O Amenal to
Santiago de Compostela

We set off at first light, after a breakfast of bacon and eggs, across the main road and through the woods past the airport and motorway, meeting more and more pilgrims as we headed to our goal. We paused at the Church of Santa Lucia, where we met a group of Italian pilgrim helpers that we were to meet again. After a coffee stop, we arrived at Monte do Gozo, with our first view of the cathedral, and the church of Santa Cruz. We headed downhill past the enormous hostel facilities, into the outskirts of the town itself, to a photo opportunity on the roundabout entering the town, an enormous, colourful Santiago de Compostela sign. From there we walked trough modern suburbs towards the old town, finally glimpsing the cathedral tower again. nearing the square itself, which remained stubbornly hidden, we were surprised to find Dawn, Abi and jack sitting on a wall just before the tunnel into the main square. We were even more surprised to find a welcoming committee - at first we didn't even realise it was for us: David, Lena, Sela, Anna and Antonia cheered us in and held up welcome placards! We were just in time for mass in the cathedral, and after that we went to the pilgrims' reception centre to collect our certificates.

(Our experiences in Santiago continues on the next page)