Grand Finale - Day 9.10

The final stage of the Portuguese Camino is a long uphill slog of 26 km, and respecting our combined ages, we decided to take it in two halves, catching a local bus midways along and returning to our welcoming pension in Santiago on Saturday evening, and returning by taxi to complete the stage at our ease on sunny Sunday, September 10th, less burdened down by full backpacks and having once again attended the quiet early morning mass at the Cathedral. 

 The weather was hot,  and the going slow,  but abundant trees offered shade, and various little cafes and bars along the way provided sustenance and a chance to rest and recuperate. 

 The numbers of peregrinos increased over the weekend, and many were availing of the various bag delivery services competently run by the Post Office or Correos - a useful source of additional income in these email times!

Legend has it that it was near Padron that St James began his preaching tour of Northern Spain.  It equally attested that here his body somewhat miraculously came ashore after his martyrdom in Jerusalem.  The bollard where his boat supposedly tied up is kept in Padron's Church of Santiago.  O Perdon in the Galician name for hitching stone.  

Nearby in the old Franciscan monastery of Herbon lie the origins of the famous Padron peppers, seen on every menu in Galicia, and further afield - brought back from America by early Franciscans and enjoyed by many today.

A great abundance of fountains and old laundry troughs - lavandeiras - provide shade and liquid refreshment, and grapes were ripening as well as corn.  

As we got nearer to Santiago the pace and number of walkers picked up greatly, but we had decided not to try and be in time for the big pilgrim mass at noon, and instead reached the cathedral at our leisure.  It was wonderful to count down the kilometers on the granite milestones bearing the image of a yellow scallop shell on a blue background, plus the yellow arrow which had been our steadfast guide from the very beginning of this and every camino.

At 14.33 we proudly stood in front of the magnificent facade of Santiago's Cathedral, the blue of our Breakthrough tee-shirts matching the blue of the sky above.  We were overcome with joy and gratitude for having achieved our goal, and for the huge generosity of our many sponsors.  We have remembered you all along the Way!

Very shortly later we received our compostelas  or certificates of completion of the pilgrim way, written in Latin, plus an official record of the distance covered, which officially states 127 kms, but my trusty phone app disagrees and tots up our total mileage walked from Valenca as 196 km  allowing for our inevitable additional peregrinations! 

And so our official journey ends, but many who walk to Santiago extend their journey to Finisterre. Next post will cover our brief sojourn there.