Liz goes to Haiti: I Arrive at the Cathedral, October 8

I walked into the square in Santiago on October 8, about 12:30. My goal was to arrive around 1pm, Sarah, from Lancaster, whom I met early on at Portugalete, and hiked with off and on all the way to Villaviciosa, was going to leave Santiago around 1:30.

There were several people who left the Northern Camino at Villaviciosa to hike the Primitivo over the mountains and this was my chance to say congratulations and goodbye.

Here’s Rachael who I hiked with alot. She liked to swim when we got to a beach. No matter how cold it was.

And I did get to see Sarah:

And, a very nice surprise was spotting Angela, my friend from Australia who I only walked with the last 5 or 6 days, but didn’t get to say goodbye to. She arrived a day sooner than I did, and took a different Camino into town.

We got to have supper together Wednesday night and catch up before she left to go visit some other places and friends in Spain.

These are repetitive but traditional and there’s a whole bunch more I won’t post.

In Santiago I got a room in an albergue around the corner from the cathedral. I like being close to it, but unfortunately in the old town are lots of bars and really loud behavior. Till 4am, in the case of my first night here.

Here’s my room, I got a bottom bunk. Here’s a little balcony that I can sit out on, and below in the street, pilgrims come by all day long on their way to the Pilgrims’ Office to sign in and ask for a Compostela, a certificate of completion.