Friday 29 November 2024, Pontevea - Santiago de Compostela.
Today I walked into Santiago de Compostela.
I started the day with a very nice breakfast buffet where I was staying and then headed out into the pre-dawn light. Overnight, the weather forecast had changed and the chance of rain this morning had dropped considerably, to the point where they were no longer forecasting it. But, this being Galicia, and few showers did join me for the morning walk.
The walk was a little more hilly than I expected. Not anything to challenge the mountain days from earlier in the Camino, but enough climbing that I definitely noticed and felt it at times.
The scenery I was walking through was very similar to what I walked through yesterday, augmented by the suburbs as I got closer to Santiago. The route does take you through a fair amount of park land as you enter the city, though. The Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros has its own entry to the city, one of a handful of Camino routes that does so. It doesn't merge with any others. I noticed that this route takes you right by the Romanesque church of Santa María de Sar.
"Due to a technical error in its construction, or to the bold elevation of the side naves, or to the sliding of the unstable land on which it is built and which is often flooded by the river, or to the intention of those who worked on its construction, the inner walls and columns are visibly inclined."
The church has huge buttresses to hold the walls up, visible as you pass by. I didn't stop and go in, because I had made a special trip to visit the church last time I was in Santiago.
I was a few blocks away from the cathedral when I saw my first pilgrims, pretty much the first pilgrims I've seen since leaving Salamanca. It wasn't long after that and I was in the Plaza de Obradoiro, getting my photo taken and grabbing a selfie or two with the cathedral behind me. I sent them first to the Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros WhatsApp support group, my wife, and a few people who have provided special support on this Camino, and then posted to Facebook.
After that, San Martin Pinario, where I am staying, was just around the corner, beside the cathedral. I checked in, got myself settled a bit, rested, and then headed out.
First stop was a short visit with Ivar at Casa Ivar, where I also picked up an
Altus poncho on his Black Friday sale. The rain jacket I've been using since 2016 has started coming apart at the underarm seams. Then it was over to Pilgrim House for my penultimate credencial stamps (the ultimate ones being from the Pilgrim Office). I dropped off some of my "ultreia" buttons, that I had made to hand out to the pilgrims in Salamanca when hospitalero, while I was there.
Finally, I went looking in some souvenir shops for patches for my new routes and a few other souvenirs. Ot quickly became obvious that if you are looking for souvenirs for any of the routes that are not among the most popular, A Rúa Recordos is the place to go. We had a nice little chat. The latest route he is adding to his collection of obscure routes is the Via Kunig. Before I left he handed me a pamphlet for that route, and a credencial specific to it.
From there it was back to San Martin Pinario for lunch, trying their menu del dia. I had heard good things about it but, frankly, I wasn't that impressed. It will be back to Casa Manolo tomorrow.
After that, I went to book travel to Madrid, for my flight home. Surprisingly, the train seems cheaper than the bus or BlaBlaCar. But I couldn't figure out how to buy a one-way ticket on the website, so I walked down to the train station to get a ticket. On the way back, I stopped in a supermarket and bought a few things. A nice empanada for supper and a bunch of staples for Spanish cooking that are much cheaper here than at home. Now I am sitting in bare feet in the laundromat, doing my laundry.
First thing after breakfast tomorrow is to visit the Pilgrim Office, then the Cathedral. Then we will see what the day brings. My train on Sunday leaves at around 7 am, so realistically speaking, tomorrow is my remaining time in Santiago, although I will have some time in Madrid on Sunday.
Photos of the day:
Note: The first photo was taken from a bridge; it is not a photo of the Camino. The photo with the blue house was taken when I had my first view of the cathedral towers in the far distance.
