Although I've missed some of what went on during the night, I do have a vague recollection of another woman coming near our beds, and of more movement by the couple. Again, Jerri enlightens me--that's (perhaps?) the leader of their group waking them to leave. I have no idea what time it is but it seems to me that they must not have slept long. We are up and about around 6:30-ish and they are already gone.
Even though the walk from here to Santiago is relatively short (20.1 km), the guidebook informs us that, if we want to reach the Cathedral in time for the pilgrim Mass at noon, we have to leave early. This would mean at least a couple of hours walking in the dark. Spain is at the farthest edge of its time zone; the farther west we've walked, the later sunrise has come. We don't do dark. Good thing the Mass isn't one of our "have-to's."
It's really good that getting to Santiago by noon is not important to us because we get a late start. The bar we eat desayuno at has WiFi that I can actually connect to and I'm able to send the ten or so posts sitting in my outbox. It does take a long time, but we'd rather send them while we can.
A note about the bar. I neglect to write down the name (it's usually on the sello but this one is not)--it alludes to Ireland. The proprietor is wearing a T-shirt that says "I (shamrock) craic." I'm dying to ask him if he has an Irish background and, if not, does he know what "craic" means. I decide it's too personal, though, particularly since he doesn't seem especially chatty.
Today begins much the same as yesterday. Outside Arca, we are back in eucalyptus forests, foggy and cool, while the sun teases me from time to time through all-too-short gaps. The fog burns off eventually and we have "sun-kissed" sections that I revel in. Coming out of the woods, we walk around the Santiago airport. Somewhere, on a stretch paralleling the road, we come across a pillar announcing Santiago. We actually have to wait for our turn to take a photo with it.
Then we begin the "long slog" (Brierley's words) up to Monte del Gozo, Mount Joy, so called because medieval pilgrims could see the spires of the Cathedral from here and were overjoyed that their journey was almost over.
Monte del Gozo could almost be a side trip. The tiny medieval capilla de San Marcos (chapel of San Marcos) is--say it with me--closed. The chapel is not the only thing to see here, though. From Monte del Gozo we do get our first glimpse of Santiago de Compostela. It looks so much more sprawling than I expected and I can't pick out the Cathedral. Perhaps it is not in my line of sight.
We climb a small rise to a monument, which we mistakenly assume to be to pilgrims but actually commemorates a visit by Pope John Paul II. It's still an impressive monument--each side is worth spending at least a moment looking at--and many people are lingering here.
The peak, "reshaped by the bulldozer," is also home to a 160-acre, 500-bed Xunta complex. Yes, complex--it has its own plaza. There are the dorms, plus campgrounds, recreational buildings, an outdoor concert venue, a pool, a restaurant, canteen, bar, gift shop, gardens, and more. We briefly entertain the idea of checking it out. So briefly that we don't even break stride.
We stop for lunch at a bar when we actually enter the city environs, possibly a suburb of Santiago--we're not sure since we have not passed a sign (that "Santiago" pillar was so misleading; little do we know how many more kilometers we will walk before arriving). We want to check the guidebook to make sure we haven't missed an ancient chapel we're interested in seeing, and to choose an albergue. I show the map in our book to several people, who point out where we are on the map and assure us we have not passed the chapel, and in fact are very close. After lunch, back on the sidewalk, I have to stifle a "d'oh!" The chapel is practically next door to where we just ate. I wouldn't blame the people in the bar for thinking "dumb Americans." Our luck with churches continues: it's closed.
According to our trusty (sometimes) guidebook, it's prudent to find accommodations for the night before heading for the old quarter and the Cathedral. Since we hope to stay at the Seminario Menor, which is slightly off the pilgrim path, we try to find either a tourist information office or a pilgrim office for directions or a map, or even to find out if it's already full. A friendly dancing starfish (I have to take his photo because he reminds me of Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants; we later learn he's the tourism symbol for the area)...
...is along the sidewalk near a tourism office, which is--I am so tired of writing this--closed. We plow on through the outskirts of the city into the city proper until we find a signpost pointing the way off the marked Camino to the seminary. After that, unfortunately, we're pretty much on our own. Brierley's map of Santiago is primarily the old quarter and very few of the surrounding streets are labeled, if they are represented at all. We have to ask for directions multiple times, but at last we find the seminary.
I feel so relieved...until we pass through the gates of the stone wall surrounding it.
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