【1345】

I got up today and just walked out of the room, I heard the sound of drizzling rain outside the house.

I thought I could not escape the rain in Galicia, so I didn’t have to wait for the rain to stop. Put a rain cover on my backpack, put on a raincoat, and set off!

You still have to go down from the high steps entering the city first and then turn right immediately. It is easy to miss the yellow arrows here.

I don’t know if it’s because of the rain, but there is no visual sense of the morning rush hour like the one in Sarria the day before.

The rain kept falling, with a hint of cold wind, Li Shenxing, who was walking on the muddy and gentle mountain road, just walked silently for about 2 hours. It was almost 8 kilometers before he saw a bar on the side of the road. However, what made Li Shenxing frown was that it was filled with pilgrims queuing in line to buy breakfast and sit for breakfast, as if everyone who lived in Portomarin yesterday gathered here.

Li Shenxing, who had no choice but to come silently to the back of the queue for breakfast, and then continue to find an empty seat to share a table to eat breakfast. Fortunately, the rain gradually became lighter after breakfast, so he continued to carry his bags on his way.

I walked along the road for the first half and climbed up by 350 meters. The gloomy weather was heavily pressed down, which made people feel very depressing.

Fortunately, when we reached the highest point, the weather began to turn clear, but the wind was very strong on the mountain. Everyone struggled to bury their heads and take steps against the wind, and they had no energy to distract themselves from chatting and talking.

Fortunately, after crossing the top of the mountain, both the road conditions, the scenery and the weather have improved a lot. After passing through several villages, I can finally stop and rest at today's destination Palas de Rei.

The dinner at the shelter I stayed today was very rich, including hot potato soup, fried shrimp, fried potato bars, squid and bread that was indispensable for every meal.

In such a wet and cold weather, it is a very happy thing to drink hot soup and hot dishes. This simple but not simple meal made Li Shenxing very satisfied.

In fact, only when you embark on the road of pilgrimage can you truly experience the "simple life" of this road.

"At the beginning of the road, we will think a lot. All the disappearing coordinates of life, seemingly impossible to reach, and the vast scenery around us is like unclothed clothes. All of this is conducive to creating a unique introspection model, which is the product catalyzed by the air in the wild. We are alone with ourselves, thinking has become the only familiar way of existence."

"Thinking can recreate dialogue, evoke memories, and create a sense of familiarity in time. The hiker's self-relationship with mixed feelings is as if suddenly meeting an old acquaintance. In the process of exile, in a strange and foreign land, empty, slow, monotonous, endless, the pilgrimage hides thoughts deep in his heart, and everything such as memories, plans and conceptions become both moving and beautiful." - From "A Man's Immortal Journey: The Pilgrimage of St. James" Jean-Christophe Rufin.

Today's destination is Salceda, with a total of 32 kilometers. At this time, Li Shenxing didn't know that what was waiting for him would be the most comfortable homestay and the most delicious home-cooked dishes on the pilgrimage road.

It rained all night yesterday, and this also created a cloudless morning that I saw the long-lost golden morning light.

The scenery along the way has returned to pastoral scenery, and more open beauty makes it easier to walk.

This day, I settled in a B&B on the Salceda Highway. Li Shenxing booked it online in advance. The owner of the B&B is a very kind and lovely old lady who can cook particularly delicious Galician home-cooked dishes.

The pilgrim beer served at dinner was brewed by the old lady's son himself, and it tasted great. That night, Li Shenxing and Xiaohu accidentally drank too much wine. When the dinner was over, they felt a little dizzy.

It was too early to go to bed at this time, so Li Shenxing and Xiaohubian decided to go out for a walk late, which was just enough to dissipate the alcohol!

The two of them walked along the road to the nearby village, and they didn't talk much. After hiking together for more than 20 days, the two people who were slow to warm finally gradually became familiar from strangers, but tomorrow is the end. Thinking about it, they had never taken a photo alone along the way, so they took this photo as a souvenir with their backs to the beautiful sunset.

Camino has stayed in various Albergues, hotels, homestays or hotels for more than 30 days. Casa  Tia  Dolores on this day is undoubtedly the most touching thing about Li Shenxing. It is not a place where pilgrims gather and have a good atmosphere, nor is it a place with outstanding hardware conditions. It lives next to the highway. If it weren't for a huge publicity sign, Li Shenxing might not have found it.

When I knocked in the door, I saw a kind old lady. Li Shenxing said something in English. She said she didn't understand. Then she took out a mobile phone and turned on the voice translation software, spoke a long paragraph of Spanish to Li Shenxing, and then translated it to Li Shenxing. It turned out that it was the warm welcome to them to stay in. Then, it was a long paragraph introducing the facilities of the homestay and dinner and breakfast arrangements.

During dinner, the old lady was busy alone in the kitchen, serving them delicious home-cooked dishes.

