Sunday, 8th October.
Penultimate

(taken directly from my diary entry)

Another shocking night's sleep. Went to kitchen to eat breakfast - WOOF then French lady's voice. She had spent the night in there with her dog. Cold. A dog starts following us in Arzua - a German shepherd. More eucalypt plantations. Stop at a bar for morning tea - slowest barmaid in the world! No sign of dog as we leave. (think town was Salceda) Took photo of milestone marker somewhere. Photo of "sin plomo" near Arca perhaps? Wherever we had lunch. More eucalypts close to Santiago airport.

above: Eucalypts, somewhere near Santiago.

Outer reaches of Santiago, we stop so Noelle can go to loo, then have debate about which way the Camino is, since there is a sign opposite us. We follow that sign, I'm a bit grumpy, walk it off through Villamaior etc. Arrive at Monte del Gozo, where we stay, about 4km from Santiago. Dave:"How far do you reckon we've walked?" Us:"Far!" We can see soccer stadium in distance. Check in at huge refugio (800 beds). English man in our room - a biker. We share stories. He hasn't had to ride through much cow manure, so our question of how cyclists cope with it remains unanswered. French women across corridor.

Had a shower, probably put on a bit of a show for people in the next block. Ate at on-site restaurant, tres nice. Ice cream - yum!

(then something really funny happened, it involved Davo saying "I have you now" in a Darth Vader voice, but if I were to tell you all about it you wouldn't laugh, and to top it off we'd lose one of our "in" jokes. Some stories will remain untold.)