Day 15: Padron to Santiago (25.7km)

June 5, 2019

279.6km completed            Route Map

Arrived in Santiago after walking, according to my satnav, a total of 279.6km.

Ann, Pauline, Liam and Liz

This was going to be our longest day and because I'm the slowest I thought I'd head off on my own at 6:45, before sunrise, while the others sought a coffee at a nearby bar. My view is that breakfast provides a rest period and I don't need a rest before I start walking. After 5km or so a breakfast break is very welcome.

Within about 200m of the albergue I had run out of yellow arrows and guessed that I must have missed a left turn. Instead of going back I turned left along a main road and it was some time before I could ask for advice. Eventually I met two women who told me to continue the way I was going. I did for a time but was still concerned at the lack of yellow arrows. I decided to stop at a junction until someone else came along. No one did, but soon I saw a group of peregrinos walking along a parallel minor road. I followed them and again found the familiar yellow arrows.

I was overtaken by many peregrinos along the way. The occasional one that I passed had stopped for some reason or other. After a time I was joined by Susanna, a young German woman, who slowed down to chat. After a kilometre or two I needed a rest and sent her on her way.

I was seated on a low wall, obviously looking very weary, when I had to assure another passing peregrina that I was OK. I was expecting breakfast at around 5.6km and felt I had walked close to that, but there was no sign of a bar or cafe. Well, there was one sign promising breakfast 50 metres ahead but I was out in the country and there was no eating establishment to be seen. It was around this time that Elizabeth from Vancouver walked with me. I had seen the others chatting to Elizabeth on a few occasions in recent days. We entered the village of A Escravitude and soon spotted a bar/restaurant. It was set back from the pavement, had no tables outside and the modest sign was in by the door.

Once inside service was good and I quickly had coffee, zumo de naranja and tostados in front me. We were soon joined by Caterina, another young German woman who we had walked with us in recent days. German seemed to be the most prevalent language heard on this Camino.

The main altar of the Church in
A Ecravitude, where we had our
credcncials stamped

As I was finishing breakfast I received a text from the others. They thought they should have caught up with me by then and wanted to know if I had passed a large church where they just had their credencials stamped. I had noticed a large church about 50 metres ahead of where I had stopped. After an exchange of text messages they were soon in the cafe ordering more coffee. They had walked past it earlier without seeing it.

In the bar and at the church we met some of the Irish contingent and would meet and chat with them a number of times during the day.

As we still had a long way to go, we decided there would be no more "sit-down" stops until we reached Milladoiro, a village turned suburb of Santiago, 10km ahead and 8km short of our destination.

It was a long, tiring walk, much of it uphill, sometimes on roads but mostly on pleasant woodland trails. We had to put on rainwear on a couple of occasions. The climb up to Milladoiro was particularly arduous but, having walked the final four stages back in 2011, we knew there was worse to come.

Ann and Liz

Milladoiro is well served with restaurants so we had no problem in preparing for the final kilometres. First we went downhill sharply and under a motorway; then back up again. It was tough near the end of a long day. After the final downhill thee is a long steep incline into the city. Eight years ago we did it on a very hot afternoon. This time it was cooler and it had been raining a short time earlier. The hill is so steep that the wheel of one car were spinning on the wet surface as the driver tried to gain traction.

The good news is that, although it was a hard slog, it wasn't as bad as we remembered. The bad news is that we still had to walk for a couple of kilometres through the city. With sore feet, aching legs and tired bodies there were many stops over the 2km. 

For the final 100 metres or so we were being congratulated by people we had met along the way. First it was two Italian ladies, then a father and daughter from Dungannon and Armagh, followed by a couple from Devon in England. We met them so close to Praza do Obradoiro that they were called on to take the photographs. That was no sooner over than Philip and Lucy from Armagh were congratulating us. More photos were required.

Arriving in front of the cathedral at the end of a Camino is always an emotional event and this year was no different. It was strange, however, that as I walked across the square, heading for our accommodation, I realised that pains in my feet, that had forced me to rest about 200 metres from the end, had all suddenly disappeared.

We were staying Hospedería San Martín Pinario, an old seminary which provides the perfect atmosphere at the end of a Camino. After showering we headed down to the Pilgrim Office to collect our Compostella; it was after 7:00pm. I had read that people had to queue for hours at the Pilgrim Office and that the best time to arrive was before the doors closed at 7:30. It was good advice although the doors hadn’t closed when we were leaving at about 7:45.

On the way down we exchanged congratulations with Susanna and Caterina. When it came my turn to go up to the desk an Irish accent asked if I spoke English. The volunteer was a man from Celbridge and we probably chatted too long. Pauline was also dealt with by an Irish volunteer.

That night we ate in the refectory of the Hospideria and after reminiscing in the lounge about our walk we slept very well. The plan for the following day was breakfast in the Hospideria, a wander through the city, attend the Pilgrim Mass in the Franciscan Church as the Cathedral is being refurbished, have lunch in Manolo’s and take a taxi to the airport.

It was a very wet morning and we decided that we would only attend the Mass if the rain eased off. It did, but we came out of the church to torrential rain. By the time we had returned to the Hospideria our trousers were soaked – our rain jackets had done their job. Manolo’s was out so we dried up a bit over lunch in the Hospideria. We then went off to find a taxi but it seemed that every taxi in Santiago was taken by people trying to avoid the rain. We were contemplating the possibility that we might not make our flights but after 45 minutes in the rain a taxi stopped. Phoning for a taxi had proved to be useless.