And so the day had come when we were to return to 'Clean Knicker Land'! Jenny and I were up, dressed and first in for breakfast as the lure of El corte Inglais and some of the other rather nice shops we had passed the day before was too great even for weary pilgrims like us. Our travelling companions showed more restraint and had clearly managed to shake off more of their materialistic ways than we had so we left them to enjoy their breakfast and agreed to meet back at base at noon. In just the space of 2 hours though we all managed to find treats for ourselves and after packing our bags found time for a little more shopping and managed to boost the Spanish shoe industry by buying 7 pairs of shoes (Jenny and Sue tried very hard to make the total 9!), a bag, a belt, a scarf and a jumper! We felt like we were on a task in the Apprentice! We would definitely have been a winning team were that so! After a nice lunch and our final bottles of Rioja we collected our packs and got the bus to the Airport. We arrived too early to check in and a day of shopping, eating and drinking had made us feel as weary as a day on the road. So we slumped down on a bench to wait until we could check in and there was an uncharacteristic period of silence in the group. We managed to find enough energy for the duty free and boarded the plane home. Poor Jackie drew the short straw in the seating allocation and had to spend the next 2 hours next to some very excitable Spanish women who seemed to think they were on a rollercoaster ride with all the accompanying oohs, aahs and screams! It was so lovely to be met by Ellie and Claire at Heathrow and the Brighton Rugby Club bus did us proud returning us all home to our comfy beds. And so our adventure had come to an end. 10 days of so many wonderful things, fun and friendship and I think we all learned something along the way. I cannot say what those things are for my fellow pilgrims but I think I can hazard a guess at maybe a few: Fiona - it is ok to go in the men's' toilet when the women's' is occupied Anne - never discard your old bladder - you never know when you'll need a spare part! Jenny - don't order a shed before you go on holiday. Jackie - before next year learn the Spanish for ' is this tapas covered in ******* flour?!!!!' Sue - An Estée Lauder signature lipstick no 31 'Spiced Coral' can brighten up any Camino outfit! Me - You can survive on less than 10 decent coffees a day although it is still a struggle! Buen Camino!!!!!