38 km – 23.6 miles

1720 meters – 5643 feet elevation gain

6:45am to 4:45pm walking time

The last day…

I decided the night before to go all the way to Santiago, arriving there a day earlier than planned. I knew after doing two 37+ km days that I could do the 38 kilometers to the cathedral. So I booked one of the last hotels walking distance to the cathedral and headed to bed after a nice dinner with Ian and Chloe.

The way schedules ended up, I had caught up with most of the people I got to know well on the Camino over the past five weeks. So the last two days of the Camino had the social elements I had hoped for all along and have known on past Caminos. It felt really nice to be able to end a very mentally challenging adventure on a positive note.

The walk in was hill after hill, but some nice countryside to walk through. You pass through farmland and eucalyptus tree forests. I felt good all day with my walking, so I knew I made the right choice in pushing myself.

Another nice thing about this last day was that I had gotten a good head start on the “tourist pilgrims” so it was a peaceful walk. And I kept running into people I knew all day. A big contrast from the sections right after the 100km mark.

It was sad to walk into Santiago alone and have no one to share that moment with. But I guess the ending matched much of the journey. Even so, there’s something special about arriving in that plaza every time. It’s hard for anyone to hold back the tears there.

The pictures below are from yesterday and today, where I’ve had chances to hang out with a lot of the friends I’ve made along the way. We’ll continue to celebrate tonight.

While I wish there had been more moments of joy with fellow pilgrims along the journey, there’s nothing better than the connections you make and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.