The Last Day! Completed Camino

The Last Day!!!

We woke up early to make the final trek into Santiago.  

Josh and Wendie headed out about 30 minutes before Joe and I.

We finished getting all our gear together, doctoring up my feet and headed out the door ourselves.  We got the awesome bonus of seeing the full moon straight down the street we were staying on.

We had less than a 10k to go.  

Less than 6.2 miles. 

I’ve run 6.2 miles. 

I can walk less than 6.2 miles with a backpack on. 

So we started the last day to the finish. 

Already getting teary!

It was fun to watch the kilometers on the pillars pointing the way to Santiago get smaller and smaller.  They had been such overwhelmingly large numbers at the beginning. 

Suddenly the numbers weren’t overwhelming anymore.

What was overwhelming was the emotions that I was feeling as we walked the last miles. 

So many lessons.

So many new experiences.

So many emotions.  

The sun was coming up and we enjoyed the cool air and the way the sun was shining over the tops of the trees and buildings we were passing.  

Then the pillars started to say 5k left.  Three miles!  

Oh my goodness.  

I’m really doing this. 

I’m really finishing a walk that took 15 days (including the two rest days).

I had walked multiple days in a row with more than 10 miles. 

I had blisters on the backs of both heals (with blisters under those blisters).  Blisters on several toes and blisters under two toes on one foot that grew into the ball of my foot the last few days.  

Basically my blisters had blisters.  

But I kept going in spite of them.

So many things to be proud of.  

We got into Santiago but we still had a ways to go.  The cathedral is in the center of town. 

There was a long trek up city streets, and of course it was uphill.  

But unlike the long slog uphill on city streets in Vigo, this was easier, at least mentally, because the cathedral was at the end.  

The problem was that the yellow arrows and pillars kind of disappeared the closer we got.  We didn’t want to wander around and get totally lost so we stopped for a few minutes to check the map and make a plan on what street we were going to follow into the courtyard of the cathedral. 

Now the streets were more of the older streets and buildings.  Narrow with lots of shops and cafes. 

First glimpse of the cathedral!

We saw some pilgrims walking our direction looking for their hostel or hotel.  It felt like we were getting really really close. 

I was so excited.  

I couldn’t stop smiling!

Then we suddenly were there!

This big open courtyard with old buildings on three sides that were impressive.

But the main attraction was the cathedral.  

We had seen many churches, monasteries, convents, and cathedrals but this one was the most amazing!

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela 

Because it was relatively early there weren’t many people in the courtyard.  

Some pilgrims finishing like we were. 

Some were laying on their backs, using their backpacks as a pillow and just staring at the cathedral.  

Lots of people laughing and crying.  

Done!!

You will never guess what I was doing….

Yep.  

I was crying.  

I did it. 

I did this really big adventure. 

I overcame physical hardships.

I overcame even more mental hardships. 

I overcame. 

I hugged my husband in the middle of that courtyard and cried and cried.  Sharing this adventure with him and this moment with him is definitely up there on the most amazing things we have done together list.  And we have a pretty great list.

Love sharing my life with the best man I know! 

Happy tears. 

Proud tears.

Even sad tears.  Because there is never a first time to do something again.  When it something this epic it makes it very special.  While I was glad to be done, I was sad it was over.  

I was so busy feeling all the feels that I stopped for a moment for Joe to take a picture of me and then I wasn’t really interested in more pictures.  

I was just soaking it all in.  

We saw our friends Josh and Wendie and got big hugs from them.  They had enjoyed having their time together before we got there.  They went to go get their certificate of completion called the Compostela. 

Joe and I sat on the bench on the side of the courtyard and just soaked it all in for quite awhile before we got up to go see about getting our Compostela.  As we were walking past the Parador (where we would be sleeping that night) Robin and Sea came out so we got even more hugs and loves.  

Such a good day!

We headed down to the place where they verify your Pilgrim passport to make sure you have all the stamps for each day before you receive your official certificate.  We had to have one stamp a day for the first part of our journey.  Once we got to Vigo we had to have two stamps a day.  

