Day 18 Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela (21.7km lover 6.5 hours)
We decided as a group to do a longer last day to make it to Santiago de Compostela - this meant today would be our longest walk at 21km. We were all up for the challenge. We were greeted by a lovely sunrise and colorful murals on the walk out of Pedrouzo.
And then the rain came...and came some more. Our first 3 kilometers involved just a drizzle but the last 17km were completed under dark skies and a constant downpour and winds. We were lucky our rain gear held up, keeping us dry underneath. It was however a wet, muddy slog to the end, complete with boots and socks soaked like kitchen sponges. Asha's positive outlook kept us all going. We made up songs, talked about highlights of the trip and jumped in puddles.
We were greeted in Santiago by two Estrellas of the Camino - Maruja Varela, a local baker, and Laurie Dennett, creator of Spain's first Quiet Garden - as we came into Santiago. This kept us going as we made our way to the historic centro where we are staying for the next couple of days.
The rain never let up but we are convinced this is how our last Camino stage was supposed to end - on a rainy day where we still found joy walking, singing together, and thinking of others along the way. Tomorrow we'll head to the Cathedral for pilgrim's mass and the Oficina de Peregrinos to receive our Compostela certificate.
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