As soon as we step off the bus in Muxia, the wind has our attention. It is blowing at a sustained 22 mph with gusts of at least 30 mph. From our backpacks, we fish out our windbreakers and buffs. Our plan today is rest and relaxation by the seashore, followed by a viewing of the sunset. We check into a charming double room in an albergue, eat lunch, nap and take a windy walk around town. 

The ancient Celts celebrated the sun here along this coast. It is easy to see why. The panoramic view of the sun sinking below the horizon is awe inspiring. We climb a path to the top of the small mountain behind the church to watch the sun’s magnificent show. The wind gusts are quite strong and we have to watch our footing carefully. There are a handful of other people at the top, nestled in on rocks to watch the sunset. Laura and I find our place. As the sun touches the horizon, I notice a reverent silence among the crowd. It felt like church up on that mountainside. There was that magic that’s in the air when a group of people gather with a common focused energy. Some call it the Holy Spirit. But it could also be described as “wholly spirit”. It’s in those moments that we step outside of ourselves, we leave behind all the day to day minutiae and petty details that clutter our minds and we focus on something or someone greater than ourselves. It can happen in church, it can happen at a concert, it can happen during a conversation with a good friend, it can happen when making love and it can happen on the top of a mountainside in Muxia. 

The Cathedral plaza is quiet and empty as we enter it in the early morning. Our goal is to get ahead of the daily tourists and have a quiet moment to reflect on our pilgrimage at this sacred site. We take a moment to locate the last Camino marker and to admire the fountains, spires and monuments surrounding the church. 

We enter the Cathedral to complete our pilgrim rites of hugging St James and visiting his relics. 

The statue of St James that is the centerpiece of the altar can be accessed through a small hallway behind. It is a pilgrim ritual to hug or place your arms around the icon. Laura and I make our way to the small, narrow hall. There is no line and I’m thankful we get to take our time. I place my arms around St James and whisper into his ear my gratitude for a beautiful journey. Next, we take the stairs down to St James tomb and pay our respects. 

Afterwards, we tour the Cathedral Musuem. There we learn the history of the Cathedral, view a collection of artwork and tapestries and visit a library with ancient texts. No photos were allowed inside.  The tour includes an entry to the balcony that overlooks the main plaza. It was a great vantage point to watch the pilgrims enter in and celebrate. 

The tour finishes just in time for Mass. We hoped to see the botafumeiro, a large incense burner that is swung in the Cathedral. In ages past, it was used to help conceal the stink from the pilgrims. Today, it is only used on special occasions/holy days or if a patron pays to cover the costs (around $300).  It wasn’t used during the Mass when we entered town and, unfortunately, we don’t see it at this Mass either. It is supposedly quite a sight to see. Eight men swing the botafumeiro. It swings up high, nearly reaching the ceiling and achieving a speed of about 68 km/h (about 42 mph). Large amounts of smoke plume from it. (There are many videos online, if you are curious). 

There were other museums we could visit, but Laura and I were exhausted. We head back to our room and enjoy a long and much deserved nap. 

When we awake, we have some delicious tapas, browse the shops and go to the evening Mass. The botafumeiro is a no show again. It just wasn’t in the cards for us. 

Tomorrow we head back to Muxia for some R&R next to the ocean before heading home. 

The original plan was to hike to Finisterre and Muxia. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and I had made my peace with Plan B. But as the bus entered the coastal area, my heart sank. The wild beauty of the mountains meeting the ocean captured my imagination and I felt some disappointment that I didn’t get to hike into this amazing landscape. I promise myself that one day I will return to hike this last section.

Our first stop is Muxia, a small fishing village. Muxia is the location of the scene in the movie “The Way” where Martin Sheen’s character throws his son’s ashes into the ocean. The rocks he stands on have a very significant meaning here. There is a legend that Mary appeared here in a stone ship to give a message of hope to St James. She told him his mission in Spain was complete and that he should return to Jerusalem. The rocks are said to be the remains of her boat. One of the rocks is purported to cure back pain if you crawl under it 9 times. Another rocking stone supposedly determines if you are telling the truth (it rocks if you are truthful, stands still if you lie). A church to Mary was built  next to the rocks. 

Next, the bus takes us to Finisterre, or as the ancient Celts believed, Land’s End. I walked out to the lighthouse and spent some time enjoying the ocean breeze against my skin, listening to the tide sway into the rocks and soaking in the sunshine. 

The bus then took us down into the center of town and we walked along the wharf viewing the boats. We had a lovely lunch where I tried razor clams for the first time. 

Following lunch, we stopped to see the only waterfall in Western Europe that flows into the ocean. Again, the rugged beauty of the area took my breath away. 