I was a little worried because we had broken the last stage into two parts. We had gotten three stamps the day before but because we left so early on the last day and it was a shorter walk, nothing was open for giving us stamps before we finished.  

Joe didn’t really care either way but I wanted that Compostela as physical proof that I had actually done this!

We had to fill out a form showing where we started and what Camino route we took.  Then we got a number and got in line.  Our numbers were 60 and 61.  That’s how many pilgrims had applied for their Compostela that day so far.  

When it was my turn I walked up to the woman who was going to check my passport and she was lovely.  Turns out she was from Michigan!  She asked me questions about the journey and how it went while she looked over the passport.  I told her that while I had stamps for every day I didn’t actually do the full walk on two days because I was hurt.  She told me that it still counted because I certainly put in the work after I got back on the road.  And I had done all the miles from Vigo on so that worked as well.  She was incredibly sweet.  

It all got real and overwhelming all over again.  

Holy crap!  

I just walked 161 miles…. In a row!  

I got teary…again.

The woman stamped my passport for final time with the stamp for the cathedral and then again for the stamp for being officially done.  She handed me my passport back, then showed me the certificates of completion. 

One of them shows the information about the Camino and how many miles we went. It’s called the Distance Certificate.  

The other paper was the official Compostela which is my proof that I successfully completed the requirements for the Camiño. The Compostela also gives me my official Latin name.

Because I was teary, the woman took my hand and told me to be proud of the accomplishment, I had very much earned it.  She gave my hand a big squeeze and a then she smiled at me and said, “Buen Camino!”  

We bought the little cylinders to roll up our certificates so that we could get them home with being wrinkled and torn and then we headed out to find Josh and Wendie.  

They were waiting for us just outside the building.  I walked over and announced that from now on they could refer to me by my Pilgrim name….

Elizabetham

Which is pretty ironic because I always wished that Lisa was short for Elizabeth.  

Wendie and I had emailed the Parador when we were in Padrón to see if we could do early check in when we arrived.  They told us both that it would depend on availability.  

So we decided to go in and see what they said even though it was not even 11:00 am yet and check in wasn’t until 3:00 pm.  

Turns out we all got early check in.  Right then!  Which was amazing!!!  So we got to take our backpacks up the room and spend the rest of the day not worrying about dragging it around with us until we could check in.  That was truly a blessing!!  

The Parador had been a hospital before it was turned into a hotel.  It was built in the 16th century to provide care for pilgrims as they finished their Camiño. That’s why it is right next to the cathedral . But it still felt like a castle (like the Parador in Baion.). The room was lovely and the hallways, artwork, courtyards were all so amazing to look at each time we wandered through.  

We met up with Josh and Wendie and went to get in line to go inside the cathedral.  While we waited in line we chatted with other pilgrims who had also finished that day or the day before.  

We also started seeing pilgrims we had met along the way.  Each time we saw someone we had met it was like a reunion with long lost friends.  It made the concept of “Camino Family” take a whole different light.  

We found the girls from Rome, we had sang Happy Birthday to their friend in a video for them early on. 

Emily aka North Carolina-Met on the Spiritual Variante

Dutch couple we crossed paths with almost the entire Camiño.

We will most likely never see these people again.  But we have a connection.  We have memories.  They are a part of our story and we are a part of theirs.  That is very special!

The inside of the cathedral is just as impressive inside as it was outside. It’s hard not to just sit and gawk at it all.  We sat for the longest time just looking and the longer we looked, the more we saw.  It was impressive. 

Then off to yet another cafe for coffee and laughter.  Then we had big hugs because, wow, we had accomplished something pretty great together.  This was our last time together, everyone was going to be taking off to go on individual adventures after this point.  So it was fun to finish off our adventure with the Gums with one last bout of conversation, memories and laughter.  We sure treasure their friendship and the many, many memories and adventures we have had together over the years. 

Joe and I headed back to the cathedral courtyard and then to the Parador for a well earned nap!  In a king sized bed!  I think it was the first super solid nap I had the entire trip.  

