Day 42 Santiago de Compostela

It feels like forever since the last time I woke up and didn’t have to strap the backpack on and set off early.

Randy went out and had breakfast but I decided to stay in the room and get ready slowly. A couple of hours later Randy was back and we decided to walk up to the cathedral. We went inside and had a look around, it was 2 hours before the midday mass but already people were claiming their seats so as to get a good view of the service. Randy and I did the tourist thing, slowly walking around the hushed corners staring at churchy stuff. A small part of me was impressed but the majority of me was asking why I was in a church.. I took a couple of photos of the botafumeiro and then a few more of anything that looked photo-worthy.. uttered a couple of appreciative mmm’s at the impressiveness of the artwork and architecture and then decided I needed some cheese.

I apologise for the quality of the photos, my camera doesn’t do well indoors but I’m sure there’s plenty of photos on the internet if your botafumeiro lust hasn’t been sated.

I left Randy in the cathedral, he was eyeing up one of the confessional booths and I assumed if he decided to unburden his sins he would be in there for a while. I bought some cheese and sat watching the mix of pilgrims and locals trudge or limp by.

Strangely, today although I have nothing to do I feel less introspective.. yesterday felt like the end but today feels more like a new beginning. Plans are forming for the next adventure, in a week or so I travel back to Manchester and will have a chance to tackle one of the training hills that nearly killed me. I have a feeling I will find it less of a challenge compared to 3 months ago.

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