Walking Across Italy

Today we made the 16.7 mile trek frim Padron to Santiago de Compostela. This was the final leg of our 260 kms or 165 mile hike from Porto, Portugal.

As you can imagine, I was filled with anticipation as we departed Padron in the pre-dawn hours. The hike was a bit longer than our usual, taking us over 5 1/2 hours to complete it. But no rain in the forecast and a light breeze made the 6 mile climb of 200 meters much easier than previous hikes.

As we hit Mile 2 or 3, we were joined by our “adopted” traveling companion, Cynthia. We met her back on Day 3 in Ponte de Lima where she spotted Stephen and I and thought we would provide “manly” protection for a woman walking alone. Obviously due to our imposing physiques. (I hope my wife is reading this.) Cynthia walked with us most days and quickly learned to tease Stephen like the rest of us and sing along as I would occasionally break into song. Needless to say, we were happy to see her on this final day and walk with her to Santiago.

As we stopped for a mid-morning snack, Cynthia pulled out a letter from her backpack that she had written the night before. The note was to thank us for including her in our antics and offering fellowship and friendship along the way. It was very satisfying to read that that we had helped her on her in some small way. She definitely had helped us and I was thankful that her “vegan” eating habits made my “no fish, lamb, or octopus” diet seem easy by comparison.

When we got to Santiago, we climbed the steps to the cathedral in pure American fashion, singing the theme from Rocky as we leaped up the stone steps.

The plaza in front of the cathedral was filled with people who had made one of the Camino treks. JP warned Stephen that we would be taking pictures to commemorate our accomplishment and that he would have to be patient.

From the Cathedral, we found the pilgrim certification location. This is where you show your credentials (stamps from every town on your journey) and they give you a certificate of authenticity… for only 3 Euros. (Gotta love the Catholic Church!)

After all the Camino formalities, we checked into our “nice” hotel (our first 4 star), went for a swim in the pool, and prepared for dinner. Juan Pablo made a reservation at a local steak house, and good thing he did, because this town is crawling with tourists (real and faux camino walkers). Every restaurant is turning people away.

After dinner, I went back to my room, washed some clothes in the sink, put them on the warm towel rack to dry, and tucked in for the night. Tomorrow, our plan is to attend the pilgrim mass at the cathedral, and walk around Santiago.