rufmita: Por Fin - Day 13 from Oviedo to Santiago de Compestela

I'm I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning - way before the sun, and antsy to roll out of O Pedrouzo. What we didn't bank on is that the path out of town is through the trees and it's pitch dark. Cool, crisp, dark air pushed us to hustle 3 km to find a little place open for some cafe con leche and bread - our typical breakfast.

We found out yesterday that we needed 2 stamps per day in our Camino passport to get our papers in Santiago, so we made up for a few missing stamps today. A little church was actually open and giving stamps and at the same time recording the number of us that came through.

With only 20 km to go, and knife stabbing pain, I didn't take too many photos today. We were focused on the shells, which, by the way, have no directional preference whatsoever anymore. Luckily there are arrows to guide us.

Walking into Santiago de Compestela brought a mix of feelings. We've been on the road for 13 days, over 350 km, thousands of feet of elevation change, and yet we are are walking next to people who came from France and have been on he road for over a month, and on the other side we're walking with people who just got off the tour bus 4 km from the city. It's difficult to stay focused and MJ and I reflected on working on tolerance.

This city is big and bustling. People everywhere, cars, OPEN stores, clean.

The Camino directs the pilgrims to the giant cathedral. The moment we entered the plaza, we plopped down on the cobble stones and sighed.

Oh, first we slung our backpacks to the ground. Then I started the transition from boots to crocs.

The church is being restored, which I'm sure is an incredibly long process. It's a bummer that we can't see the entire structure, but the intricate details are mind blowing.

I sat in awe, looking up at this massive structure. A perfect time for the snack I've been saving.

Gringos love their peanut butter.

We are here - at the remains of St. James, who was, apparently, an Apostle of Jesus. James was supposed to come to the Iberian Pennisula to Christianize. He was later killed and then his remains were brought to this very location (although the details are a little fuzzy). King Alphonso II from Oviedo is believed to be the first person to pilgrimage to Santiago de Compestela, and the Original Way (aka el Camino primitivo) was born. This is the path we chose to follow.

We plan to take a tour of the church, so I will have more historic details to report.

Needless to say, it feels great to be here.

Because of our early morning departure and our quick pace, we were here in plenty of time to drop off our backpacks and attend the Noon Pilgrims' Mass at the Cathedral. Although the Mass was in Spanish, I could follow along since I was raised Catholic. I could even catch a bit of the Priest's Homily. He directed some of his message to a giant group of high school seniors that arrived today and before mass were chanting in the plaza.