The final day, 27km to from Padron to Santiago De Compostela.
My feet were blistered, I was exhausted — but I was ready to finish strong! I left the hotel at 6.30 am in the dark (sunrise was around 8.15 am), intending to find coffee along the way. The hotel provided a picnic so I had food with me.
The first half of the route is still agricultural and back streets and I watched the sunrise in a rural area as cockerels crowed in the yards. It was lovely to walk alone again for a few hours before other pilgrims joined the route.
The church of Satuario da Virxe da Escravitude is a great place to stop, and there are a couple of coffee places nearby where I had my morning espresso and croissant (the Spanish version is sweeter than the French.)
Lovely section of vineyard walking.
More rocky paths — I was seriously over the stony ground by then!
Much of the final section is on roads and through urban areas, then into the busy city of Santiago de Compostela.
I made it!
I was thrilled to reach the square in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, but I was exhausted and really sweaty from the long walk on what turned into a very hot day. I had an extra day planned to see everything, so I just headed to my hotel for a shower and sleep!
Here’s my completed Credential across several pages.
My Compostela (with my name in Latin) which I collected at the pilgrim’s office first thing the next morning. There’s always a queue!
Accommodation: I stayed at Hotel Costa Vella, which has a lovely garden and a good cafe with great breakfast. Definitely book accommodation as it gets busy especially in high season.
Facilities: There are a couple of cafes on the first half of the route, open after 10am, and then the last third is the outskirts of the city so there are lots of options. Santiago de Compostela is a big city with everything you need.