Day 32: Santiago de Compostela (Santa Irene to Santiago)

It's only happened! He's only gone and done it! After a solo slog of 23km, I arrived in Santiago absolutely bouncing - I was quite literally a kid at Christmas! On the final 200m into Santiago I don't mind admitting that I was actually quite emotional; this place has been so far off for so long it was just really surreal to be here at last. I think that it was more a matter of finally crossing a finish line that for so long seemed so far away and so far out of reach (at times I really did think of packing it in). I'm happy to report that I felt a real surge of empowerment and achievement that I have felt seldom times before in my life. I absolutely relish a physical challenge and strangely the Camino turned out to be more of a physical achievement than a physical one.

The Camino is not physically demanding to a 29 year old. The hills are manageable and the heat is bearable but the pain of my leg and the solitude at times has made it a real challenge. I am proud of continuing and seeing this through to the end. That nagging voice telling me to just get a bus or to stay an extra night and relax was hard to shut down at times but I am glad that I did. I would have been so disappointed to have taken a short cut on this journey. It sounds cliche but the support of the totally random people I have met and the encouragement of my family really have kept me going and allowed me to grit my teeth and keep putting one front in front of the other. Seeing those Compostela spires piercing the sky in the distance was really a flag of accomplishment that I will never forget.

Now that that emotional uneasiness is out of the way I will continue to describe the city of Santiago. As I walked into the main square, in front of the gigantic doors to the cathedral, I was greeted by Paolo and a few other familiar faces from along the road. I've never hugged an Italian so tightly and felt so crushed in return, it really is a binding thing suffering through this together.

The cathedral is beautiful and is a fantastic emblem to mark the end of the Camino. I feel that the plaza is like an airport; everyone is pleased to see everyone and smiles, jeers and laughs of reunited friends are heard from all corners. We sat down amongst the bodies of overwhelmed pilgrims that littered the floor who, like me, were in disbelief at their achievements.

Drinking beer laughing and joking passed the time as we all waited our turns to go to the pilgrim office and pick up our certificates. I laughed and cheered on my own as I strode in to collect my certificate, the corridor was surprisingly quite, perhaps with the exhaustion of a long day's walk.

With my certificate signed and stamped, I wandered back out into the sun, feeling a huge sense of accomplishment and merriment and sat with my friends to wile away the rest of the day.

What a journey, and what a strange and winding gravel, rock and mud path it has been...