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When I spoke to my parents last night, I mentioned that it had not set in that I was finishing so soon. A strange series of events occurred shortly afterwards that made me realize how close I was.

As I went to dinner two friends I had seen in several towns had just arrived in Ribadiso after a 35 km day. (They were part of the great feast in Leòn with massive slabs of veal. What a meal!) It was 8 PM, and I pointed my albergue to them.

When I came back from dinner, I was listening to some music with the intention of going up after one last song – Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by Fleetwood Mac.

At that point, my friends came down to the lounge after showering and settling in. We talked for a little, and I told them I intended to enter Santiago the next afternoon. I also asked where their two British friends were. They said they were separated and believed they stopped in Melide, about 6 miles back. They then took out leftovers from lunch to eat, and I told them I was heading up for the night.

As I departed, I found the two Brits in the lobby. I told them the others were here, and followed them to the lounge. As they recapped the day, and talked about the albergue, they made a spontaneous decision.

They were finishing overnight. We tried to caution them, but they could not be swayed. They took a naps earlier and felt they could make it to the Cathedral by sunrise. We made farewells and well wishes, and they departed at 9:35 PM for the final stretch.

I’m not sure why, but that moment hit home for me. The end really was that close!

I went upstairs, but was slow to fall asleep. Partly out of excitement, partly because the IKEA bunk bed was very wobbly.

I had an alarm set for 5:00, but I woke up on my own ten minutes early, so I turned it off. I tried to keep quiet so not to wake the other 40 people in the room, and I thought I was doing good. Then all the slats on my bed came crashing to the floor with the mattress dropping with it. Oops!

It was still dark for the first three miles, but I stayed with a pair that had a headlamp. I got into a pretty good rhythm for a while, but the feet were pretty tired by the end.

There were some really cool paths through the woods early, but was more suburban in the afternoon. It seemed to take forever to get to the cathedral from the entrance to the city, but it’s easy to tell when you’re close.

They always have a musician, usually a bag pipe player like today, positioned in the arched entryway into the Cathedral plaza. The building itself is undergoing multi-year renovations, so most of the façade was covered in scaffolding. It was still rather impressive though.

I arrived at 3:35 PM, and finished the 26.3 miles in 9:57:30. If I ever run a marathon, I have an easy standard to beat.

I know I’ll have more time for sightseeing later, so I went straight to the pilgrims’ office to receive my Compestella certificate. It was a long line, but made it through. I then checked into my hotel, and have been relaxing here for a bit. While I could have made the 6 PM service, it said in the office that the 7:30 was geared towards those who finished the Camino.

While Santiago is the main attraction, I will continue walking to the coast. I abandoned all hope of doing so at the end of the first week, but I recovered from the blisters and other foot ailments better than expected. It took me 29 days to travel the 480 miles from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago. It turned out to be the same length I targeted before the baggage issues.

I’ll probably be more insightful and reflective throughout the week, but thanks again for following along. I’ve really appreciated the support. There is still more to come, but the scope and perspective of the trip definitely change at this point. It may even start to sound like a vacation soon!