Well after a lazy afternoon of laundry and catching up with friends, I had agreed to head over to Morag and Hugh’s hotel for dinner as whilst my room was great my Casa has no atmosphere. However as it reached 7.10pm it was pouring with rain and the idea of heading out in the rain was really not appealing, so I left it later and later. However at 7.25pm the rain slowed to a light shower so I shoved on my tevas and ran. It was not 1 minute along the road I had thought but 5 mins and a hill later I arrived.
They were in an amazing hotel, amazing for a very rural hamlet in Northern Spain anyway. A bit unusual in decor but warm and lots of atmosphere. Dinner was brilliant, one of the best I think I have ever had. I had vegetable soup and then grilled hake but it was delicious.
I had a great nights sleep at my place too and then breakfast was a surprise, I was offered freshly cooked bacon and eggs, I couldn’t believe it. Not wanting to turn down such a good offer, I accepted. So I now feel suitably prepared for my final walk to Santiago. Good job I think as the rain this morning and forecast all day is ‘biblical’!!! It will be a wet one, so I had a second cup of coffee to defer the inevitable!!
Today was wet. The full rain gear came out but it was still wet! Fairly symbolic perhaps, wet day 1 and wet the day into Santiago.
The walk was surprisingly rural up until 5km from the cathedral. Woodland still and ascents and descents and lots of mud!!
Photos today are a little limited since it was just so wet that I couldn’t dig through all the layers to get the phone out but I do have a few to show the overall wetness!!
About 7km away I passed the monument from the visit of Pope John Paul II and Francis of Assisi, which also shows 2 pilgrims looking towards the cathedral. This is the first point on route in where the spires of the cathedral can be seen.
If you can’t see the spires, don’t worry, nor could I?
It is a good thing that this trip is about the journey not the destination, I have to say that arriving at the cathedral was a bit anticlimactic!!! Not sure what I expected really, but arriving very soggy with no idea of where to go next and no one around to ask was not really what I expected.
After a quick photo, which felt like it had to be done, I retreated to my hotel to regroup and work out what to do next.
After a shower and dry clothes every looks much better. I headed out, and back to the cathedral armed with information on where the pilgrim office actually is. On route I managed to make a dinner reservation at my first choice of restaurant so things were looking up. Arriving at the office to get my Compostela I found that the queue looked to be less than an hour so I decided that I would wait.
Clearly most people have just stopped straight here on arrival. Consequently everyone is soaking wet and very cold. My decision to go to the hotel first now feels like a very good one.
Hopefully I can get some drier pictures tomorrow with some atmosphere!!