I'll be posting on the practical aspects like SIM cards and expenses, but first basic reflections with some pretty pictures of Mallorca. Large touristy cities are not for me, but thanks to a good public transit system we explored the Cueves del Drach (Dragon Caves) and pretty pockets of beaches. It never occurred to us…

This morning C brought me breakfast in bed, which included an ensaïmada, a pastry famous on Mallorca, but supposedly not replicated elsewhere. People have tried but they never seem to turn out well whether it's due to the type of flour, the sea air or differences in the "mother" dough. Or perhaps it's a key…

Cluelessly we took an early bus back to Santiago. Clueless as we thought we were trying to get to the airport for a 5:00 flight and we weren't aware that the bus wasn't an express. Both errors worked out well as the bus took the beautiful coastal route and arrived in plenty of time to…

A beautiful morning walk took us to the lighthouse at Finisterre, where some pilgrims choose to end their pilgrimage three or four days past Santiago. It's generally a place of serious reflection, but today's mood was somber. The area was crawling with National Guard, police and news crews due to yesterday's incident involving a missing…

Leaving Santiago by bus was the first step in letting go of our Camino pilgrimage. Soon we caught our first glimpse of the sea, the entrance to the end of the world, as believed by ancient mariners. It took Columbus, in 1492, to disprove that theory, but we know today that there were many prior…

Fruitless efforts to book flights on Ryan Air with a Canadian credit card lead us to a travel agency. Learning that Ryan Air charges 45e for printing boarding passes at the airport was worth the fee charged by the agent.  I'm relieved to report that our post Camino plans have been solidified. Tomorrow we'll head…

Can't seem to get plans nailed down; still basking in the Camino afterglow/letdown. It feels particularly good to be in one place not repacking each day, but I'm missing the act of moving forward. My foot, however, is appreciating the rest. We enjoyed lunch in the monastery's huge dining room while listening to a free…

A day of fun and rest. We transferred to our accommodation for two nights at the Hospederia San Martin Pinario, a renovated monastery located across the street from the cathedral. It seemed fitting for the end of a pilgrimage. Elegantly simple rooms and facilities. Fluffy towels, machine dried, instead of stiff ones dried on a…

A million (!) steps behind us, after 40 days of walking, 2 rest days, 2 touring days, and one day of errands, we arrived in Santiago. Holding back the tears of joy: The feelings are overwhelming: joy, sadness, gratitude and accomplishment. Although having successfully completing the Camino, I'm incredulous that I and so many others…

Last night the address was technically still in Arzua, but it was quite a ways from town. We walked 1k to get back on track and once we did, we saw dewy fields at 9:00a.m., shortly after the usual astonishingly late sunrise. We passed rows of trees, a wall of beer bottles, and mounds of…