman we started walking with at the beginning, but lost eachother due to our "sick leave" in Sarria. And here she was again - another unexpected but very heartwarming meeting. We talked about the Camino changing you, or just reassuring you in yourself. And the feeling, that if we were able to walk so many hundreds of kilometres, we will be able to do so many more things as well in life.
I went out still to get some dinner - pimientos, st.james mussels, a nice salad and wine - all perfect to end this day, and make me really tired for my last night away.