Day 4 Següeiro to Santiago de Compostela

We both were under the impression that today would be a pretty easy day. It started out well, Wendy has some annoying blisters but we got them looked after with our foot care stuff then started off in the sunshine after breakfast served at the place we had stayed overnight, Albergue O Fogar da Chisca. All I can say is that it put something in our tummys to start hiking with. Note to all: if you are coming on this route don't stay here. There are some people on these Camino routes who are here to make money from pilgrims. The best thing about this place was its sign. But as usual we lived to tell the tale.

Leaving Següeiro was an easy exit from town, direct and quick then right into the woods after passing this lovely little church.

We spent the next few hours in the woods, passing the odd house, a couple of small villages, a nice cafe for coffee. It rained a few times, just light rain but enough that we put our rain coats on and off a number of times. 

We walked through some gorgeous woods, lots of eucalyptus which smells lovely right now, very fresh and sweet. Some other forest trails were covered with ivy and moss. 

We finally got to the outskirts of Santiago. Then it was not very interesting as it was industrial and went on and on. It's like entering any city really. Coming in on the Camino Inglés is different than the other routes so we were not quite sure where we were and the signposting is never as good once you hit the city limits. And there were no other pilgrims to follow or to spot way ahead. A couple of times we wandered a bit looking for the marker and a passerby just pointed to us to go down that road. And then a woman leaned out of her apartment window and yelled at us to go that way, and then over there. So we never did take any wrong turns. Very helpful residents!

By the time we came into Praza Do Obradoiro, the main square in front of the Cathedral, we were bushed. There was a lot of pavement walking through town. This main square is the meeting place of all pilgrims and tourists arriving in town and also pilgrims who have already arrived and want to meet up with others they have met along the way. It is also a place where lots of ticky tacky tourist junk is sold and many bus groups congregate. This year the bus groups with tourists from all over the world seem to be wearing different colored baseball caps, green for the Japanese group, orange for a Korean group, etc. Makes me think of colored pinies that day care kids wear so their leaders can keep track of them.

As with many very old cathedrals in Europe, much of the front of this cathedral is covered in scaffolding

as they clean this building, built between the 12th and 18th Century, a section at a time.

This time it was different for us because we hardly met anyone on our Camino. The one English fellow we did meet was in the pilgrim credential office line up; turns out he is a minister Church of England. And that was it, no "old home week" for us, which does make for a different experience. We went to the Camino Pilgrim Office to get our credentials stamped for last time but there was a 2 hour line up - in May, really surprised us. So we left and went out to find our hotel. Got checked in to the Hotel Suso, had showers and just collapsed. Wendy's knee decided she was done with hiking and her feet decided they felt the same, they were probably reacting to her walking differently with the sore knee. So we are moving from Plan A (walking 90km to Finisterre tomorrow for 5 days) into Plan B which we are developing now. We will stay here for a few days to see if rest and not carrying a pack will allow her knee to improve. 

Our hotel is great, we love it but unfortunately they are fully booked tomorrow night so we will find another place for a few nights.

We went into an Italian place and had a good dinner of bruschetta and a walnut, pear and goat cheese salad and then a plate of different cheeses, of which we couldn't possibly eat it all, so took it home for our lunch tomorrow. Nummy! Another good Albariño to taste. It's important to try as many as we can while in Spain!

Hasta luego!

Marion and Wendy