Day 29–to Santiago de la Compostela— end of the pilgrimage—May 20, 2024

That was my last night at an Albergue/Xunta as I left at 6:20 AM from Santa Irene to complete my Camino de Santiago journey from St. Jean Pied de Port, France in 29 days and about 779 km or 484 miles.

I stopped for my now regular breakfast at the Opino restaurant in the first village I came to called A Rua.  This mural was posted at the local high school

Just as I finished breakfast, the three who started from Leon—Andy, Carolina and Cathy and were at last night’s Xunta—came to have breakfast as well. I also nicknamed them the “Leon 3”— Carolina, Cathy, and Andy.

Shortly after I left, I joined up with Mary from Vermont. It turned out she was a federal employee and even had worked in human resources for 10 years with Homeland Security. It was so interesting how we fell into jargon talking about our experiences working for the federal government, especially in human resources.

It was another beautiful day with no rain passing through forests on the way to Santiago De la Compostela. We even came across the bagpiper who was busking for tips.

A field of lavender behind the Camino Santiago sign.

We took a snack break so we could use the bathroom facilities before heading on.

One thing I found during the entire travel on the Camino Santiago is without exception all of the bar/café bathrooms were spotlessly clean. I also noticed that the toilets are about 3 or 4 inches lower than the ones in the US. 

During our stop, the “Leon 3” caught up with us and I introduced them to Mary.

We ended up walking together all the way to the Camino Santiago credential office. For Mary, Andy, and me, it was a leisurely walk and the time passed by quickly talking among each other. Andy took this selfie of us—Andy, Carolina, Cathy, me, and Mary.

For Carolina, it was a painful walk with both blisters and a weak knee caused by favoring one leg over the other because of the blisters. For Cathy, it was also painful with big blisters on her feet. So much so that she was wearing a sandal on one of her feet. Both had a lot of determination and grit to complete the journey.

We made it to the credential office about 3 o’clock and quickly received our credentials since they had such a smooth efficient operation.

Afterwards, we went up to the cathedral area, where I had my picture taken with my two certificates: one document showed I met the requirements for a certificate, and the other was a certificate that documented my journey from St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago de la Compostela.

This certificate acknowledges that I started at St. Jean Pied de Port, France on April 22, 2024.

This certificate acknowledges that I completed the requirements to receive acknowledgment that I was a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago.

From there, I headed to my Deniké Hotel which was near the cathedral. The cost was €189 for two nights which is quite a bit more than the €10-€15 per night at the albergues, but oh so comfortable.

I had my last pilgrim dinner near the credential office, which included my favorite lentil soup with chorizo.

I experienced almost all types of weather including rain, snow, strong winds, fog, and a few days of sunshine. It was mostly cold at about 4°C in the morning and rarely more than 16°C in the afternoons. If I knew it would have stayed cold while traveling west, I most likely would have added a down parka to my equipment.

I enjoyed meeting people along the way from so many places, so many different backgrounds, and so many different countries. I will remember some of the exchanges I’ve had with people I’ve met. For almost 30 days on the Camino de Santiago, the people I met, including those, I walked with and stayed with at the various albergues, and all of the staff people I encountered at the places of business that I visited were so positive and uplifting that I wish that experience would continue for the rest of my life journey.