“What? One more hill? I hadn’t realize that,” I say in dismay when a young man tells me there’s one more hill in these last six miles. We laugh and keep moving. We have to ascend Monte de Gozo (Mountain of Joy) before Santiago.

I finally reach the city in early afternoon, thinking I made it. I’m here. I didn’t know I still had a two-hour long, hot walk through a busy city ahead of me.

I finally do arrive at the cathedral. I’m impressed, but too tired to react. I feel numb, too tired to put any meaning into what just happened.