Day 50 - 0 Kilometres!!

We are in Santiago. We are relaxing. We are planning our next move. The bus to Germany only leaves on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we have a few days to kill. The truly hardcore pilgrims continue by foot to Finisterre, but if we do that, we will only have an afternoon at the edge of the world before we have to head back into Santiago to catch the bus to Germany. Not-so-secretly, Cz is relieved. We opt to spend another night in Santiago relaxing with the trail family, and then to continue on to Finisterre by bus tomorrow.

Our quest for cheap transport to Germany has took up most of the day, but we managed to queue up for the free pilgrims´dinner at The Parador. The Parador shares the main plaza with the cathedral. At one point, the building was owned by the church, and when it was sold to the hotel chain, part of the agreement of the sale was that it would continue to serve pilgrims. For years now, hungry pilgrims have gathered by the service entrance three times a day. The meals are limited to the first 10 arrivees, and are valued more for the experience than the menu (not the same fare served upstairs), but worthwhile, nonetheless. We loitered nearly two hours for our plates of pumpkin soup and calamaries, and once again the company made the meal - The Irish Boys, us, and an international crew of 2 Germans, 2 Spanish, a Belgian, and a young Hungarian.

After dinner we (finally) updated the blog, before returning to our albergue to join up with The Irish Boys and once again watch the sun set over Santiago.

Sidenote: We could only afford our plushy hotel for one night. Oddly enough, we missed the Albergue life. We are back in a monastary, once again sharing rooms and bathrooms with countless strangers. It feels like home.