I left Arzua at 08:00 sharp. It was dark as I exited the town. I used my phone's flashlight to navigate through the woods. Not too long after walking, the rain started, but at least it was not heavy. I pushed hard all morning, traveling at a rate of between four and five kilometers per hour. I finally stopped at 11:25 just before Santa Irene. The trail went right in front of two bars facing each other on opposite sides of the road. I decided to get out of the rain for a bit and have a drink at a bar called O Ceadoiro. I drank two Cokes and booked a hotel in Santiago de Compostela off the bar's WiFi.
After about thirty minutes, I saddled up and started walking again. A Dutch and an Italian female duo walked into the bar as I was leaving. The rain seemed to have stopped while I was in the bar. Shortly after, Mario caught up to me. We chatted as we walked through hamlets and forest. The break in the rain was only temporary. Around 14:00, we came upon a Spanish guy in a eucalyptus forest. His name was Jose Antonio. He was a retired officer from the Spanish Air Force. He was wearing half milk jugs over the top of his boots to keep his feet dry. He looked like an astronaut. We heard jets taking off and landing, and knew we were walking along the Santiago de Compostela Airport now. We had about fourteen kilometers to go.
Mario stopped for lunch and so did Jose Antonio at a nearby bus stop. I took a break but did not eat. As Mario finished eating, the Dutch lady and the Italian lady I saw earlier at O Ceadoiro caught up. The four of us continued on through San Poio, Lavacolla, and Monte do Gozo. The rain got heavier. I was now soaking wet everywhere: socks, t-shirt, pants. Rain gear becomes useless in prolonged heavy rain. The water is going to find a way in. We had to keep walking because that was the only thing we could do. My right leg was in severe pain. As we entered Santiago de Compostela, the two ladies broke off, presumably to secure lodging in town.
Mario and me pushed on into the old part of the city and could finally see the cathedral steeples about a half kilometer out. Mario went to the south side of the cathedral where the entrance was, while I walked to the front of the cathedral on the west side via a tunnel with a bagpiper busking. I took some pictures of the cathedral in the Obradoiro Plaza. I tried to go into the Portal of Glory entrance, but I was told I had to drop my backpack off somewhere to go inside. I had finished my five hundred mile walk at 17:10.
I continued over to the pilgrim office to get my Compostela and a Certificate of Distance. I bought a tube to put them in and plan on framing them when I get back home. They look like they are from the Middle Ages and some of the script is in Latin. The pilgrim office gave me a free ticket to go to the Portal of Glory and Maestro Mateo museum at 19:00. Mario then showed up at the pilgrim office, and we exchanged numbers and planned to meet up in the morning.
I checked into the Hotel Carris Casa de la Troya. It was only a block from the cathedral. I showered and walked through the rain to the 19:00 tour at the Portal of Glory. It was a chance to view the main gate to the church, which is no longer used and only a limited amount of people get to view each day. Afterwards, I had a beer at a cafe called A Gramola. The worker also brought me a plate of green olives to snack on. I hate olives.
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