Padron to Santiago de Compostela Day 6

Day 6, September 20, 2022:

My last day at the Camino and the culmination of years of planning. I woke up excited to start the last 25 km to Santiago de Compostela. After an early breakfast, Carla, Giulia, John and I said goodbye to Pensión Jardin and the grandmother who guarded its door. Karen and Tom preferred a later start.

Around 9:30 AM we passed what appeared to be a dog pound. All four of us stopped to admire the dogs through the fence. Most seemed friendly and curious. We cooed, coaxed and said, “Hola,”, but they just stared at us with soulful eyes. I imagined them thinking, “These foreigners are such idiots.” So we ended our non-conversation and moved on.

Not long afterward, while the four of us stopped at a cafe, Karen and Tom caught up to us. After a few selfies and a brief rest we joined the other pilgrims back on the trails. Our speed-walking friends bade us farewell and promised to meet us at our final destination in Santiago de Compostela. I had no idea what to expect there or where we would meet, but trusted that somehow we’d find each other.

Along the way Carla and John-the-mushroom-aficionado, got side-tracked by more juicy porcinis. They grew wild along the trails and had distracted us numerous times. Now Carla took matters into her own hands. She whipped out a plastic bag, plucked a few, and nominated Giulia to cook them the next day when Giulia and John checked into an Airbnb in Porto. John didn’t need a lot of convincing and Giulia accepted the gauntlet to put on the chef’s hat. And that’s how porcinis became our appetisers the next evening in Porto.

At the risk of dragging out the mushroom story, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention John’s porcini soulmate, another pilgrim afflicted with the same passion. Earlier, the said fellow mushroom aficionado had parted ways with us bemoaning the wasted gastronomic delights along the trails. And wouldn’t you know it, he showed up again before we entered Santiago. They greeted each other, “Come stai?” (Italian John) and, “Cómo estás?” (Spanish porcini soulmate). Both understood each other perfectly and compared goosebumps at the mention of the porcinis resting in Carla’s bag.

I like to think that this meeting of “soulmates” and our inane chatter helped Giulia to sometimes forget about the blisters on her feet. During these last few kilometres her pain intensified. She needed to rest more frequently. At one point I asked if she wanted to uber the rest of the way, but she insisted on her feet carrying her into Santiago de Compostela. She came here to walk, and walk she did, to Plaza de Obradoiro, the main square where all the pilgrims arrived to celebrate the culmination of their journey.

Words can’t do justice to my feelings when I set foot at the square. Joy, relief, a sense of accomplishment, and emotions I never knew existed, came bubbling up. All around me, exhausted pilgrims stretched on the floor leaning against columns and walls. Their expressions mirrored mine, fatigued and yet exhilarated. We navigated around their blistered feet and found strategic spots to snap pictures.

Then magically, Karen and Tom appeared out of nowhere. I whipped out my phone and took selfies of our group with the majestic cathedral in the background. As we rested on the low wall surrounding the square, a large group of youths bounced in singing in Italian, apparently celebrating the end of their pilgrimage. I envied their energy even as I dragged my legs to the pilgrim’s office to register for our official certificates… and to pose for a picture at the 0-kilometre marker.

Camino 2022 is now history. I’m truly grateful to Carla, Giulia, John, Karen, and Tom for walking with me. We strolled, hobbled, and skipped the last 130 km of the Portuguese Way. Would I do it again? YESSS, I am doing it again in September 2024… this time, the Saint James Way. My calluses haven’t healed, and might never heal, but I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.