Amenal to Santiago de Compostela

Sunday, May 22, 2016

A very nice to walk to Santiago de Compostela    Walking Day #31

Today I walked from Amenal near the Santiago airport to Santiago de Compostela, the target of our pilgrimage. I walked early with my new friends from Singapore, and I like their walking style, their pace, sometimes talking, sometimes walking quietly; they are welcoming and I feel part of the group. We left the hotel at 6:30 AM walking in the full moon light. When we passed by the airport and re-joined the Camino path we could see that there were a number of people walking already, trying to get to Santiago early.

The walk turned out to be quite nice, through forested areas, and sometimes dense forest. The path was never far from a road, but being in the forest, we hardly noticed much of the time.

The group from Singapore coming towards me on the Camino path after we passed the Santiago airport.

A very old Camino way marker, quite elaborate.

A fairly old monument Camino way marker on the right, and the signpost Camino way markers we saw for the first time on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela.

The path, while not far from a major roadway, was often in the forest, and no noise from the highway was heard by us.

An open field along the path today, this is on the outskirts of Santiago, a large city with a population of about 100,000. The metropolitan area has a population of about 180,000. Santiago de Compostela is the capital city of the Spanish Autonomous Region of Galicia. Not a small town, and here we are walking through this forest and fields while right on the outskirts of town.

The group from Singapore walking up one of the last hills as we approached the actual city of Santiago.

As we were entering the newer part of the city, I was photographed standing next to this monument to the Knights Templar.

Ad in the City of Santiago, we started seeing these Camino way markers.

And there were these very nice small way markers in the stone sidewalks.

Our goal, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

We made it into town at about 10:30 AM, waited for a little while in line to get our Compostela (certificate of completion). One of the ladies from Singapore talked to someone in a separate office (that I think handles large groups), and asked them if we could be taken as a group of seven so we could go to the Pilgrim's Mass at noon. They agreed, we got out Compostelas and also a certificate of distance covered. We were able to get into the church for the Pilgrim's Mass, but it was very crowded and we were in the standing room area. The botofumerio was swung at this mass, but no photographs are allowed at all during the mass so I got no photos.

Santiago de Compostela was the goal. The day was quite anti-climatic. Maybe because  saw nobody in Santiago whom I knew other than the group from Singapore. Many of the people I walked with in the past weeks have yet to arrive.

I am well, a little tired, but I am ready to walk to "the end of the earth" Finisterre tomorrow morning.

Next: Walking to Negreira on the way to Finisterre