Last day of walk! We left the albergue before sunrise, which at the end of September is about 7:30 in the morning. We were only
about 5km. away so it was okay to walk it in the dark. We arrived in Santiago within an hour but we wandered around for another half hour looking for our albergue. When we found it, we couldn't check in yet since it was way too early in the day to take-in new pilgrims. So, we left our packs and looked around for an open breakfast place. We found something close to the cathedral. It was teeming with people, a mix of pilgrims, tourists and locals, so we assumed it was as good a place as any to break our fast. We were lucky enough to get a table after waiting for only about 15 minutes. I don't remember what we ate exactly, only the excitement of being there at last in Santiago. After breakfast, we still had a lot of time to kill so we went back to our albergue to hang out at the lobby and take advantage of the free WiFi service. It was only until after an hour later that we realized we forgot to do something important. We haven't gotten our compostelas yet! We actually only realized it when a couple of pilgrims came in carrying theirs in a tube.
So off we went in search of the pilgrims's center. We found it after half an hour of going around in circles on the streets of Santiago, and only because of the long queue of excited pilgrims waiting outside. So we lined up and were pleasantly surprised with many happy reunions while standing in line. We must have waited for about an hour and a half before our turn came. When I got to the counter, the lady on the other side was smiling and asked me just a few questions after stamping my passport: Where did I start? Who I was walking with? Why did I do the walk? How long did I walk? When I said 27 days she was shocked. For an average pilgrim, that was a very short time to tackle an 800 km. distance. I had to explain that we took the bus and the train on some parts of it because we simply did not have time to do the full 34-day prescribed walk. After that brief interview, she read the name she wrote on my compostela aloud before handing it to me and never was I more thrilled to be given a certificate in my life. I think I stared at it with a big smile on my face for a few minutes after I stepped out of that office before I was ready to move on.
Another thing that we didn't think about was how full the cathedral was likely to be for the midday pilgrims' mass. I guess we assumed that going in half an hour early for the service would be more than enough time. Add to that was the fact that there were still a lot of pilgrims milling about and greeting each other, in no hurry to go inside. Well, lesson learned for next time because the
cathedral was packed with both pilgrims and tourists alike awaiting the
pilgrims’ mass that was to start at noon. The mass was not in English, of
course but the priest translated parts of it for those who don't speak Spanish. Pilgrims and tourists alike whipped out their cameras at the swinging of the botafumeiro. I could be wrong but I guess everyone was looking forward to that sight. This is not a regular occurrence, I was told. Apparently, the botafumeiro is only used on special liturgical celebrations or for pilgrimages that have requested for it from the cathedral. Another blessing. I also liked the recessional when about 30 or so clerics in full regalia started walking down the steps of the altar, passing by the middle aisle to exit the main church. I quite enjoyed that long processional.
After the mass, once people started spilling out of the cathedral, we saw happily even more familiar pilgrims, people we’ve walked with at some point during the
camino, especially those we never thought we’d see again. After all the excitement calmed down, we went back to the cathedral to read out and pray for each of the
petitions of family and friends we carried with us throughout the walk.
With all the excitement of
arriving in Santiago, getting our compostelas, attending the pilgrims’ mass and saying final goodbyes to fellow pilgrims, we had a very late lunch, our last pilgrims' menu del dia. As we exited the
restaurant, a lady in one of the outdoor tables called out to me and asked, “Aren’t you from the
Philippines?” When I said yes, she invited me to sit down. She said we met in
Pamplona, at the beginning of her Camino. She said I talked to her and her
friend as we were walking out of the city. We chatted for a little while about
our walks and when it was time to say goodbye, I asked if I could give her a
hug. She said, that’s how she remembered me, because I gave them both hugs as
we said goodbyes in Pamplona. And I said, “That’s perfect! This just brings us
full circle. “ 
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