And then came the last day. Colleen and Mandy stayed in the albergue across the street, and we had to go there to leave our key before we set off. There they were, having a leisurely breakfast after most of the pilgrims had already left. There was a good bit of fog outside so we were in no hurry, and when we found an open café – top tip, always go for the panaderia – we had ourselves a leisurely breakfast too while we waited for the fog to lift and the sun to break through.
From Sigüeiro the path had changed from what I remembered, but it followed quiet country lanes and was easy and enjoyable. The fog suddenly decided to drop as rain – we could see the cloud come racing towards us and only just managed to whip our ponchos on. Then after a quick and thorough downpour, the sun came out. We could even do some al fresco shopping on the way.
There were noticeably more people out walking than we had seen so far, or maybe we just ended up leaving at the same time as everyone else. Quite nice to be part of a lively caravan of pilgrims on the last stretch towards Santiago. And when we came to a busy bar playing Celtic music, we decided to stop – and there were Colleen and Mandy, already tucking into cokes and cakes! Everyone was there, it was such a great atmosphere. The man with a large puppet strapped to his back, the British and Irish group who stayed in our building the night before, people we had spoken to in passing. Next stop the Enchanted Forest!
Someone has been out in the incredibly lush and pretty woodland and put little enchanting details in – butterflies, frogs, a little fairy door – which makes people slow down and really take in the scenery. We loved it and it didn’t last long enough!
Then we started getting closer to town, and it was threatening to rain again. We decided to speed up and look for the straightest way into the centre of town, but it’s not that easy – the pilgrim apps and maps want you to take the scenic route past churches, shrines and statues, and it’s hard to navigate the big city traffic just from Google maps. But suddenly, there it was!
We made it into town just before the rain and checked into the San Martín Pinario, my all-time favourite place to stay in Santiago. I had booked a single pilgrim room but ended up at the end of the hall, in a corner double with a lovely view out of the narrow window.
Then it was time to eat, and of course get some photos on the Obradoiro square in front of the cathedral. It was so nice to be there again, and the sun had come out for us too.
We must have been early, because some of the restaurants and tapas bars on the Rua Franco weren’t open, but we found one that was ready to serve up pimientos de Padrón, platters of cheese and cold cuts, and massive garlic prawns, paired with good wine and some Baileys-like crema de orujo for dessert. Well deserved!
And what do you do in Santiago when you are celebrating arriving, and you have had a meal and some wine and checked into your room? Well, if one of you is a hairdresser and another needs a haircut, you obviously go to the largest room (mine) and borrow someone’s poncho for a cape (mine) and tiny scissors (ditto) and do some impromptu hairdressing! Then we all had to rest and pack up as we were leaving the next day – Colleen and Mandy to get their car and drive back to France, and we were going on another adventure: Taking the road less travelled to Muxia and then along the coast down to Fisterra.
When Nanci and I walked the Portuguese Litoral route and then from Santiago to Fisterra the year before, she caught a bug right at the end which brought the celebrations to an abrupt halt. This time we would go back to just before the route split and walk out to Muxia and then Fisterra to finish the loop, and hopefully catch up on some quality Santiago time after. So though we had just arrived, we were already looking forward to the next chapter.
Somewhere Slowly 