Today was clearly a special day. And I guess you are clear that the hours I record include the rest stops, photo breaks, conversation stops, visits to nature, and everything door to door. The time does not include the initial time spent getting ready or waiting for others but suffice to say I was up early this morning and I was eager to get on my way however it was still dark at 5am. Summer time had only just changed in Spain so I was still readjusting to it.

I lay in bed trying to rest but eventually went downstairs around 6am to make a cup of tea. I already had tea bags and had bought some milk yesterday in order to ensure we could have some for the breakfast. Fortunately the pension supplied tea and coffee and, to my surprise milk and a coffee filter machine. Not that I needed a filter machine but I was sure the Lady from Atlanta would be thrilled.

I decided not to open the milk as I thought maybe the lady from Atlanta could take it to Santiago and use it there. I wasn’t staying in an apartment so it was no use to me. I soon found out neither was the lady from Atlanta so it was no use to her either! Oh well another pilgrim will benefit from another unneeded purchase! Also left a bottle of wine which was unneeded last night as there were no other pilgrims socialising in the eating area who needed sustenance.

On a positive note the lady from Atlanta had purchased some sliced bread to share for breakfast. This was almost unheard of on the Camino but very handy if you don’t have a bread knife! I was so excited as I also had some queso (cheese) and mantaquilla (butter) to share and still had my tiny vegemite package carried carefully across the globe.

I eventually had to visit the Lady from Atlanta at 7am and get the bread because there was also a toastaria! I was sure I hadn’t seen a pop up toaster since I’d left home! And so I enjoyed my long awaited Vegemite toast and tea in readiness for the final push to Santiago.

I was all packed up and ready to go and said I’d wait outside and take some photos before we left while the lady from Atlanta enjoyed her breakfast. The lady from Atlanta thought she would wait inside without realising I was just outside the door so our start was a little slower than either of us planned!

I will say I had no intention of rushing today anyway with the trauma of the past in mind, but I did have in mind an early start for some sunrise shots. I nabbed a few around the pension we were in and noticed a nice little doggie also watching the sunrise.

I eventually went back in and we discovered the confusion! My phone has a mind of its own and wont tell me if someone is ringing if it doesn’t want to! Hence the late start. Oh well at least we would have plenty of time for the walk as we were only 11km’s out.

We headed off down the road because the manager had told us the camino goes straight down the road to the bar we went to last night. As we carefully moved down the steps a man, who I had assumed was the local drug dealer, and a woman, who worked in the bar, started yelling at us and pointing. We were going the wrong way! Again. For some reason no one told us we could do a hypotenuse one last time straight out of the pension. We could’ve crossed the road, walked up the laneway to the supermercado we went to last night and we could’ve skipped another right angle!

So we were finally on our way, the right way, and yet again down and then up a hill. It wasn’t too long before we dropped our packs and removed a layer or two as we had warmed up so quickly.

Other pilgrims were coming out of the woodwork which was a surprise as the last two days had seemed so quiet. A friend from Melbourne caught up and a little way down the track we saw some very friendly horses wishing everyone who passed a Buen camino.

At precisely this time 84 students from Madrid arrived. They were taking a 3 day walk into Santiago and playing music on a bluetooth speaker and singing and generally enjoying the experience.

The lady from Atlanta and the Melbournite decided to outrun them! Not me! No speedy Gonzalez today for me thats for sure. I decided to hang back and take my time and take some photos and ponder my past caminos and the wonderful experiences..

I soon came across the bitumen square that had hosted the Irish musicians in 2018. I couldn’t help myself. Inspired by the Spanish students, I pulled up Spotify and played some Irish music myself as I walked past. Not quite the same as when the Choirmaster, Lovelace and the English Medicine woman walked the trail but I enjoyed it!

I finally arrived at Mont de Gozo and observed the location where once a statue stood marking a Papal visit some time ago and looking out to Santiago. There was also another statue or two a few hundred metres away but I wasn’t going to add to the journey was I! A nice Korean man named George came wandering into the park (yes I know! He probably wasn’t named George) but he was thrilled to see the Cathedral for the first time and we took a photo each of our first sighting.

I carefully plodded down the hill knowing I was getting close to the hole in the ground. I had started sending photos of the posts indicating distance to Santiago to my friends and family on facebook. I had promised to pay the utmost attention to the path and to arrive safely today.

So I stopped completely and called home just before the freeway and walked carefully down to the scene of my demise beside the first bar into town. The path had been completely resurfaced and all of the stone pavers were gone! A friend suggested I changed Santiago with my accident! I wonder how many people had to trip after me before they allocated funding for that work! Perhaps the delayed holy year helped more with the upgrade than my sore head but we will never know.

I went into the bar for a sello and bought an Aquarius to help me on my way.

I then took the mandatory photo of the Santiago sign and plodded very carefully on to the old town where the Cathedral is located. And what do you know – more stone pavers to catch the unsuspecting pilgrims on future arrivals!

I kept sending photos to friends and family and actually couldn’t remember how long this last three kilometres had taken in the past. I kept wondering if I’d missed a turn off!

Finally I heard the bagpipes playing and tears welled in my eyes. I was almost there and actually felt strong and healthy (well almost, I was still on antibiotics and dealing with the tail end of the illness).

I did film the arrival whilst keeping my eyes on the path ahead and holding my phone carefully to capture the movement. It was not Hollywood quality but it’s a great memory to keep.

A couple of pilgrims offered to take my photo recording this final achievement. At last I had walked into the square in one piece! Without pain! Well just a little bit I guess. But not needing months of rehab thats for sure!

The celebrations continued throughout the day as you might imagine – I did the washing, caught up with quite a few pilgrims I had met along the way, ate tapas, visited the park for some cathedral snaps, went to a special pilgrims concert in a church, and caught a photo of the phantom pilgrim.

Most importantly, (and you will recall the demise of the 10 year old smallest scissors in Australia that I left in Melide), I went to the Farmacia one last time ( I had a bleeding toe this time – only minor don’t worry) BUT I purchased almost the exact replica of my scissors! What joy and what a fabulous end to my camino adventure! Buenas noches.