Teo to Santiago de Compostela 12kms
Total distance 270kms
Climb 80m
Total climb 3790m

We were hoping for an early departure so we would get to Santiago as soon as possible but breakfast didn’t start until 8.00am so we were a bit thwarted there. The path was nice at first, through some woodland and over a bit of a climb up to 260 metres. From this hill, far in the distance we could see the spires of the cathedral. As we got closer we started going through more and more built up areas with housing blocks, motorways, traffic lights, viaducts and all the usual stuff on entering a city. We did stop for coffee and a cake, mainly to use the bathroom.

The last half kilometre or so is through the narrow winding streets of the old town and the cathedral towers above you. The Camino Portuguese approaches the Cathedral and the square in front of it, Praza de Obradoira, from the south. Our previous approach on the Camino Frances is from the north and is more dramatic. There you go through about 2 kilometres of the old town and then down steps into a narrow arched tunnel where there is always a Galician bag piper playing. From this small dark space you burst out into the bright daylight of the plaza and the mighty cathedral.

We threaded our way through the narrow streets which were packed with people. It was a Sunday and a fun run was being held with the finish nearby. The plaza was also thronged with pilgrims and tourists and we could hear the wail of the bagpipes. The pilgrims, and us, have all the emotions, joy, excitement, relief, thankfulness, sadness (that the journey has ended and that you will part from your new friends), and even disappointment –  because it was the journey that is important not the arrival at the destination.

In the plaza we had the obligatory photo taken, checked out the long, long queue to get into the cathedral, checked out where we were going to get lunch, checked out the Pilgrim Office where you get your Compostela, and checked out where our accommodation was located. It was all a bit overwhelming so we decided to sit down and have lunch and let everything slowly sink in. In a little side street off the plaza we went back to Restaurante Tarara where we had a few meals back in 2016. For €13 each an excellent pilgrim meal of bread, ham and cheese croquettes and veal lasagne for me, lentil and chorizo soup and roast chicken with salad for Barbara, followed by Santiago cake (made with ground almonds), and a bottle of vino tinto. We slowly ate outside under the umbrellas and just watched the world go by.

We felt a bit flat actually. In 2016 it was all much more exciting. We had walked for over 30 days on a much harder path and on reaching Santiago we had a great meal with over a dozen of our Camino friends and everyone was on a high. And we had our fresh tattoos. This time we knew absolutely no one in the thousands filling the town. Everyone else seemed to be having a great time and we felt it would have been better to also celebrate with friends.

We had not been sure about going to the Pilgrim’s Office, showing our passports full of stamps and getting a non-religious Compostela and Certificate of Distance, as we had done all this back in 2016. What convinced us was the fact that the only official count of the numbers walking Caminos is the number of Compostelas issued in Santiago. We wanted to be counted so went and got our Compostelas and certificates. It was about 2.30pm and over 1,100 had been issued so far that day. Late September is getting toward the end of the Camino season (April to Oct for the vast majority) and up to 300,000 certificates are issued each year.

We then went to our hotel and checked in. Our bags hadn’t arrived so we hung around until they showed up and then had a shower. Barbara rested up in the hotel and I went for a walk about in the old town. The queue at the cathedral wasn’t too long so I joined and got in after about 15 minutes. There is a security check and you are admitted in groups to control the number of people inside. You proceed up a little stair to behind the high altar where the tradition is to hug and give thanks to the large statue of St James. Then you proceed down to the crypt and reliquary chapel under the altar to view the silver casket alleged to contain the relics of St James. From there you are free to wander around all the cathedral. For a fee you can go up the towers and walk over the roof of the cathedral.

I went back to the hotel, roused Barbara and we went into the old town to revisit some of the places we remembered from 2016. Then we had some pizza, ice cream and coke for a truly decadent dinner.