Day 35: Lavacolla to Santiago (Bob’s version)

We finished!



I had a difficult time staying asleep last night because I was so excited about finishing the Camino. We got up in our cozy bunk beds—Wendy and I each had bottom bunks in our own little four bed section—and we packed up and left in the dark. The sky was clear and we started the day climbing, so I was hoping for nice sunrise pics on our last day. Unfortunately, the path curved the wrong way and then ducked into trees, so that’s too bad. 


[Imagine a nice sunrise picture]


With a couple miles to go, we climbed a little hill to the side and spotted the cathedral in Santiago for the first time. You can barely make it out in the center of this photo. 



We got closer…



And closer…



And then we made it! We picked up our certificates, which include the Latin versions of our names (Robertum and Gwendolinam), and then hung out in the large plaza outside the cathedral. This is where pilgrims enter from different portals depending on which route they took. 




In the plaza, we got to see several people that we crossed paths with, including Ulee, the old guy with the gimpy knee who walked from northeast Germany to Santiago over the last few months at the rate of maybe one km/hour. I kind of regret having chatted with him. I think I prefer my story of him as a nameless hermit who comes out of his cave every seven years to walk the Camino. But it was great to see his eyes sparkles when we said congratulations to each other. 


And now, to atone for the sunrise fiasco, here’s the sunset from our window:







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