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Camino Portuguese Monday 11/05/2026 Milladoiro to Santiago de Compostella


Monday 11/05/2026
The Last Walk

Today is our final day on the Camino Portuguese—our last day of walking. We spend breakfast with our new friends, all of us talking about the day ahead and the moment we’ll finally arrive in Santiago. After wishing everyone a Buen Camino and a safe journey home, we make sure we’re ready to go. Blisters tended to, backpacks on, and a spring in our step (at least for now), we leave our accommodation.

The trail feels lighter today. Not just because the end is near and we have just over 10km left—it’s something I can’t quite explain. There are still hills ahead, including the uphill climb into Santiago itself. Rain threatens, but the birds are singing along the path.

My Strava app keeps robbing me of precious kilometers. Throughout the whole trip, it’s had me walking straight lines instead of following the trail’s curves, swimming across inlets, and even crossing the bay at Baiona. Alison, Julie, and I all hit record at the same time, and we never get the same result. It’s been a daily debate. It’s silly, the things we talk about. I’m going to miss these conversations. We’ll definitely have to schedule a group chat more often.

We keep passing—and being passed by—our dinner and breakfast companions all morning, as well as being passed by people we see everyday and just wave to.   Morning tea is at a trailside café: tea with hot milk. No, I’ll never get used to that.

At dinner last night, our server tried to convince us to take a different route into Santiago. She said it was prettier, better. When we reached the intersection, we had a choice. We decided to go the normal way, via Santa Maria. The other route—via Conxa?—was supposedly unmarked, and we didn’t want to get lost on our last day.

As we walked through the streets of Santiago, we finally caught sight of the cathedral’s spire. We just wanted to get into the old town. In old town we passed people we met along the way: a lady we spoke to a few times said "Well done girls" as we passed her, the ladies from breakfast today, and a man we had met at several hotels along the way. Even though three of us had walked into that square before, it still brought a sense of excitement and fulfillment. We’ve accomplished so much over the past three weeks. We went to the Pilgrim’s Office and received our credencial as proof of our walk.

Lunch was at 3:00 p.m. in a bar. The best hamburger we had on the entire trip. Then we found our hotel, took a shower, and headed to a laundromat to wash everything in our suitcases that we weren’t wearing. Clean clothes.

Dinner was a cup of tea, nuts, and peanut brittle. Don’t judge.

Buen Camino,  until next time.
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