Finally, we stopped to see the second largest hórreo in the world. Apparently, another hórreo a couple of towns over beat this one out by one meter, but this one was easier for the bus to get to. 

The salty air, the placid sea and the rocky mountainsides were the perfect backdrop for some rest and relaxation today. Although I didn’t get to hike this beautiful coastal area, I am very grateful for the opportunity to visit it and perhaps one day, I will explore it in my hiking boots!

• Beginning Point: San Marcos
• Ending Point: Santiago
• Daily distance: 3.36 miles (5.4 km)
• Total distance: 470.86 miles (757.77 km)

As we hike out of San Marcos, the sun is just starting to peek over the mountains. It is a short distance to Monte del Gozo, or Mount Joy, where we get our first look at Santiago. Upon entering Monte del Gozo, we first stop in a small chapel dedicated to San Marcos and then view the monument dedicated to Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage. 

 

We then hike up a path to see Santiago and the pilgrim statues pointing the way. Tears of joy well in my eyes as I see the city. 

On our way down into Santiago, Laura and I recount our journey. We laugh about how much bread and French fries we ate, our experiences in push button and other weird showers, bunk beds, snorers and getting lost. Then, we share which were our favorite cities, churches, albergues and hiking trails. Our minds are boggled that we have walked for 39 days and nearly 500 miles. We actually did it! 

The entry into Santiago begins like most large cities with traffic and sidewalks. We slowly wind our way into the historic district. The yellow arrows continue pointing the way and we pick up a few other pilgrims along the way. 

Soon we hear the heart piercing echos of bagpipes. A young man is playing them in the tunnel we must go through. Upon exiting the tunnel, we are standing in the plaza of the Cathedral. We have made it to our destination. 

The exterior of the Cathedral is not particularly beautiful to behold. It has been undergoing restoration for years and it still has a few more years until it’s complete. Though some would be disappointed in this ending, I find it imperfectly perfect. 

Next, we enter the Cathedral and find a seat for the Pilgrim’s Mass. The altar shines brilliantly in tones of gold and silver. St James sits in the center. There is a passageway behind him where pilgrims enter and place their arms around him. Many arms embrace him while we wait for Mass to begin. 

After Mass, we go to the Pilgrim’s Office to present our pilgrim passport and receive our Compostela. 

We complete our day by having a delicious meal at a beautiful restaurant and then walking around to explore the city. 

There are still a few more days until we head home. Tomorrow we will take a day tour  to see the coastal towns of Muxia and Finnistre. We plan on touring the Cathedral and museums in more detail on Saturday.  Finally, on Sunday we will head to Muxia for one night to see the sunset before saying our goodbyes to Spain. 

• Beginning Point: Salceda
• Ending Point: San Marcos
• Daily distance: 14.85 miles (23.9 km)
• Total distance: 467.50 miles (752.37 km)

Today is our last full day of hiking. I take in the forest sounds, smells and sights, savoring the time I have left on the trail. I am both excited and sad for my pilgrimage to end. It has been an amazing journey! 

In this last part of the hike, I have not had any brilliant spiritual epiphanies. I also haven’t had any additional insight into one grand passion I want to pour my life into. I think those who find one grand passion are extremely rare. And such a passion can be two sided –  it can be a gift and an obsession. Instead, I’ve come to learn that a life passion can be a seemingly simple collection of moments –  spending time with your family, enjoying a new album from your favorite musician, cooking a delicious meal for your loved ones, reading a poem, watching a leaf float down on the breeze, playing catch with your dog. This pilgrimage has taught me about simple gratitude and a humble acceptance for whatever and whomever life hands you. I have by no means mastered these lessons yet. But, the Camino has definitely opened my heart to see that the seemingly mundane parts of our life, the ones we usually take for granted,  are actually the most magical. 

Today’s hike ends in San Marco, a one hour walk from Santiago. We complete our normal routine…dinner, shower, laundry. But there is excitement in the air. Like children on the night before Christmas, we eagerly await dawn and the presents, or rather “presence”, it will bring. 

• Beginning Point: Melinde 
• Ending Point: Salceda
• Daily distance: 15.35 miles (24.7 km)
• Total distance: 452.65 miles (728.47 km)

It indeed was a long night. Besides snoring, the man next to me got up several times to pee, burped loudly and farted. And then as if that wasn’t enough to contend with, a man across the room started loudly sleep talking. At first, I thought he was talking on the phone until the words starting slurring together into nonsense. Another woman in the room loudly shushed him. It was a disaster. I didn’t go back to sleep until around 4 am and woke back up at 7 am to prepare for one of our longer walking days. 

But once outside, the morning sky took my breath away. The irritation from the lack of sleep quickly fell away as I admired Nature’s handiwork. 

