Santiago here we come...

After a well-rested and peaceful night, the inner couch potato finally spoke up this morning at 6:00 am for the first time: "hello... the last stage is waiting... 26 km... it will be exhausting..." okay, okay... understood... Moni would like to turn around one more time... "Moni... the path is calling... it will be challenging and long." I complain a bit. I admit: I'm excited... a little. We get ready quickly, I make a few sandwiches for breakfast and the journey in the hotel room (all bought in the supermarket the previous evening), and then we set off. It's still dark outside. We head to the first bar. Coffee is a must. Then we follow the yellow arrows again. I'm going too fast again... sorry... but it's the joyful anticipation. I want to arrive after 12 days of walking. The destination is so close yet still 26 km away. Fortunately, it's cloudy. The temperatures are very pleasant. That gives hope. We're in a good mood and having lots of fun. Somehow, we always find something to laugh about. Not every pilgrim who passed us seems to understand that. Maybe we lack the necessary seriousness for some. In any case, we always find reasons to laugh, and that makes the journey much easier: We cross fields, forests, walk through more or less abandoned villages, follow boring country roads, and are always fascinated by the incredibly splendid churches that we encounter along the way. From the outside, they may look rundown and inconspicuous, but inside, they are pure fascination. The sun remains hidden behind the clouds almost all day long. So at least the temperature is bearable. The path becomes long, and we slow down. The long stretches parallel to the country roads are so tiring. We motivate each other, and then, after 7.5 hours of pure walking, we did it... we're here! Finally! With Google Maps, we navigate to our rented apartment. 😳😬... When I see the facade, I almost start crying from exhaustion and frustration... there's no way I'm going in there. Monika is equally horrified. Somehow, it all looked so different on the internet. Monika rings the bell... a Chinese man opens the door. Reluctantly, we follow him to the first floor. He joyfully shows us the shabby place... we're speechless. As soon as we were upstairs, we were back outside and agreed that we didn't want to stay THERE under any circumstances. On the next bench, we consulted the internet and booked a new accommodation very close by. We just wanted to rest, take off our shoes, and finally feel arrived...