Today in the misty dawn, Irena and I set off for Santiago de Compostela. We were quiet walking in with a few other pilgrims through the city outskirts and we had our last cafe con leche as pilgrims too.
Eventually we entered the historical city centre and the buildings became more and more impressive until we finally entered the square in front of the cathedral overlooked by the Parador hotel (where we decided not to stay as there weren't enough beds per room).
We went to the Pilgrims Office to get our 'compostela' certificate from the cathedral and we also each paid for an extra distance certificate. There was a queue but people were in a good mood and it moved quickly. We felt elated and went to take pictures in front of the cathedral. As I took a photo of Irena with her credentialsuddenly a tour guide for a large group of Americans called out, 'And here is a real pilgrim...' and immediately she was surrounded by people taking her photo and asking her questions. One American man gave her 30 euros as a tip which annoyed her greatly and which she gave back. I also got hugs from two of them when they learnt I'd walked too. It was hilarious!
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