Journey's End

The journey is over - the goal has been reached!
On Thursday afternoon I arrived at the great cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in glorious sunshine.  It had been a very wet night and rain-gear was donned on setting out from the modern albergue at Milladoiro, an easy 6km walk from Santiago.  But after an hour the rain cleared and the clouds blew away, and I was able to appreciate the newly cleaned facade of the cathedral from a vantage point in the Alameda, a green space at the edge of the old town.  A kindly stranger took my picture there, as did another right at the end of my walk. 

Arriving alone was strange.  Friends I had made on the way,  being so much faster,  were already en route to their respective homes.  However, the Camino office has a welcoming service which proved to be a godsend, and next morning having obtained my certificate of completion I attended an intimate mass in English in a side chapel of the cathedral, followed by a relaxed session at the Camino centre.  It was a fitting end to what has been a wonderful experience.  The Breakthrough Cancer Research tee-shirt carried the message "Hope lives here".

The significant bit is near the end!

 152 kms over 13 days gives a pretty poor daily average,  but I found this probably the best camino experience ever, and savoured every moment.  Some days were tougher than others, some nights didn't offer a lot of sleep, but overall the magic of simple pleasures, shared stories, and warm companionship cheered the heart and made it all worthwhile

Thank you all who have contributed to the charity, either through the Everydayhero site or directly to me.  Please let others know and spread the word.