Peregrino Competo

Hola from and very grateful and satisfied little peregrina!

After the last email I met up with a few new people and have had a wonderful few days on the approach to Santiago.

I walked the final 3 days with Jose and had lot´s of laughs and I had to try to explain english words thaht I was using to someone who used english as a fourth language!! Think we covered off "weirdo", "creepy" and "dag" before going for more high brow terms!

We left on the last day at 5.30am as Jose really wanted to walk in the night once and the sun doesnt rise til 7am so we got a few hours of dark in. I wanted to have a siesta under a tree one day too so squeezed that in on the second last day. Otherwise pretty much did everything else I hoped to. The last day took us through a few eucalyptus forests which smelt amazing and felt very comforting. The few aussies around all had to become flora experts overnight though to explain the intricate details.....

We arrived a little late for the midday pilgrim mass so sat at the back of the impressive square before the cathedral, kicked off our dirty boots and lay on our packs looking up at the cathedral of St James. This was Jose´s fantascised end to the walk and was actually really perfect. We lay there in silence for about 2 hours, mulling over all that we had done and achieved. After the adrenaline of arrival wore off we could have a few private tears. Mine were mainly because i wasnt really ready for this little wolrd to come to an end. By getting my final pilgrim stanp and picking up my compostela (certificate) I would be letting it all be over, so I procrastinated for a while to soak up my final moments as a dirty pilgrim. A few well dressed coach tour people had us in their photos I think as we looked very tired, dirty and smelly lying on the ground - but also looked very happy.

Then the friends started coming in - one by one people that I had met or talked to came out from mass, retunred from Finisterre (the fast walkers!) or arrived into Santiago for the first time. What a wonderful reunion with people with such interlinked, but unique experiences.

Splurged on a nice room last night and today had lunch with 14 people that are now like old mates. The FA Cup is on tonight (Barcelona v Arsenal) and its a fiesta day so its a great atmosphere for celebration.

Today it has started raining so that means that in my 5 weeks walking we only had 1 day and 2 half days of rain! Almost unheard of for this time of year so feel very lucky.

Off to meet up with todays arrivals and a celebration cerveza! Love to you all and thank you so much for your encouragement alone the way. The time has really flown by and I will miss this journey very much but I know that it will all stay with me for a long time and I hope you have enjoyed the view from home.

Lots of love from peregrina kellie