Santiago, again!

Leaving Vilanova de Arousa was hard as we could easily have spent a few more days again. But as we get closer to the end of our Camino, Santiago de Compostela starts calling out to us, urging us forward.

This time we only walked about 160 kms, some of it on the same path as last year, but we also explored new sections that were precious, in particular the Spiritual Variant.

We took the boat from Vilanova de Arousa – this is the recognized Camino route. It has special significance as it is believed that the body of St. James was brought along the same path by boat.

We passed by some mussel farms along the way. Mussels have been harvested in Galicia since VIII century BC. Vilanova is known for it’s mussels and has a big festival celebrating them in August.

When we got to this bridge in the town of Pontecesures, we knew had less than 30 kms to Santiago!

We passed through the town of Padron, which the world famous Padron peppers are named after. While most of them are mild, a small percentage can be hot.

And got a stamp from the church where the stone that is believed to have anchored the boat with St. James is kept.

The next morning we started walking our final stretch into Santiago.

And walked some more.

And passed this sign on what seemed like it was the longest walk ever!

Till we finally made it to the Praza do Obradoiro and the Cathedral in Santiago! Last time we walked in, we had experienced an emotional outpouring of joy, relief and accomplishment. This time those feelings were more subdued, perhaps also because the Praza was familiar to us after our two week volunteer stint, but the magic of walking into the Praza as pilgrims is a feeling that cannot be denied or described.