I am now back in the UK visiting friends and family before flying back to New Zealand. After Santiago I went caught the bus to Finisterra which is a small fishing villiage on the western most point of Spain and in many pilgrims opinion the real finishing point of their camino. I would have to agree as there are very few tourists that visit this quiet corner of the earth and is an ideal place to hang out for a few days R&R.
The night before I left Santiago I caught up with a few people that I had walked cretain sections with and now have become friends. Matius, Florian, Verena and I had a nice meal in one of the restaurants near the Cathedral before having a few drinks in a nearby bar. Somebody suggested a round of Licor Cafe which is a potent homebrew similar to Tia Maria however it is a lot stronger. One round turned into several and the rest of the evening is just a blur although I do remember a lot of laughs and fun. Thanks guys and hope to see you all again one day.
Over the next few weeks I will be posting information about what to take, the alburgaes, daily costs etc and a rough break down on trail information so stay tuned.

Santiago De Compostala.

Today I arrived to my destination.. the cathedral in Santiago. I left Padron around 8am in the middle of a huge thunderstorm and walked in the rain for about an hour before it stopped. This was the first time during the trip that it had rained and luckily I had packed a plastic rain coat which I was thankful for to be able to pull out of my pack and put on.
The walk into Santiago wasnt that great as a lot of modern apertments have recently been built with the way passing through them blocking out the view from the top of the hill of Santiago city.
The area around the catherdral is jammed packed with pilgrims coming off the various different ways however I was able to spot a number of my fellow perigrinos in the main square outside the cathedral and had the obligatory photo taken of myself with the catherdral in the back ground.
Then it was off to a small hotel that had been recomended to me about a 5 minute walk from the center. It is a small, clean place that only costs 15 euro per night and as I plan to stay in Santiago two nights it is ideal.
Tomorrow I will go to the pilgrims office to recieve my compotala which is like a certificate to say that you have completed your camino. Then around midday they have a service inside the catherdral which I will have a look at.
I do not leave Santiago until the 4th september so I may do a small section of another walk before flying back to the UK.