The next two days of the vacation were just beach/pool days and a walk to Old Town Cadiz. We ate great meals and just enjoyed a much needed rest.
Category: DESTINATIONS Page 2 of 29
We got up early and hit the road and made it to Seville in about 90 minutes! After some additional navigational challenges to a parking lot, we got parked and started walking around. What a cute town!
This beautiful tree would have been perfect for climbing!!
We walked to the Plaza de Espana and had a long look around.
There was tiles everywhere! This picture is actually of the ceiling.
We watched some Flamenco dancers perform. I couldn’t help think that after a few drinks, I could also stomp my feet and wave my arms in a similar fashion. It is doubtful I would have the grace or skill that they had but I think it would be fun trying!
After coffee and a snack, we left and headed to Cadiz!
Our Front Desk associate was amazing. We had originally booked a studio but it didn’t have an ocean view. We went back to the desk and asked for something better and we moved to a beautiful suite with a huge balcony and amazing views. We immediately got changed and went down to the pool. She even spoiled us with cake and champagne when she heard that H and I were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary!
We ended the night with an amazing meal and were so excited to decide that we had 2 more full days here!
We took in the views of the cathedral one last time while we were waiting for our cab. I’m not sure if I will ever be back again so I wanted to take it all in while I was there.
Timing was perfect and I was able to see Victoria walk in. It was really nice to see her again and say goodbye!
*********************
With that, it is now time to close the Camino de Santiago chapter and open the “2023 Gill Family Spanish Road-trip” chapter! Below is a highlights of what we are thinking but we haven’t booked any reservations yet and are just going to wing it!
We took a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. Lucky for us we got a brand new car!! It only had 4 miles on it! We received great service from Enterprise and feel like we dodged a bullet because several other car hire companies required International Drivers Licenses which we didn’t have.
Typical for Galicia weather, it started pouring rain the second we got on the freeway. It didn’t last very long though and we were on our way!
Cat and I were more focused on our road-trip selfie than H was. Luckily he was focused on the road and keeping us safe!
We drove across a really cool bridge.
We stopped for the obligatory road-trip snacks.
…and made our way into Portugal.
After being sent way off track by Google Maps for lunch to a restaurant that wasn’t even open, we stopped at this roadside restaurant that was actually pretty good! Cat won for the best meal! (Chicken kabob)
Cat thought that navigating was easy and laughed at my misdirections from Google. I had her sit in front and help H navigate and she soon learned how hard it was (while I napped in the back!)
We got passed by a hearse. I wonder what the hurry was….
…and we finally made it to Badajoz after 6.5 hours of driving. It was a cute little town that had tons of character and the nightlife was happening!
We got up early to catch a tour to Finesterra (End of the Earth) and Muxia. While waiting for the bus, we ran into Savina and Carolina who were both on their way to the bus station to leave Santiago.
Below is miscellaneous pictures from the day. I did have a laugh when we got to Finesterra because it was pouring rain and the fog was so bad at times that you couldn’t see very far. The statue of the boot represents the very end of the Camino although the official end is at the Cathedral. Some people walk there. I personally have done enough walking and thought the bus was sufficient.
We got back to Santiago and walked to the park. Last time we lived here, there was a similar Ferris wheel but the stabilizers didn’t look this orderly or safe!
We ended the night at one of our favorite restaurants, (A Gamela), churros, cocktails and a search for the “Pilgrim Shadow”.
We had originally planned to do a week at the beach and a week in Morocco but neither of us ended up booking anything and it was hard to coordinate on such different schedules while I was walking. After trying to make it work for a couple of hours today, we actually decided to rent a car and road-trip thru Spain. We were really frustrated to find that most trains were sold out and airplanes were really expensive and it just made sense to be able to go where we wanted when we wanted to. We have 2 days in Santiago/Finesterra and then will start our Gill Family 2023 Spanish Road-trip! (Itinerary unknown!)
Morning views of the Cathedral.
We did the rooftop tour of the cathedral. The views were beautiful. The attention to detail was impressive and the history was very informative. We laughed that there was no way that we would be allowed to do a tour like this in America.
Cat and I toured the inside of the church and the tomb of St James. Lots has changed in the cathedral since we lived here. They did a major renovation that finished in 2021 and decided to close a lot off from the public at that time. There used to be a statue of Saint James that could be hugged, there was a handprint that millions of Pulgrims had placed their hand in that was worn into a pillar that was only allowed to be viewed (not touched) if you purchased a ticket for the tour and the front doors were closed and you had to enter thru the front door.
We went out for dinner and Cat ordered octopus. One of the tentacles suctioned onto her tongue!!
Every night a Galician band played in front of the cathedral. They played upbeat traditional music and the locals all sang along and danced. We went every night! It was always a fun way to end the evening!
Miles: 16.43/Steps 35,976
Morning selfie at 5:30am in the pouring rain!
I went to the Pilgrim’s Office to get my final stamp and my Compostela. They wrote my name in Latin, “Nicolaidem Gill” on the certificate and handed it over. I had pre-registered last night.It was such an efficient and easy process and only took about 15 minutes. It was the official end to an amazing journey.
Since I had lived in Santiago de Compostela before, I definitely remembered some of our favorite bars. I got the word out for people to go to “Pub Momo” at 7pm on June 7th. (The day I arrived). Well….if you know me….you know I can be a bit extra. Word got out and whispers of the party circulated to everyone who was on the Camino. People started telling me that there was going to be a party at Pub Momo! It was hilarious! About 100 people showed up! I recognized/knew about 75 of them! It made me so happy to have everyone there, be able to introduce H and Cat to everyone and properly say goodbye to everyone and have closure on the walk.
Although I did warn them, the bar didn’t believe we would have 100 people show up so they were a bit short staffed but we made the best of it!
It was an amazing day and the close to an amazing chapter. I couldn’t be prouder of myself for walking the entire Camino. No taxis, no buses. Just me. There were physical challenges and mental challenges and I did it!
I met people who will be life friends, I heard stories and talked to people I would never have had the chance to meet in any other circumstances. We had a cohesive and caring tribe by the end. Everyone came from different backgrounds and everyone had their reasons for walking. That said, we were all very similar. We was all there for a life experience, we all persevered through something very hard and we all supported each other during hard times and laughed through the good ones together.
As I close this chapter, I couldn’t be more excited to start the next chapter…. The “Gill 2023 Spanish Road-trip” with my 2 favorite travel partners! We will explore Santiago/Galicia for 2 days and show Caitlyn where we lived and then explore Spain for 2 weeks. Let the adventures carry on!
Over the last 37 days on the Camino I walked 614 miles and took 1,346,280 steps! I have met more people than I can count and have endless memories that I will hold near to my heart forever.