Finito.
Finally, my feet bring me back to the plaza before the cathedral, with its summertime crowds.
This is the gentlest entry into the city - starting with walking up out of the fog from Ponte Ulla through eucalyptus so tall their tops were in the sun; past Pico Sacra and gathering suburbs, eventually down to the Ermita of Santa Lucia. Then up another ancient road, through a landscape that could be from days ago, in the middle of nowhere: the road graciously threads its way up between two hills, past apses of young chestnuts and through an oak woodland. Once at the top, reality is completely revealed. Suddenly you're under a multi-lane freeway looking straight on at the Citaudad de Cultura. Around the corner and there are the beautiful spires of the cathedral ahead, reached by walking down and up through quiet Sunday steets, until finally meeting the throngs in the old city.
And then thanksgiving.
The whole day was that, actually. Many times a lump formed in my throat as I walked, for countless things large and small - for support that makes this possibele, for the great kindness of the people along the way, and for safe deliverance to its end.
Thank you all for your messages and support, everyone - they have meant a lot. I was afraid I would struggle 'out there,' but this way was only a deepening in joy. If you also have an inner Chicken Little...well, if I can, you can.
Buen camino a todos! And heartfelt greetings from Santiago.
