Do you ever just want to get there? Do you ever get the feeling that the closer you get, you’re farther away? Can you see your final destination in the distance, but it seems like it’s still taking forever to get there. The Camino signs were there, yet once we hit the city limits of Santiago, we’d walk up a hill, then down a hill, look around the corner and still not there; up another hill, around another corner, down a hill…
Meanwhile, beautiful, multi earth-tone colors of the rows of homes along the hill; a boy and his dog, a lady and her dog; Nancy momentarily considering getting a tattoo (likely a scallop shell!), the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral’s spires popping up here and there; weary pilgrims now mix with tourists (those lightweights!! kidding!), surprisingly very minor city traffic (or none), a restaurant’s outside menu with a fun octopus logo, street scenes, courtyards, etc., etc.
Finally!!!!! THE PLACE, the final destination, the location where many kissed the ground they stood on. Pilgrims from everywhere, groups large and small, young and old, an endless progression arriving by the minute into the Praza do Obrodoiro (Obrodoiro Plaza). But more about this very (and yes, sacred) spot and the area surrounding the Cathedral a bit later. Time to check into our last hotel, the Pazos Alba with it’s pretty stained-glass windows, and Laur and Nance gleefully tee-heeing, “Yayyyy! We made it!” We’ll enjoy the rest of this day and a full day after.
