And this is the final stretch… excitement made it a bit tricky to concentrate on the path and I had to rely on music to find some balance. But then, there it was….

Wonder No 1

The last early start

Wonder No 2

A small village, very “antiguo” looking.

Wonder No 3

A stop in a café where you could make wishes

Wonder No 4

A few more chapels with some very interesting features

Wonder No 5

The arrival in Santiago.

Wonder No 6

La Credencial. At first I thought it was something to amuse modern day pilgrims, but I was mistaken.

Already, back in the Middle Ages, pilgrims had to register their passage in each place they were entering and this was validating their status once arrived in Santiago.

So we did the same. That document also gives you access to cheap accommodation ran by parishes.

Wonder No 7

La Compostela! Your official status as a pilgrim… in other words, your graduation 🙂

The path was a bit up and down compared to yesterday, but it was a nice day, penultimate stretch before Santiago.

Wonder No 1

The pony of the day getting a fuss.

Wonder No 2

Some of the food that you can have here – octopus and small peppers from Padrón that are actually like soft chillies.

Wonder No 3

Some agricultural things- Grapes and grain storage buildings

Wonder No 4

The main church in Padrón.

Wonder No 5

The convent where they started growing the peppers seen above

Wonder No 6

An azulejo of the apparition of the virgin of Fatima.

Wonder No 7

The small village of Campo.

This was just so pleasant that I didn’t notice I had arrived. Caldas de Reis is an old spa town with a lovely church and a Roman bridge and a few very pleasant streets.

Wonder No 1

A cute white cat for today

Wonder No 2

Pontevedra in the early morning before sunrise

Wonder No 3

A couple of local crosses. I find them quite attractive

Wonder No 4

Just some rail tracks in the wood

Wonder No 5

The church in Caldas de Reis, where there was a lady who was just there to stamp your “credential”

Wonder No 6

The Roman Bridge with built in seats

Wonder No 7

An advert for a very political stand up comedy show featuring Sarkozy.

Another shorty and full of pilgrim paraphernalia and an arrival in Pontevedra in the midst of celebrations.

Wonder No 1

Effigies of pilgrims along the way

Wonder No 2

A small chapel that has seen generations of pilgrims

Wonder No 3

Offerings to pilgrims

Wonder No 4

Honey festival in Pontevedra

Wonder No 5

Bullfighting aficionados getting excited

Wonder No 6

Pontevedra features

Wonder No 7

Cat of the day

A short walk in beautiful green surroundings. A lot of trees, and fantastic views

Wonder No 1

Let’s start with some views of Vigo

Wonder No 2

A fantastic piece of civil engineering with this

bridge

Wonder No 3

A few signs encouraging good dog owner behaviour

Wonder No 4

Various shots of nature

Wonder No 5

Redondela, a small yet attractive place

Wonder No 6

Super heroin outfits in a sewing shop

Wonder No 7

Let me introduce to Coca the dragon or the equivalent of the boogeyman in Spain and Portugal. Also called “el Coco” it makes kids check their beds every night

It stopped raining… now everything should be ok according to the forecast.

Vigo, I didn’t like it… until I saw the actual centre and a fantastic urban festival.

Wonder No 1

A nice piece of land art that was not meant to be land art

Wonder No 2

Two serious looking people in a café

Wonder No 3

Some paths in the woods

Wonder No 4

Crosses crosses crosses…. all within 300 metres

Wonder No 5

A church that must look very nice at night as it has got a lot of lights on

Wonder No 6

Vigo – Historical part of town

Wonder No 7

Urban festival !

That was short and also a little bit wet, especially when the official Camino decided to go up a hill with a high presence of clouds on top, which led to a fair amount of steam and water.

The afternoon was dry, which allowed me to look around beautiful Baiona… and then it was bad again

Wonder No 1

A pony in the rain

Wonder No 2

Some kind of funfair or amusement park items factory.

Wonder No 3

A very wet and cloudy walk.

Wonder No 4

A wacky hotel in the clouds

Wonder No 5

Super Lopez’s house…. whoever he is

Wonder No 6

A few photos around the Parador in Baiona

Wonder No 7

Some seafood waiting to be eaten