Today felt like a prelude to tomorrow, when we’ll finally reach Santiago de Compostela. The official distance we walked today was 16 km, but it was 22 km according to Dave’s smart watch. We have just 8.8 km to go!

Today’s highlight revolved around the sheer number of pilgrims on the trail. It’s funny how every time we stopped—whether for a quick photo or to adjust something—we’d find ourselves merging into a completely new group of walkers. It was as if the Camino had its own rhythm, and we were being shuffled along with different sets of pilgrims. Many pilgrims say this is their first Camino; some have commented on the number of badges we have that represent our six Caminos. I like to say we started in 2015 and got hooked, so watch out! 😂 

One challenge we had today was finding a place for a coffee break. Every café along the way was jam-packed with fellow pilgrims, so we ended up powering through without enough stops. By 2 PM, it caught up with Dave. We arrived in Ventín, tired and hungry, only to discover we were an hour early for check-in at our casa rural, Casa Das Bentinas. We had only eaten a small sandwich and a Maxim bar (Dave) and a slice of Santiago cake and an apple (me). The nearest open restaurant was just 11-minutes away, but it was uphill. Dave was flagging, but we made it to the Custom Burger Shop which was not crowded and were rewarded with a hearty menú del día of salmon. The walk back down to our Casa Das Bentinas felt easy, and soon we were settled in, showered, and ready to rest up for tomorrow’s big finish.

I forgot to mention this story yesterday when I wrote about Saint James’ body being brought back to Spain. According to legend, when the stone boat carrying Saint James’ body was approaching the Spanish shore, a wedding was taking place. The bridegroom, who was on horseback, had his horse spook and bolt into the ocean upon sight of the stone boat. Miraculously, Saint James raised both the horse and rider from the water. When they emerged, they were covered in scallop shells. Some say this is the reason the scallop shell is such an important symbol of the Camino. Of course, there are many other stories behind the shell, but this one has a certain magic to it.

We were so happy to get a message from Sandy saying she arrived in Santiago today and was now in a cafe watching others walk up the path with glory on each face. So beautiful! Sandy said she’d like to be there to see us arrive tomorrow before she heads off to Muxia by bus for three days.