Day 34: Monte Do Gozo to SANTAIGO

Well...the day finally arrived. The end.

Sleep: okay...had weird dreams of what was going to happen.

Got up early for the last time. Removed the newspaper from my boots and inserts hoping they would be dry (98% dry!). Ate my breakfast, and was on my last walk. 

My buddies and I just took our time walking in...we didn't have far to go. It only took 30 minutes to officially enter Santiago.

Another 15 minutes to start seeing the cathedral! The excitement was just too much!

The pilgrims' office was past the church, so I stopped to take some pictures. It was beautiful, even though it was under construction. This was real...I made it! Since it was a holiday time and a Sunday, I decided I would take a tour of the cathedral later (I have plenty of time). 

(the back)

I got my compostela! It just seemed strange that I was done walking. I don't know what I am going to do with myself. This trip is going to take some serious processing time.

After having a real breakfast, I headed to mass. It was a mass to celebrate Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It was a beautiful service! They used the giant censer...it was so cool (no pictures were allowed during the mass).

(Horrible memorable ever: man had a heart attack. All I could do is pray...didn't know if he was going to make it for a while. They were able to revive him thankfully.)

I ate a huge lunch then checked into my hostel...it was so nice! Even though it was a hostel it is was just as nice as a hotel. Only had to share a room with 3 other people, the bed was a real bed, and a nice terrace.

I was told about another certificate that I could get from the church of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is the 800 year anniversary of Saint Francis walking the Camino. Well, I went got that too! They had the monks giving them out...they were so sweet.

Since I will be going to Finisterre tomorrow, there was a trip to the bus station in order. On the way, I saw this statue of Saint James.

Tried to see the monastery of Santa Clara....the nuns were on siesta.

I haven't even had time to sit and think today...it's been such a busy day...trying to make sure all arrangements were made and all. No worries. I will be staying in Santiago for several days. This way I can see all the important buildings and time to process this trip. The Lord was at work, probably won't know what was going on until much later.

I will make other posts of Santiago on later days. 

It's still hard to believe that I'm done.