The Game Plan

I couldn't leave Santiago without informing you of our (that's you and me dear fellow traveler) arrival. 

After making the final 20k in the rain with a brief stop at Mont de Gozo (Mountain of Joy)-- where you first lay eyes on Santiago. As we approached the gargantuan monument dedicated to JPIIs visit to the site, the rain paused and a complete rainbow appeared briefly above the city. It was absolutely surreal and my arms prickled with the kind of goosebumps Noah must have had when first seeing the symbol of Gods promise. 

Upon entering town (still in the rain) we made it to the pilgrims office where the line wasn't terribly long and after about 20minutes in the swiftly moving line I had my compostella in tow. Tracy (the New Yorker I've been meeting up with each night for the past 4 or 5 days) and I each had one thing in mind: CHAMPAGNE. 

And boy did we. Four bottles of champagne and countless friends later we had missed the next mass, had yet to see the cathedral (since we conveniently went to the upscale restaurant immediately across the street) and we eventually poured ourselves into the nearest accommodations we could find. 

So now it's 8am- dark, rainy and cold BUT somehow it feels totally appropriate that I didn't do all of the "final" Santiago visits. Because I'm not done. 

Shortly well depart for Finisterre and I'll have 2 days of walking to figure out whether I'll go to muxia, how much time I'll spend in Finisterre and how much I'll spend back here in Santiago. 

Translation: I'm not going to walk BACK from the ocean to Santiago. At this point the weather looks like it'll continue to be crummy and to be honest, I'm a little worried about trying to find my way back with the waymarkers in reverse. Plus, if I skip the 3 day walk back that's time I have to spend doing everything I want in Santiago and maybe even a full extra day to spend in Finisterre-- ya know...NOT walking. 

It's funny because everyone says that you really only have one destination in your heart: Santiago OR Finisterre. I didn't really believe that until now. But it's absolutely clear that this girls (wet) boots were made for walking.