Where there’s a will

We were reluctant to leave the unbelievably idyllic setting of Pazo Santa Maria in Arzua for yet another day’s riding but that is what we had signed up for and so, once again, just before 6 30am the alarm called us to action. Our mornings had become utterly ritualistic, with piles carefully laid out so that we could move quickly to get ready. Cycle kit was set aside for the day, and the various creams and potions, necessary to avoid the sores that could have brought the adventure to a close, were applied before getting dressed.

Once again we were greeted by a pearlescent sky which promised another perfect day for hard cycling. And on this, our final day, we should comment on how blessed we have been on this Camino by extraordinarily good weather. We were wetted, Scottish style, on our first day out of Irun, and we were drowned by a thunderstorm on our way into Ribasella and arrived like drowned rats. But, apart from those two incidents we have had perfect conditions for cycling. Cool and dry, with lighting conditions for photography beyond my imagining. That pilgrim blessing in Oviedo was certainly worthwhile!

We suspected from the plotted route that today was going to be a hard finish, and our reading of the runes proved all too correct. For the first 20 kms we followed the N-road from Arzua and the rolling landscape was a delight, especially once we cleared a very busy motorway intersection. We almost had the road to ourselves.

After countless ups and downs crossing intervening river valleys we arrived in Pedrouzo and pulled over for our final morning coffee stop before Santiago. Linda carefully chose a parking spot for the bikes and hoped that the bin men might take them away and save her the effort of the final two substantial climbs into Santiago.

Unfortunately, from Linda’s perspective, we were ready before the bin men arrived and so we had no choice but to remount and get going.

The next way mark sign brought us hope.

As we had expected (feared) we ran out of N-road near the airport, and we finally had to join the official Camino to navigate around the runways and terminal buildings. The steady stream of people heading towards Santiago is astounding and humbling. Our bells were much used and the air resounded to shouts of “ buen Camino” as we passed hundreds walking, limping and hobbling their way to the Cathedral.

The final climb to Monte Gozo, where pilgrims for more than a thousand years have caught their first glimpse of the spires of the cathedral, was really punishing, but the reward was granted at the mirador. The atmosphere was super-charged and you could sense the suppressed excitement in the air.

We traded the challenges of riding among the pilgrims for the risks of riding with the traffic into a busy city, but the cars and lorries were kind and cut us some slack as we negotiated the endless roundabouts and one way system to get us to the historic centre. Due to a slight navigational mishap by yours truly we found ourselves at the top of a steep and long flight of steps leading into the Praza de Obradoira, the spectacular square that fronts the Cathedral and, suddenly, we burst from deep shadow into blazing sunshine. We, like so many around us, felt the emotion of the moment and failed to hold back our own tears. But no one cares because it is the norm in this most special of places.

We donned our Strathcarron Hospice jerseys, removed Pat’s photo from my map case, and a kindly Spanish lady offered to take our photo. It is hard to convey our sense of gratitude and disbelief.

Others reacted in more sensible ways!

When we last completed the pilgrimage in 2017, along the Via de la Plata, the Cathedral was being renovated and was shrouded by scaffolding and sheeting. Today it gleamed transcendently against a azure blue sky. It was ridiculously magnificent.

After finding our hotel, and thus being able to relieve ourselves of the burden of the bikes we returned to honour the memory of Pat in a way that seems fitting to us. When Pat’s funeral took place during Covid we were unable to pay tribute to her and we felt the loss; today we felt we were able to undertake a small ceremony in her memory. Her husband Peter told us that Pat loved Santiago, and visited it because of the tales we had told from earlier pilgrimages. It felt right to be able to light a candle in her memory in the very heart of this very special place.

By this time it was getting late and although we were enjoying a bit of sightseeing Linda was moving into hunter/gatherer mode.

She was off in search!

The first cafe/bar we tried was underwhelming but we had a glass of albarino just to be sure. We then found a really good recommendation not far from our wee hotel so we sat ourselves down and ordered a second glass of albarino, along with the tapas menu only to be informed they had no kitchen! The sign I’d seen was actually pointing down steps and we’d sat down at the wrong place. Eventually we found the right place and had a wonderful Galician meal with, of course, dos mas albarinos. That was two more than we intended so I had better wish you all good night. I will try to write a final reflection when I am a little more awake!