Farewell to the Camino

My last two days on the Camino were relatively uneventful, with a bus and train day from Caldas de Reí to Padron, and the next day onto Santiago de Compostela.  In contrast to the earlier days, the closer you get to the finish, the more commercially driven everything becomes, with multiple souvenir shops and more industrialised towns.   Padron was nice with its obligatory churches and con vents, and I was excited to find two sequoia trees in their botanical gardens.  Had the weirdest tacos in town (just meet and taco shell, no salsa or salad) and a comfy three floor walk up apartment for our final night on the trail.

Easy train ride to Santiago and I was surprised by how much it was still so familiar, given it was three years ago I was here last.  Still not terribly impressed with the city, but that may be because I have never treated my visits there as any sort of pilgrimage - religion is really not my thing unless we are talking history! Also amazing to think it only has a population of 100k - 20k of which are students at the university and then a lot of tourists!

Spent an enjoyable morning riding the tourist train, walking up and down the familiar streets trying to avoid buying tourist stuff, and then settled into the square to wait for my travel buddy to arrive.  It really is fun to watch people filter in - the solo walker who falls to their knees in front of the cathedral, the groups hugging and cheering their final day, the school groups singing and dancing as their 100km slog is done.  It’s like an airport lounge and my favourite ones are the unexpected family waiting to greet their pilgrim.  Then there are the Instagrammers getting the perfect jump photo or draping themselves over the architecture to get the perfect pose. And sometimes you will see the poor folk who think there will be a reception waiting for them with 76 trombones, only to realise that the achievement and recognition comes from within.

Welcomed Jyai into the square and then found my way back to my hotel room, which was waiting for me - a welcome, air conditioned room out of the sun and in a quiet pocket just off the square. The reception staff were lovely and had already transported my bag upstairs to me room.

Final meal with my travel buddy in a pilgrim’s bar and that is the end of my second Camino - pretty safe to say there will not be a third! But each journey has brought new towns, new sights and sounds and new food to try (although the pulpo has been smashed more than anything else).

Tomorrow morning I jump on a plane to Paris for a quick overnighter before a four day bus tour.  I only have a week left of holidays - I can’t believe how fast it has gone, but still so much to see and do.