Camino Santiago Portuguese, 8: And Now, The Exciting Conclusion...Santiago Compustela!

By the time we were in Caldas, or even before, we knew we were going to make it. So the hike from A Picaruna was only sort of triumphant, if long and mostly dull, first in the outskirts, then the suburbs maybe (European cities have little in the way of suburbs), then the city itself. Somehow, we lost the trail for a bit, but the kind residents got us back on track. Our quest was at an end! Where's the ice machine?!

After another early departure...student artwork outside an elementary school

Truly scary crow

Through the morning mist, first sight of the city, maybe the cathedral

In the suburbs

Oh no, a fork in the trail; we went for the shortest route

Now in the city, which, I imagine, has its Glastonbury moments

At last, the cathedral

Us, there

The famous Parador; or maybe something else

Tour bus lecture

But first, our room at the nice Plaza Quintana hotel

And a shower; and a nap

Proper view of the cathedral

And then off to the center for peregrino accreditation

After walking all those miles, you still have to stand in line; by 2PM, the day we
arrived, some 600 pilgrims had already gotten their compostelas (check the
website for a count)

Later, at the Pilgrims' Mass at the cathedral

Closer up, featuring the more than life-sized statue of St. James
that tourists walk by and hug, even during mass

In one of the chapels

In another hole-in-the-wall restaurant, El Gato Negro, recommended for fresh
seafood; I really wanted the Coquilles St. Jacques, but it's not fresh this time of
year, so I  settled for the mussels; Vicki had the Iberian jamon plate

Only the sign of the black cat would tell you this is the place

Street scene Santiago

Next morning, leaving town, en pied, for the bus station

Couldn't find the Via Profana

More pilgrims arriving, in droves

Santiago bus station; after a transfer in Vigo, we were back in Portugal and Vila
Nova de Cerveira, where Gea picked us up and took us back to the campground

Estuary at Vigo; most marine farming I have ever seen