Day 41: 9/06/09: Final day of walking: Santa Irene to Stantiago de Compostella (0.00kms to go)

Well, this is was our final day of walking. We've walked almost 800kms over 41 days, and haven't caught a single bus/taxi/train/etc. Every single kilometer has been done by foot..

We've had rain every day for the last week, but for our last day the weather clears up and it's a lovely stroll towards Santiago.

In Galicia, the north western part of Spain where we are, introduced euclaytpus trees account for almost a third of the forests. (Eucalypts were introduced to Galicia over the last century because they grow much faster than the local oak. However, being an introduced species they've upset the eco-balance and are poisonous to many native birds & animals.) Eucalypts have such a distinctive smell, they can't be mistaken for anything else. It's bizarre being on the opposite side of the world, smelling trees that we associate with home.

Many people stop at a place called Monte de Gozo, where you're first able to see the towers of Santiago's cathederal. From here it's only an extra 4kms (~1 hour) to Santiago, so we continue on. For this last bit we're out of sync with most other pilgrims and walk into the destination just by ourselves, which is exactly how we wanted it.

We have a very brief look at the city as we come through... then collaspe into the closest hotel and sleep for about 48 hours. Our bodies feel as though we've... well... walked 800kms.

I've no idea what to write for the end of this. It's not something I can put into words.

We're both very proud to have completed the Camino, and are very privileged to have met many of the people we've met along the way. It's changed our perspective on a lot of things and helped us prioritise the things that are important to us.

Would we walk the Camino again? Definitely.