It was my last day on the Camino de Santiago. There was no need to rush anywhere and I could enjoy the last kilometers of the journey.
It was September 23, and in the morning it was 9 degrees Celsius. Most of the pilgrims wore warm trousers and jackets, and even gloves. Not all, though. However, by lunchtime it had warmed up and was very hot.
The road mostly passed through villages, for example along such beautiful paths between stone fences
And sometimes the road went through fields
Along the way, the pilgrims were entertained by musicians with traditional musical instruments.
Church Igrexa da Escravitude (google map)
Church interior Igrexa da Escravitude
There are 18 kilometers left. Someone left their torn camino shoose
Reached the city of Angueira de Suso
It’s 11 km to Santiago, but that’s if you go along the highway
But pilgrims don’t walk on the highway, they walk on beautiful green paths
In the city of Milladoiro, at the cultural center Casa Da Cultura do Milladoiro there is a large cafe for pilgrims. I decided to have a snack here.
I ordered a beer and my favorite tortilla – a Spanish omelette with potatoes.
Santiago and the spires of the cathedral are already visible.
There are 5 kilometers left, that is one hour.
Here the Way of St. James splits. You can go via Santa Marta, or via Conxo. I went via Conxo because it was on the way to my hotel.
I decided that it would be better to go to the hotel to check in, and then go to the Cathedral of St. James, and this was the right decision. I stayed at the Rey Fernando guesthouse. It is about 15 minutes’ walk from the guesthouse to the cathedral.
The road to St. James’s Cathedral goes through a labyrinth of narrow streets, occupied by souvenir shops and cafes. I had to make my way through a crowd of pilgrims, the tables in the cafes were also all occupied by resting pilgrims. I saw compostelas on many tables.
Statistics for today
The Cathedral of St. James turned out to be really big. There was an exhibition of vintage cars in front of the cathedral.
At first I couldn’t find the entrance to the cathedral, then I saw that there was a queue and I stood too. It turned out that it was a queue to the relics of St. James. So I saw the casket with the relics too.
The interior of the Cathedral of St. James. A huge censer, weighing 80 kg, hangs on a rope.
After visiting the cathedral, I went to the office to receive the compostela.
How to get a compostela and certificate
The certificate of completion of the Way of St. James and the compostela is obtained at the Pilgrim’s Office.
The certificate indicates how many kilometers you have walked, and the compostela is a document for the absolution of sins. The certificate has a fee of 3 euros
Pilgrim’s Reception Office https://maps.app.goo.gl/TS2MgTssJUBAt4BMA
Address: Rúa das Carretas, 33, 15705 Santiago de Compostela,
To obtain the certificate and compostela, you need to register in advance on the website https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/sigle-register/. After registration, you will receive a QR code that you need to show at the entrance to the pilgrim’s office. You will be given a ticket with your queue number.
The whole process of getting the compostela took about ten minutes. Here you can also buy a convenient tube for 2 euros to fold the papers.
My compostela is written in Latin
And this is a certificate of completion of the Way of St. James
Beautiful garden in the Pilgrim office
Thus ended my Way of Saint James.
Then I walked around Santiago and had lunch at a restaurant. I didn’t go to the evening mass, although now I think it was a mistake. The next morning I took the bus to Porto.
I can say that for me it was more interesting on the way than to arrive.
