Santiago de Compostela – Place of Hope and Emotion

A very happy and grateful me

I will talk a little bit about the last days of my “Pilgrim part” of this journey, before I tell you what it was like to arrive on the “Plaza del Obradoiro” at the Cathedral.

I have no clue how long it took me from Pamplona to here – I do not count the days backwards. Many long, hot cycling days are behind me and a couple of passes that were very challenging to cross. In my last posting I forgot to tell what it is all about the “Buen Camino” This is how Pilgrims greet each others and also many locals along the way say “Buen Camino” when they meet you.

In the morning when everybody is fresh and when it is not so hot yet the “Buen Camino” is usually quite cheerful with happy intonation – as the day gets older and the sun stands higher you will see the Pilgrims walking more in a bend posture and the “Buen Camino” sounds more monotones but still always friendly.

After the first set of mountains I cycled through the Rioja region and that I liked a lot. I noticed about myself that I am always most happy when I cycled through regions where people grow wine, fruits and or vegetables. I love seeing how things grow that I enjoy eating it gives me a very warm pleasurable feeling. Then came a region between Burgos and Leon, I think, where it felt I was cycling for days through a highland where they grow grain and it was mostly all harvested – very boring and monotonous to me - I saw myself looking at the navigator of my bike much more often then normally and thinking “What! Still so much left to go – will it never end?”

The songs in my head and not only in my head I sang out really loud at this time where “I’m still cycling” (Thanks Elton Jon) and mostly self-made songs that I made up as I was singing. These songs had a bit of a gospel touch to them. I felt that I had an idea how these songs developed when people where working hard in the fields, the sun burning and the only way to keep going is singing mantras to not feel the pain.

I was surprised about a very old German song that appeared and that I heard myself singing in a canon with myself. The Original is called “Alles is eitel Du aber bleibst” – I sang “Alles ist einsam Du aber bleibst und wen Du ins Buch des Lebens schreibst” See if you can find it in Youtube – it is actually quite nice.

After the long stretch of theses grain fields, which felt a little bit like the plains in Alberta, the mountains came slowly back.



One day I had set myself a target of 110 km but did not check the altitudes/elevation rate sufficiently. When my “navi” showed its only 22 km left I started feeling the joy of looking forward to that cold beer and salad soon-ish. And BOY was I wrong this time! The last kilometres was a Pass to climb of 1360 meters. “Sugar!!” I had no choice but to keep going as there was also no village in-between. The good side of this was that I cycled into the evening light and the mountains were lid up so beautiful that my heart filled with gratitude and stillness looking at it.

Beautiful Galicia

I arrived in my Hostal half past 8 it was already dark and luckily the place was wonderful and I also still got something to eat.

View from my window after the long cycle

After that I was smarter and planned the trip that I stayed the night right in front of a Pass so I could tackle it first thing in the morning. The place I stayed in that night was in a tiny village ) a beautiful stone house (Casa Rural Pandelo) that stood in the garden of Emilia. Emilia is an old-ish lady, the back already a little bend, stern looking at first but then it turned out she has a heart of gold. Emilia kept talking to (at) me in Spanish endlessly until I had understood everything she told me; that the apples on the table are from her garden and I can take as many as I want, that there are 2 Restaurants and a shop and that in this house people sleep and do not party etc…. When I left the next morning she kissed me on the cheeck said “Buen Camino” and that I am to give the Apostel a hug from her when I arrive in Santiago.

Yesterday when I had left in Portomarina there was suddenly an explosion of pilgrims on the path – with light luggage. The story is that in order to get you Pilgrim Certificate you have to walk 100 km or cycle 200 km minimum – and I had crossed that line.

It were so many of them that I stopped saying “Buen Camino” and only said it when I met someone with “serious Luggage”.

Did I learn anything on the Camino?

I thought I did – I kept thinking a lot about humans, relations, tolerance and openness with each other and that I will not allow people anymore to spread poisonous thoughts around when they are with me. It is good for nobody.

And then came the new specious of pilgrims and all my good thought of tolerance vanished. I felt they are not REAL pilgrims and just walking noisy people and all kinds of stuff. There was a little battle in my head. What business of mine is it what their motivation is and what do I know anyway?

To prepare for the arrival in Santiago I decided to stay the night about 20 to 30 km away from Santiago so that I would have plenty of time the next day and would arrive not to exhausted and not to late in the day.

The place I stayed was ever so, so beautiful – it was an old long stone house in the middle of nowhere with a beautiful garden, a little restaurant and a bar. It is run by a lovely, very friendly and helpful couple (Albergue Turistico in Salceda).

The Hosts in "Albergue Turistico"

I got to talk to nice people from Israel, Kiel (Germany) and a few Americans. The couple from Germany had similar feelings like me about the “invasion” of Pilgrims.



Today I woke up and my nasty feeling had disappeared and I felt ready for Santiago. I had put on a set a freshly washed cycling cloth and my “Fondation Cancer T-Shirt”. I had asked if I could clean my bike for the special occasion of the day and the lady switched on the hose for me.

All ready I left the Albergue and set out. It was a misty and cold morning and the scenery was beautiful – For once I had enough time to stop and take pictures and just look. The path lead through beautiful old forests, which were looking kind of magical in the misty light. There were less Pilgrims on the way then the day before and I greeted them all with “Buen Camino”

I slowed down more and more as if I wanted to delay the special moment of arrival in Compostela - I was worried that I might burst out in tears. When I came closer to the Plaza I put on my sunglasses and for the last km I pushed my bike.

And then there I was on this huge place and sure enough I bursted out in tears and I do not really know why but I could not hold it back for an eternity.

It was WONDERFUL to see all the people arriving after such a long time. Very, very touching to me.

Now I am sitting in the bar of the hotel while I write this. I am staying in “San Francisco Hotel Monumento” and old Franciscan convent - parts of the building from the 13th Century – fantastic.

I will go for Dinner now and then plan my trip to Portugal.

Love - Rebecca