When we woke up we headed down the cafe at the Parador to have a beverage with Robin and Sea so that we could have our goodbye’s with them before everyone parted ways.  More great conversations, laughter and new memories with newer friends.  

After we said goodbye to Robin and Sea, Joe and I walked around and looked into shops.  Then we had dinner before we tucked ourselves back into our room for the evening.  

Because we didn’t have to get up early to walk the next morning and our flight wasn’t until the afternoon we got to sleep in.  Breakfast came with our stay and we picked 9:00 am.  It was awesome to slow roll into our day for a change!  Breakfast was great and we enjoyed the food and the people watching.  

We then took our dirty clothes to a nearby laundrymat so we could have all clean clothes for the last part of our adventure.  

After all the shops we went through the day before I new what I wanted to get as a sourvenier for the trip.  I got two tiles like the ones that we would see on the sides of buildings and fences.  One with the shell and one with the arrow.  I also got a small ring that has shells, the Camino cross, and arrows on it.  A few stickers and some magnets were also purchased along the way.  

You really can’t go too crazy buying souvenirs when you are traveling with a backpack.  Not enough room to carry it and no desire to weigh your backpack down with more stuff while you are hiking.  

Then we went and got more pictures in the courtyard.  I was ready to take the time to record our finish.  I wasn’t the day before because I was too busy feeling all the feels.  But it was fun to go get some pictures with all the different Pilgrims, tourists and people milling around.  The vibe is awesome!

Then we went to the cafe at the Parador and snagged a great table that looked into the courtyard.  We sat and laughed and talked, just the two of us.  People watching was prime in that location.  Many Sangrias (me) and Cervesas (Joe) were consumed throughout the afternoon.  

View from the cafe.

Soon it was time to leave for the airport and begin the next part of our adventure that would take us in stages toward home.  More about that later.

Lesson Learned on the Camino  

Some are hard to express.  

Some are very internal and intimate.  (I’ll keep those to myself.)

But here are the big ones I came away with.

💙Don’t waste time trying to keep up with others.  Do what you need, what your body needs, what your heart needs.  You all end up in the same place in the end.  

💛When you aren’t trying to keep up with others, you also stop comparing yourself to others.  I gave zero shits about my speed, my size or anything else in comparison to anyone else on the trip.  Especially when I had to stop for a couple of days.  I really had to evaluate what I wanted out of the experience and what I could do.  

💙Everyone processes things differently and we all have to give each other space to feel all the feels.  Sometimes they aren’t pretty or they come out in ways that are unexpected.  That’s real and okay.  I’m so thankful for friends and especially a husband who let me feel all the feels.  

💛I found what I will forever more call “The Camino Calm”.  It’s kind of like the Let it Go concept.  We had some stresses the last few days with delayed flights and short connections and a few other things.  Things that normally would have really stressed me out.  Instead I was just processing what might be possible solutions but not in a frantic, stressed way.  It was more like looking at it as, it might not be what we planned or on the timeline we wanted, but eventually it will get figured out and we will get on with the journey.  

💙I have never been so disconnected and yet connected at the same time.  

💛Disconnected from social media, news media and their negative spin on everything, the stress of work, etc.  

💙Connected to our friends we were traveling with.  

💛Connected to the people we met along the way who showed up kindness or made us laugh.  

💙Connected to people back home who we love that shared the journey through my blog or texted me as we went along.  

💛Connection to my husband as we shared the adventure with all it’s joys and struggles, just as we have throughout our marriage.  

💙While we all might be walking the same road, we are not having the same journey.  Keeping that in perspective is always a good thing.  

💛Connected to people we met that were processing hard things on their Camino, Sharing their story with complete strangers and yet people who they knew were kindred spirits and empathisize.  Couldn’t we all use more of that kind of connection? 

I’m sure that I will continue to process the experience and the lessons that I learned or will continue to learn from the experience.  

I know that I have grown tremendously because of this time, this journey, this experience.  

Buen Camino!!!