Everyone at the albergue was in high spirits. We all knew what awaited most of us at the end of the day tomorrow. The excitement in the air was almost a physical thing. We were almost done! We couldn't wait for it to be over but we also wanted to prolong it as much as we can. In celebration, a lot of the pilgrims staying in the albergue went out in the evening to get a last round of drinks before the last day of walk tomorrow but after the unexpectedly long walk we had, we opted to stay in, cook dinner and enoy the quiet of the albergue's rooftop kitchen and dining area.
I say most of us because instead of heading directly to Santiago, we chose to stay at Monte de Gozo. I didn’t want us to arrive at Santiago surely tired from a 21 km. walk to appreciate what we see. Most of the pilgrims were going forward after taking a brief pause and getting refreshments at Monte de Gozo and it was so tempting to join them. I'm sure I would have made the most of it regardless of what time we get in, or how tired we were, but I also knew that whatever excitement I feel would be dimmed by the need to rest my aching feet and body. So, we rested and enjoyed the welcome break instead.
After doing our laundry, we had a light dinner and explored the biggest albergue we have ever seen on this camino. It was a huge compound on a hill and the buildings are arranged in a terraced layer. That sounds charming, but it actually isn't. This albergue actually just doesn't look like one. It doesn't have any of that warm welcoming atmosphere you get from every other albergue along the camino. Neither does the aesthetic make up for it in any way. It was really more utilitarian than anything. The buildings were nondescript and the almost barracks-like starkness of the rooms' walls can make you feel like you're in a converted factory building rather than a pilgrims' accommodations. But, they have a functioning laundry machine and dryer so I won't complain.
Once outside the fences of the compound, we climbed to the top of the hill to closely examine the huge marker sitting there. This marker is actually the first thing that you notice when you arrive at this place because of its size and location. But once your eyes have scanned the area, you will notice the tiny chapel of San Marco that stands to a side. Pilgrims visit the dimly-lit chapel mostly to get stamps for their passports.
When you go up and take a closer look at the marker, you will see that each of the four sides depicts different religious scenes. You will also see a variety of pilgrim offerings like folded prayers, rocks, walking sticks, photos and even shoes. From this vantage point, you will see another hill close by, on top of which rests the two iconic pilgrim statues pointing to Santiago. We walked across to that hill, settled in and watched the sun set on the city of Santiago, imagining ourselves there in less than 24 hours. It was thrilling and surreal at the same time. This walk is almost over. It's hard to describe what I was feeling at that exact moment. Even now, words are not easy to come by. There was a sense of fulfillment and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and peace, of course, but for the rest, I still can't find the right words.
When darkness started settling in, we went back to our albergue and found to our surprise that we had roommates. We shared a room with a couple of ladies from the US, good friends who are travelling together. One of them was a volunteer hospitalier. She stayed in one municipal albergue for a month halfway through her camino and was only now getting the opportunity to finish her walk. She told us that the wine and bread we saw in some shrines along the camino are for pilgrims who run out of supplies, and not actually the offerings we initially thought they were. When she found out that our reservation was not until Monday night, she kindly volunteered to book us beds in the same albergue that they will be staying at in Santiago. On a Sunday in Santiago, that turned out to be a good thing since we met a lot of people the following day unable to find a place to stay.
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