I arrived today in time for the pilgrim mass at noon. It turned out to be a good day to be at the mass because the swinging incense burner known as the "Botafumeiro" was used at the end.
Just before the mass, I joined up with a group of people from Madrid who I met along the Way this week. Together we went first to the Pilgrim Office to get our Compostela certificate for completion of the pilgrimage.
The distance of my pilgrimage from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela was 693 kilometers. This is the longest continuous distance I have walked in my life.
I have attached a picture of my certificate. My name in Latin "Raimundum" was used on it. Before I received it, my Credencial del Peregrino was reviewed. This mainly involved looking at the sellos or stamps in it to verify I traveled at least 100 kilometers by foot. For this distance, basically since Sarria, I have been required to get at least two sellos per day - including my arrival day. The sellos come from the places you stay at, where you eat, and the churches and museums you visit. I have attached a photograph of some of my sellos. I was then questioned about my purpose for the pilgrimage to determine the type of certificate I would receive.
After completing that process - it went fairly quickly - was the mass, a visit to the Saint James relics, group pictures and then a great lunch together. The group leaves tonight by train to return to Madrid. It was fitting I think that I began and ended my pilgrimage with groups of people from Spain walking the Camino for a week on their vacation.
I will spend the day here tomorrow and share some more information about Santiago de Compostela.
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