Day 43 A Rua to Santiago June 16th

Km walked 24 approximately 14 miles elevation climb about 200 meters (600 feet)

Today was a sunny chilly start to the day and as I sit here in Santiago, I am very glad to arrived, as it is cold and raining. I started this morning about 6:45 and arrived around 2 pm. The walk was good, I had a good pace, and I was in very good spirits, knowing this was it... Hallelujah!
I was so happy, I felt like I could have run to Santiago this morning.





The path went through lots of forest this morning.
I stopped for orange juice and some chocolate croissant, since this is the last day that I have an excuse to eat one.


I got to this sign about 10:30... I still had a long way to go, so don't really know if this was for the outer city limits or what. I was glad to see it....



Ran into some old familiar faces at another break stop. I decided to walk in with them, as they were staying the same place as I am. I'm glad I did, as the walk got harder from there. I met Donna and Sheryl from California, and Maeve and Carmela from Ireland.


We had chilly winds, than I big climb up to mount Gonzo. There is a big sculpture that was placed there when Pope John Paul II visited there. Pretty neat sculpture. We then descended down the mountain, (little one by camino standards) and headed into the city of Santiago. It was inspiring to see John Paul's image on the base.


We had to walk about 2.5 miles through the concrete city of Santiago before we got to the cathedral. I hate walking through cities. They are hard on the legs and boring. We finally arrived to the cathedral. Here I am with Maeve and Carmela. We are staying at the San Martin Hospederia. It is a renovated hospital for pilgrims. Very old, although I don't know much about it. I really like that it was a hospital, and since I am a nurse, it is significant that I am staying here. It's very very basic, but clean sheets, a towel and a bathroom, in a private room. For 23 euros not bad.


I also so my old friend Karla here. We walked together for several days over the last few weeks. She is from Holland. Fun but she's 6 foot and hard to keep up with. So we went separate ways last Monday.


Lots of familiar faces around, so we all went out to eat, and wine of course.


It was a great day. Walking into Santiago was great, although a bit anticlimactic. I wasn't able to make church today, but hopefully will tomorrow, and I will get my compostella tomorrow. I think that is when the tears will flow. Thank you all for your outpouring of prayers for this very difficult journey of mine. I'm glad I've been able to complete it, and my feet are too.
I'm super happy with myself, and I thank God for his never ending love to get me there. I'll keep you posted. I plan to go to Finisterre and Muxia to see the ocean, probably on Tuesday if the weather clears.
I am also moving to a hotel for Tuesday and Wednesday nights before my flight home on Thursday. Need a bit of pampering...