Day 12: Arrived in Santiago de Compostela
We have finished our El Camino adventure!
- 12 days of hiking
- 59.3 hours of walking
- 168.4 miles
- 10,356 feet of elevation
- 368,972 steps for Russ
- 418,563 steps for Angela
- 787,535 combined steps for us both
- 1 Amazing Adventure!
Starting our Morning in Padrón
Like the previous few mornings, we got off to an early start. We stayed at a hotel about a mile north of Padrón, so we actually got started ahead of the crowd of pilgrims, which was very nice!
It also rained off and on most of the day. Most of the showers were light and didn’t last long, but we had a couple of quick downpours. Our rain gear kept us (mostly) dry.
Leaving Padrón, we saw some more churches along the way.
We continued walking and spent much of the hike on quiet trails and roads. The light rain actually made our time very peaceful.
After a couple of hours, the trail got a bit more challenging, especially in the rain.
But, there was a nice little cafe once we arrived into the next small town.
We got moving again and started seeing the Santiago milestones tick down.
Last Stop, Milladioro
We had one more city to go through before the last stretch into Santiago de Compostela—Milladioro. So, we decided to stop for lunch.
Back on the trail!
Coming to our Destination
We soon started working our way into the big city. 
At one point, we could see the cathedral off in the distance.
As we got closer, we could see the peaks of the cathedral.
Arrival!
We arrived at the cathedral just before 2 PM.
We finally arrived at kilometer 0!
Our Final Stamps
Once completing the pilgrimage, we went to the Oficina de Acogida al Peregrino de Santiago de Compostela (Office of the Pilgrim) to get our final stamp.
You can see our entire 12 day journey through the various stamps in our Pilgrim passports.
Our very first stamp (in the top left corner) was from the Fabrica da Catedral do Porto, the Porto Cathedral.
And, our last stamp (in the bottom right corner) was from the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.
All the other stamps in between represent our journey along the El Camino—stamps from churches, chapels, hotels, restaurants, merchants, buskers and quite a few coffee shops!
Pilgrim Certificates
Another final gift from the Santiago Cathedral regarding our completion of the El Camino were our Pilgrim Certificates. We each received two—the first set of certificates were written in Latin. (Notice Angela’s name was written in Latin.)
The other certificate was a bit more detailed showing our starting point (Porto), our distance traveled (280 km) and our start and finish dates (April 30th to May 12th).
We spent the evening resting and having a nice dinner.
Rest Day
Before flying back home, we decided to spend one extra day.
So, we got up early and went to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela to celebrate Mass in the Basilica of the Apostle Saint James. To actual experience Mass in the actual cathedral was wonderful.
Time to say goodbye. It has been a wonderful experience!
Congratulations!!! What a blessed adventure and accomplishment! So happy for you both!!
So wonderful to follow you both on your adventure. I’m sure it was quite amazing, and inspirational (especially during this time of a new pope being selected). Always fun to see what you two are up to (a bit envious, but that would be sinful :>), right?). Safe travels back home.