Day Nine - Rua - Santiago de Compostela

Woohoo!  Have just received my Compostela  !!!!   Wow!!!   

Now sitting outside a little cafe waiting for our lasagne to arrive!   What a day!!
(Continued writing later!!)
We had set the alarm and woke very early with the intention of getting an early start walking last twelve miles into Santiago de Compostela.   We'd packed our bags the night before so they were ready for Macsadventure to transport them to our next hotel in Santiago.  We were out by 6.30 am the moon still 
shining brightly, the first signs of daylight, and the dawn chorus in full song!  The freshness of the day was lovely as we rambled through woods and countryside the changing terrain complementing the hills and valleys!!!

It was a very long 'last twelve miles in fact by the time we were in Santiago we had walked 15.49 miles!  We have had a glorious day with a cloudless blue sky, and very intense sunshine!  Once again we walked through a forest of tall eucalyptus trees, and many ups and 
downs!!!!  I'd like to say we've got used to hiking the hills but for me at least they always present a physical challenge!  The downs are steep too, so glad for the sticks!!

This is the last part of the Camino, today we will arrive in Santiago, the Pilgrims goal!  As the day wears on there are more and more walkers and cyclists on the way.  Always there is a cheerful greeting!  'Buen Camino'!  Complete strangers chat, and offer to take photos of us so we can both pose together!   I'm not sure there is another walk like this one, with so many 
different aspects to it, and such cameraderie!  I can see how people want to repeat the experience!   It has been interesting to see how many people do this solo!  Many of them in their prime and setting out to complete the whole 800 Kms.  One such person was a lady from Australia, no spring chicken, but she was 'nearly there'!  We met two German ladies, one struggling with her pack and six blisters on the bottom of her 
feet!!  But they were in good spirits, amazing!  An ice cream stop, and an 
exchange with a German lad who was completing his second Camino, we chatted to him and two girls from Peru! Nearing Santiago we caught the excitement of a girl from Brighton who was running (!!!) in the opposite direction from us to find her friends who unlike her had yet to complete their pilgrimage in Santiago!  There are definitely language problems, but this doesn't seem to present barriers!  At last we could see Santiago!   Our initial enthusiasm was dampened as we had to walk a long way through the streets 
of the City, at one point losing our yellow arrow signs, and having to double back to get back on the Camino!  Enough!!  I had to stop and have a cold drink!!  We sat on a kerbside cafe drinking (for me) ice cold water, and enjoying green olives, as the steady stream of walkers passed us!  Ones we had met on the way and a lot we hadn't but all seemed to be happy that the culmination of their journey is only metres away!!

And so it was that we wound our way 

round the streets of Santiago, and came to the place of the Cathedral of St. James!  It is enormous!!!!

A fellow walker took this photo for us!

We found inside the Cathedral it was cool and vast!  Apart from the solid stone structure, there is much  gold gilt  baroque type decoration, typical of the kind seen in Spanish churches.   We wandered round, and went up behind the altar where there is a place you can look over 'St James's' shoulder into the church.  We went down to the crypt to 

see the silver coffin where the Saints remains are said to be!  It was the stone steps that really fascinated me!  So many people had walked this way evidenced by the scoop in the step worn by zillions of feet!  We saw the tree of Jesse where for centuries pilgrims had placed their hand on the stone, and had worn grooves into the marble just by this act being performed by so many!  It is all quite amazing!

Out into the piazza in front of the Cathedral and into to bright unrelenting 

sunshine (so glad we invested in those hats!!). We made our way to the Compestela office to claim our certificate.   We had to wait a long long time over an hour and a half, and during that time, I felt as though I might collapse!  But we ruffled in our rucksacks and found cakes, and a banana which we shared, and master find a pack of M&S Percy Pigs!!  We fell on the sugar and scoffed like crazy!!!   That perked us up! Thanks Percy!!!  

In the queue we met up once more with people we had talked to and met on the 

way!  Lovely!!!   It was our turn to go into the office and collect our certificate.  We had to fill in a form, where we had come from and why we had wanted to walk the Camino!  He filled in my name on my Compestela, stamped my pilgrims passport, congratulated me, and I became the proud owner of an illuminated certificate!  (Going to frame it and hang it in our downstairs loo!!)

As we came out of the office, standing waitng in the queue was the girl from Dundee!!  She could see the happiness 

in my face, and hers was one reflecting back to me the sheer awesomeness of having completed this trip.  Her journey much longer, and she had given up everything to tread these paths!!  We joked and enthused together, finally 

embracing and bidding our adieus!!   

Out again into the streets we all realised we were starving!  (Well not 

literally).  We must have food!!  We enjoyed our vegetable lasagne and long cool drink, chatting to other pilgrims who sat around us enjoying their meal!

By about 6.00 ish, still in our walking clothes, our day rucksacks stashed away in a locker, we were to be found 

back in the Cathedral.  We were prepared to wait until 7.30 pm when the Pilgrims Mass would commence.   Besides it was quite novel to actually 

sit!!! ;). The church filled with people, walkers, pilgrims, tourists and the faithful, filling up the 1000 seats and spilling over along the sides where 

there was standing space only!  The Spanish service commenced and we were treated to he most beautiful solo singing from a nun!  Her voice rang out in this vast place, calming and 

enthralling her listeners! (Well that's how I heard it anyway). She had the most equisite voice!  She taught us some responses, so we could join in 

when the Mass commenced!  (Such a Joy for me to sing with such a voice leading!!!). The Mass was coming to a close when as a final flourish in this incredible place the largest censer in the world was hoisted aloft by eight men (they reminded me of bell ringers!!!) and with powerful movements they controlled the swinging censer as it swung over and down the aisle wider and wider, spilling its incense over us!  It was truly Awesome!!  And.... It was right above my head!!!   I definitely won't forget 

that in a hurry!!  Afterwards, once again we met up with people we had seen walking the Camino!  Two ladies from California, Margie and Loretta, Margie being the voice who had joined in with me whilst we were walking and singing 'The Rhythm of Life', and how we had laughed and sang 'it's a long way to Santiago' was there smiling away, tears in her eyes, telling me how wonderful the whole experience had been !  She was certainly right with that one!!!

The thousand plus spilled out of the church into the square with the fountain!  David and I sat on the steps for a while just soaking it all up, and pinching ourselves that after all these months of preparation we had indeed 'done this'!!!  We found our friends in the crowd and walked down into the town.   We were thrilled to hear Eine Kline being played, and when we looked, we saw three Russian musicians playing on balalaikas!!  Had to buy one 

of those!!! (Don't be silly, I mean a CD!!!;))

Back at our hotel!  There was nothing for it but to celebrate with a glass of wine!  Cheers!!  What a day!  Certainly an experience that I'm not going to forget!  

Night night!!  Pretty sure we will sleep tight tonight!!:)