As we were searching out the yellow arrows in the city streets, I hear the faint call of my name. I turn around and once again get to see my Korean friends from Day 1. They expect to arrive in Santiago on the same day we do! 

We continue on through farmland most of the day. I enjoy seeing the locals in their element, herding cattle, pitching hay, picking up children from the bus stop. The rolling hills begin increasing in frequency and my legs become taxed. 

I’m really starting to feel exhausted and I plug in my headphones for some motivation. The upbeat tunes help keep my feet moving. All of the sudden from my peripheral vision, I see a large object coming at me. Even through my headphones, I hear large crashing noises. I turn and see a donkey, barreling through bushes, coming directly at me. I’m quite startled at first but quickly realize the donkey is tethered to a tree. He definitely wants my attention though, so I pet him. He is a bit devilish and tries to eat my bag! A few yards down is a tent with a basket of carrots. Ahhh…now I know what the donkey wanted from me. I drop a euro in the donation basket and grab the fellow a treat. 

A little further down the road we encounter “The Wall of Wisdom”. Someone posted their philosophical views on science and religion. It was a good read and I think he was pretty right on. In a nutshell, he said that we shouldn’t get so hung up on the dogma of religion or science for answers to the world’s troubles, but instead should examine our own hearts. 

Tonight we had quite a humorous host and hostess at our albergue, Tia Teresa and Tío. They make jokes, tease us and keep refilling our glasses. Tia Teresa is a fabulous cook. We ordered the scallops, another speciality here in Galacia.  In Europe, they serve the roe along with the scallop. I never even knew there was such a thing as scallop roe. I had to google it!

At dinner, we met Julie from Australia and chatted with a couple of fellows from Ireland. The conversation, wine and food were great. The atmosphere was light and jubilant. You can tell that all of us pilgrims are becoming giddy at the prospect of reaching our destination. Two more days until Santiago!

• Beginning Point: Eirexe
• Ending Point: Melinde
• Daily distance: 13.98 miles (22.5 km)
• Total distance: 437.30 miles (703.77 km)

My life for the past 6 weeks has revolved around following a yellow arrow across nearly 500 miles of mountain trails. Some arrows are on official markers, some are spray painted, some are made by locals on their homes. Along the way, there has been bountiful displays of graffiti on the markers, especially as we get closer to Santiago. Some of the graffiti has been inspirational, encouraging positive thoughts and continued endurance. One person posted individual lines, one by one, from the song “Imagine” by John Lennon on numerous markers so that soon you were singing the song in your head. Other graffiti artists left their mark by posting their name or giving a shoutout to a friend. Some made political statements. Some I liked. Some I thought were tacky. But no matter the graffiti that accompanied it, I was always happy to see the yellow arrow. It meant I was on the right path. 

The trail continued today through forests, agricultural fields, small hamlets, churches and then finally into Melide, a town with a population of 7,800. 

Melide is perhaps best known for its culinary specialty – octopus. I thought it was very good. The texture wasn’t bad at all. The flavor reminded me of crab. I also enjoyed the roasted Padrón peppers. 

Tonight the albergue is more modern, with some handy features such as a shelf next to your bunk to plug in your cell phone. The bunk beds are also very tall, so a person on the bottom bunk can sit up with at least a foot of headspace to spare. I’m feeling rather hopeful about this albergue experience and I quickly fall asleep around 9pm. Unfortunately, the person sleeping in the bunk next to be rambles in loudly at 11pm and shines his flashlight right into my face. After he finally settled into bed, I breathe a sigh of relief. Now I can get back to sleep. Within two minutes, I hear a huge snore erupt for the man. Oh brother, I’m in for a long night….

• Starting Point: Portomarin
• Ending Point: Eirexe
• Daily distance: 11.0 miles (17.7 km)
• Total distance: 423.32 miles (681.27 km)

A mist covers the trail as we depart Portomarin. I’m reminded of the forests in Grimm’s fairytales. A raven flies overhead and caws. It is enchanting. 

Up and up we climb. As we crest the mountain, we rise above the fog we have been walking through. The sky is bright blue and from this vantage point we can see what looks like a lake of clouds below us. 

We wind in and out of small hamlets throughout the day. In one such hamlet, we stop into a small chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalena and the blind caretaker stamped our pilgrim’s passport. He was quite a character. He asked us where we were from and then continued to call us “Florida” throughout our conversation.  “Hey Florida, Buen Camino”,  he shouted to us on the way out. 

A new feature on the trail in this region is the hórreo (pronounced like Oreo). It is a structure used to store grain. It seems like every house we pass has one. 

Our albergue hostess in Eirexe was a sweetheart. She received us with a huge smile, patted my arm over and over, took care of our laundry and eagerly tried to accommodate any request we had.  It is times like this that I wish I could communicate more eloquently in Spanish because I wanted to tell her how touched I was by her hospitality. I felt cared for like a member of the family and I can only hope that my smile and repeated gushing of “Muchas Gracias” displayed how grateful I was. 

