Camino de Santiago – Part 15

September 18, 2024 marked the day I finished the Camino. The day started in Arzúa about 25 miles east of Santiago. It would be an easy day, putting me at the Santiago Cathedral easily by noon. The terrain was mildly hilly and the weather was slightly cloudy.

As usual, I was up about an hour before sunrise. I found a small place across the street that sold coffee and simple breakfast pastries. My timing was good, as shortly after I arrived several other pilgrims descended on the same place and a line began to form. I noticed Europeans don’t seem to be bothered by long slow lines as Americans, especially this one.

After getting fueled and caffeinated for the road, I packed my bags for the last time and hit the road. The ride went nicely at first as most pilgrims don’t get up as early as I do. However, by the time it was 9AM or so the Camino was crowded. Very crowded. Where had all these people come from. I explained in my last installment of my story that a lot of pilgrims start 100 kilometers from Santiago in Sarria. However, I witnessed many more people this day than the previous day, which was still west of Sarria. Could it be some people started in or near Arzúa, in violation of the 100-kilometer rule to get a certificate? I don’t know.

It got to the point where I had to walk my bike half the time because the Camino was so congested with pilgrims. There was also a different vibe. No longer did it seem like a spiritual journey, but instead like an athletic event, like a marathon that people walked. The Camino itself in this section was nice as it was mostly through the woods on wide dirt paths.

After about two hours of fighting the crowds on my bicycle, I decided to get off the Camino and take side roads until I got to Santiago. This was a good decision as I was able to travel much faster and not be such a bother to the hundreds of pilgrims on foot.

I knew for a few days that the end of the tunnel was near. However, the first light at the end occurred when I reached the outskirts of the Santiago airport. The road I took went right along the airport fence. After that there were the usual airport related businesses and warehouses. Then I went through what seemed mostly residential areas outside the center of the city. After that, I rejoined the Camino and the hundreds of walking pilgirms on it. For the next hour or so the Camino was along a busy boulevard.

Most large cities I encountered in France and Spain had a historic center that was mostly void of cars. This effort in urban planning I strongly support, I might add. Santiago was no exception. The last bit of the Camino went through winding narrow streets that zig-zagged their way to the Cathedral. I walked my bike the rest of the way as the streets were very narrow and crowded with a mixture of pilgrims and tourists. Despite being within a few miles of the end, the usual good signage that marked the Camino was strangely missing. Often a cluster of pilgrims would be at an intersection and notknow which way to go. Every time what looked like a dirty heavy-laden long-distance pilgrim would come along and confidently make the right turn. Everybody else would follow.

As I drew closer, the crowds got thicker and the shops more touristy. Then I heard the sound of bagpipes. From this point, everybody, including me, got quiet as we all followed the bagpiper’s siren call. A few more turns and we were at the Cathedral wall, but obviously not at the main square where the Camino officially ends. Then we all came to some steps that lead to a passageway underneath a part of the Cathedral. In this passageway was the man blowing his bagpipes. In this echo chamber they were very loud. I went straight through as this passage was crowded and my bicycle would have encumbered traffic had I stayed to listen to the bagpipes or contemplate my last steps of the journey.

A left turn after the bagpiper’s passageway and you enter the main square that marks the end of the Camino. Said square was full of pilgrims. Many were celebrating and taking pictures. Others were sitting or lying down (or is it laying down?) by themselves, clearly deep in thought. Some were crying. It was a pupu platter of the whole gamut of emotions.

As for me, I made by way towards the back where I could see what was going on yet be out of the way of the crowds. For a while I just sat there, no knowing what to feel. It was hard to grasp that my journey was over. For the last 15 days I had one overriding goal – to get to Santiago. Suddenly, there were no more scallop shells or signs,pointing me the way to go, like the Star of Bethlehem. If I had to say how I was feeling, to be honest, it was mostly sad that my journey was over. Second to that would be a feeling of being lost – that I didn’t know what to do with myself. Third I would say that there was a sense of pride in the accomplishment, but it took a back seat to the sadness and emptiness.

After about 15 minutes, somebody asked me if I had just finished. I said I did. The woman asking had finished the previous day and I think was waiting for a friend to arrive who was a day behind her. She kindly took some pictures of me. I shared with her I had no idea what to do next. It was likely too early to check in to my hotel and I had no idea where to get my certificate of completion. She explained where to get the certificate and added the first thing I should do was have a drink.

I’ll end this chapter of my story here. In my next chapter I plan to tell what I did for the remainder of my trip. Then, after that, in a final installment, I plan to summarize my advice on doing the Camino and what I plan to do different when I return.