Since then I´ve just taken the time to arrive and relax. I Haven´t worn shoes for 2 days and my feet are starting to recover. Drank lots of beer and wine with other pilgrims and suffered a decent hangover this morning. The local pilgrim first aid organisation is cleaning and dressing my blisters each day. I was chastised for not covering them up, I was trying to let the buggers dry out and heal, but no, covered up against infection they must be. Here´s a photo of me outside the cathedral as I arrived. On Tuesday morning I was up early to visit the cathedral without the hordes and I followed the age old pilgrim ritual. I prayed before the relics of St James for my family and friends and gave thanks for my safe arrival. Even took an illegal photo of the casket containing his bones. Santiago is a vibrant, beautiful city. I was last here 10 years ago and the number of visitors looks like it has multiplied by a thousandfold. It rocks all day and all night, my pension is on a small plaza and I have to sleep with earplugs because of the noise from below. But I´m used to earplugs now. I run into people from the camino all day walking the streets. We´ve had a few dinners and I´ll do so again tonight. Tomorrow I´ll try to relflect on the whole journey and express what it means to me after such a short time. I do wnat to say this was no walk in the park. It was much tougher than I ever expected. As an experience its second to none. I would recommend it to others but think once is enough for me.
I can´t get over how busy this place is. There are people everywhere and the queues to get into the cathedral are stupefying. The next photo shows the Queue to get in at around 10 am and follow the pilgrim ritual, anyone can do it so there are lots of tour groups who join in. The queue goes across the square, turns right and then around the corner. These people must wait about 3 hours to get in. I´d rather head for a cafe and a coffee. So until tomorrow I´ll sign off as a happy pilgrim, looking forward to getting home and the comfort and warmth of my family. Bob.