Laura and I made our way to the restaurant next door and share a cheese plate. The region is also known for its cheeses, for good reason. They were delicious! The Cebreiro cheese was my favorite. The cheese block looks like a mushroom or chef’s hat. The cheese is mild, creamy and melts in the mouth. 

With another day on the Camino completed, bellies full and laundry done, we hit the hay. 

• Starting Point: Sarria
• Ending Point: Portamarin
• Daily distance: 13.67 miles (22.0 km)
• Total distance: 412.32 miles (663.57 km)

As we leave Sarria, it is worth noting that it is a very popular starting point for many pilgrims. The city is just over 100 kilometers from Santiago, the minimum number of kilometers required by the church to earn a Compostela (the certificate of pilgrimage). Right away, I notice more traffic on the trail. You can easily tell who the new pilgrims are – they have a spring in their step and clean shoes! 

At first I feel a bit piqued about the increased traffic. I knew to expect it, but wasn’t quite prepared for the large walking groups (some come in tour buses). You set out at a good pace and then run smack into a group of 15 people dawdling and blocking the trail. I decide to make the best of it. I plug in my headphones, set my music to some good vibes and enjoy the scenery. And what magnificent scenery today!

The breeze was blowing, the temperature was perfect, the music uplifting, my spirit soared. Eventually it seemed all the hikers spread out and I didn’t feel so crowded anymore.  I thought through a lot of things up on the mountainside today. I left some things up there that I didn’t need to carry around anymore. It ended up being one of the best hiking days of the trip.

The trail weaved through more tiny hamlets and then into Portomarin. 

Portomarin currently sits high above the river but long ago it was built right on the river. Ruins of the city and old bridge can be seen from the new bridge. As we enter the city, there was a split in the path with arrows indicating you could go either way. We randomly selected the left path and wind up hiking down what appeared to be a steep dried up waterfall. Then, after crossing the bridge we are met with a gigantic staircase. Needless to say, our legs were worn out by the time we made it to our albergue. 

Laura and I attended Mass at Iglesia de San Juan. The church was originally in the old town down by the river. It was taken apart stone by stone, numbered and reassembled in the new town. It looked more like a castle than a church. The inside was very simple with little embellishment. 

My sense of time has become distorted since beginning this trip. It feels like I’ve been gone from home for a year. The excitement is building as we get closer to our destination.  We are in the home stretch!

• Beginning Point: Triacastela
• Ending Point: Sarria
• Daily distance: 15.66 miles (25.2 km)
• Total distance: 398.65 miles (641.57 km)

It was difficult to get motivated this morning. My body is fatigued and my energy level despairingly low. The last two days of hard hiking have drained me. Thirty three total days of hiking with a few nominal “rest days”, in which we walked all day sight seeing, have taken their toll. It’s hard to find my groove this morning. I shuffle along, leaning heavily on my poles and dragging my reluctant feet slowly behind. 

But the beautiful landscape eventually revives me. I lose myself in the beauty and tranquility of the forest and the quaint hamlets which are interwoven throughout. I soon forget about my aches and pains. 

We briefly encountered some charred earth from the recent wildfires. 

The hike took us through the town of Samos, known for its monastery. 

Laura and I brought a sandwich along on the hike today as there was a long stretch without services. We stopped alongside the trail and ate our ham and tomato sanwiches on an old stone wall. A couple of cows milled about in a pasture below us. 

In Sarria, we checked into a great albergue. It had a nice shower, a beautiful courtyard and sitting room with a fireplace. And sweetest of all, a cute ragmuffin of a dog named Donna. I sure do miss my dogs back at home and enjoyed getting the chance for some puppy love.  After I found Donna’s spot (you know all dogs have that one spot that they love scratched), she was my buddy. 

During my shower today, I noticed that the shampoo I bought two days ago just wasn’t foaming up or working through my hair well. I start to suspect that maybe it’s not shampoo and look at the bottle more closely afterwards. Sure enough, the bottle says “piel”, the Spanish word for skin. The Spanish word for hair is “pelo”, so the mix up is understandable.  I had been washing my hair the last two days with lotion! I can’t stop laughing at yet another lost in translation snafu!

As we get ready to settle down for the night, the owner of the albergue invites us to the fire for shared conversation and shots of a liquor. I note how the mantle has icons of Jesus, Mary and a witch and it further endears this region to me. Due to its Celtic influence, this area has an affection for witches and they adorn their spaces with “brujas”. I love when people can hold two differing ideas, in this case Christian and pagan, and find value, honor and respect for each.