June 29,

We are in santiago!!!!!! Made it all the way on foot thanks to great weather and good friends. We were able to get rooms together for a good price and will go out for dinner tonight. We went to the Pilgrim mass at noon and it was great as always. it is quite a different feeling arriving from porto than st. jean. not the same emotion.

We dined in the botanical gardens with the gang in calda de reis....bread, cheese, meat and wine. A good time was had by all. we got up at 5 the next morning to put in a 30 plus day to get us closer to santiago. The weather was cool and overcast, good walking weather, however i think that my boots are at the end of their life, and after 18 or so kilometres the banging on my feet, hips and back is rough. I got to teo and crashed for 3 hours. Today i purchased new insoles that are nice and gelly so i should be good to go again.

After a long walk and snooze yesterday we found a really nice restaurant for dinner. Out in the middle of nowhere with tableclothes on the table, a waiter in an apron to the ground, and napkins that were served with a fork and spoon. The food was great and we had a good time.

A day off from walking will be great as i have developed an infection from heat poisining on my ankle and it makes it a bit painful to walk. picked up some antibiotic cream today so should be as good as gold tomorrow.

Until then greetings from Santiago.

We aren´t pilgrims any more