End of the Camino

So we did it!  We finished the Camino de Santiago!  We walked 500 miles with 20 pounds on our backs!  The last day we woke up at 4 am with the hope that we might see a couple friends in Santiago before they left for Portugal.  After walking in the dark for a couple hours by ourselves, we were actually happy to see other pilgrims along the way.  We kept getting closer and closer but it still seemed so far away.  Even when we were in Santiago it still seemed to take forever.  Finally we could see the cathedral from a distance!  As we approached the rear side of the cathedral we had to go through a tunnel where a street performer was playing the bagpipes and Gina told me "This is it!"  I could see the square in front of the church and with the bagpipes playing behind me I found myself filled with emotion.  The goal that we worked so hard towards over the last 51 days was finally right in front of us.  Through it all we had pushed ourselves physically and mentally.  We had pumped out gallons of sweat, stayed in some amazing places, some not so amazing, met incredible people, seen landscapes that pictures just can't do justice.  And now it was over.  We were both overwhelmed with emotion and just when all that hit us we were greeted at the end of it all by our new friends Jess, Amanda, Helen, & Graeme!  It was an incredible reunion (they all finished several days before us).  We went out for drinks and tapas to celebrate and to say goodbye (for now).  We took a bus tour out to two coastal towns, Finisterre and Muxia, and had fresh seafood while visiting the westernmost points in mainland Europe.  Since Santiago we've flown to the Canary islands for some relaxing time on the beach.  It's nice to just simply do nothing for once but it's been an adjustment going from having a goal everyday walking to doing nothing but trying to relax but I'm sure we'll manage.  We've got our next couple of stops planned after the Canaries and I dont want to give too much away but I'll hopefully have a Guinness from the source and might get to try some haggis!  I may be done with the Camino de Santiago but I will always be on my own Camino, so I think I'm going to continue the end of the blog as before...

Buen Camino!

Dan and Gina

Ps. Adding pictures to this via my phone is a pain, so they are just all going to the bottom until the laptop is fixed...

The view from our hotel in Santiago.

The view from our Airbnb in the Canaries

Our Camino family! (Minus Monnette who we just missed by a day)