Although we cannot communicate with her very smoothly, we can feel her feelings from the smile that has been hanging on her face, and we also respond with a smile.

In this warm bed and breakfast in Camino's last night, language is actually not that important!

The "ordinary" shells that appeared in Li Shenxing's backpack were left over from the roasted scallops that day. At such a special moment, I felt that they were particularly beautiful and casually said that I wanted to take them back for the souvenir. The old lady actually helped to wash them and handed them over to them, saying that you should take them to San Diego tomorrow!

Camino's last night was particularly wonderful. Thank you to everyone you met on the Pilgrimage Road, making Li Shenxing's pilgrimage road more fulfilling, whether it's good or bad!

Looking back now, the fish scale sunset that day was really beautiful.

Buen  Camine!

The next day, Li Shenxing and Xiaohu got up from the bed early.

When I arrived at the restaurant, the old lady had prepared homemade cakes, bacon and fried eggs for them, while the uncle made two very special cups of coffee for them and spent two cartoon avatars with cream. I was really thoughtful.

After having a rich breakfast, in the most gorgeous morning glow, the two of them began their last 28km of the pilgrimage.

Lunch was settled in a bar. Unlike the previous quick battle, Li Shenxing and Xiaohu both deliberately slowed down their eating speed. After all, such a quiet time was about to end.

Although the journey today is not short, there are always times when they arrive. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, they arrived at the hillside called Monte de Gozo, which was 5 kilometers away from Santiago. There, Li Shenxing saw the Holy City for the first time from afar, but he was not as excited as he imagined.

He did not see the top of the San Diego Cathedral like in the movie "The Way", because it was blocked by a forest.

On the top of the mountain is a huge metal statue built to commemorate the Pope's visit in 1989.

The two of them were also unavoidable to come to the statue to take pictures as a souvenir.

After the check-in, the two continued to move forward. Not long after walking, they saw the legendary four or five hundred beds, the last shelter of the last family on the pilgrimage. Many pilgrims would choose to spend the last night of the pilgrimage here, and then walked into Santiago in the morning sun and attended the Mass of the Noon Cathedral.

At about three o'clock, they finally entered the city. Because there was only one road leading to the cathedral, you will find that more and more pilgrims gathered around them.

Turn left from the road with residential buildings on both sides, and the view in front of you suddenly became wider.

arrive.

They arrived.

On one side of the square is the municipal building, and on the other side is the famous Santiago Cathedral, which was built in 1075 and has been continuously added for two hundred years, finally combining Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles.

The ancient exterior wall is lightly smoky and black. The legendary feeling after walking the pilgrimage path did not happen to Li Shenxing because the cathedral is under renovation, and the scaffolding is really awesome.

All the hardships along the way have turned into unparalleled satisfaction and tranquility in my heart.

The pilgrims looking up at Santiago Cathedral in the square are from different countries, different skin colors, different education, work, and life backgrounds, and even the age-long cross-server is very large. However, in essence, everyone's lives are no different. Everyone's happiness and pain, struggle and depression, and the suffering and joy in life are all similar.

Ge You lay in the square with Xiaohu for half an hour before he recovered. At this time, Li Shenxing remembered that there was another very important thing that had not been completed yet, that was to go to the "Pilgrimage Office" to receive the certificate.

When queuing in front of the pilgrimage office, everyone turned against the excitement in the square just now and was surprisingly quiet, and everyone was silent. Every bit of the thirty days, the roads I walked, the scenery I saw, the people I met, every time I was surprised, and every touched would probably be screened in their own minds like a movie.

Looking at the pilgrim passports covered with seals on others, Li Shenxing looked down at the blank pages that he had left. He could only say that he was not a fanatic of seal collection. For him, the pilgrimage was a hike, proving that he could steadily complete 800 kilometers in 30 days. In fact, how many chapters he had stamped and what kind of certificate he got was not important, it was enough to walk along the way.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, it was finally Li Shenxing's turn. The process after entering the office was very simple: first write down your name, nationality, age, hiking starting point and purpose on a registration form. Is it for religious reasons, cultural reasons or tourist purposes?

Li Shenxing wrote half of it very carefully to understand the local culture and half to visit.

Then hand over all the pilgrim passports to the staff, and they will check whether the seals obtained along the way have reached the end step by step. After checking, they will stamp the official seal of the Santiago Cathedral on the title page of the passport.

Finally, the staff wrote the name and completion date of the pilgrim on the certificate written in Latin. Of course, the certificate also needs to be charged. If you think it is not necessary, it will not be forced, depending on your personal wishes.

Looking at his name on the certificate, Li Shenxing truly felt that he had finally completed the pilgrimage, which was a perfect merit.

But why is it full of reluctance flowing in my heart?

*******

Thanks to [krezreal] for the monthly ticket encouragement

Thanks to [Situ Tiantian] [krezreal] for the reward and support

PS. I've been struggling with how to write the end...
Chapter completed!