We stop in De Portamarin, some of our group don’t like the accommodation and decide to carry on walking. Stella accidentally loses her ring out the window while washing her hands in the hotel bathroom. We spend a good hour trying to reach it from the balcony roof outside the window. I end up volunteering to climb the wall, over the pigsty and onto the roof to fetch it. We spend the rest of the evening by the bridge over the river watching an unmoored boat floating around the dam.

Day 14:
We walk for ages, the weather turns miserable. We stop at a stone house. We go inside and have spaghetti in tomato sauce. We sit next to a table of South Africans who started their Camino in the previous town.

I see how they are interacting and it is clear to me how we have progressed and changed over the journey so far. We have seen one another through the good and bad and are walking with a strong sense of group consciousness. Home seems so far away, yet I feel comfortable in the here and now. My body has changed; my legs are muscular and strong. My backpack feels like an extension of my own body.

We stay in a large town in an old hotel that is badly in need of renovation. The bathrooms have been ripped out and there are rooms standing open and empty. We go to the local grocer where we buy fruit, vegetables and tuna pie. Insulated in our room, as there is nothing to see, we pull a side table between our beds and have a feast.

Day 15:
It is pouring with rain when we wake up so we decide to take the bus. We arrive in Melide half an hour later. This is the biggest city so far and I feel unprepared for the noise and traffic. It took us a while to find the hotel as we felt a bit lost in the fray of the buzzing city.

We are heading towards the end of the Camino now and we spend some time recharging our cell phones, checking emails and taking stock. We are drawn to a Pulperia where they serve cooked Octopus. It is eaten by the locals with great gusto. I have to vacate the restaurant as it is making me feel ill.

Day 16:
It’s raining again, we put on our ponchos and head off. We are walking through a forest of gum trees. Stella stops and gives me one of her rings that I had been wearing over the past few days.

It is a bonding experience and I feel honoured. We arrive in Ribadiso, the view from our hotel window is breathtaking, sweeping over the undulating hills. We have dinner — ribs and chips, I am taken aback when I discover the ribs are pork. We walk down the main street of the town and stop for a Cerveca con Limon (beer with lemon). We go back to the hotel and I go to bed.

Day 17:
We stop at a small chapel that seems very nondescript from the outside, but inside it is adorned with gold and precious stones. I have seen a lot of the churches along the way dressed in a similar way.

The energy of even the poorest little villages has been devoted to creating beautiful places of worship. We pass a shrine of a seventy-year-old man who died on the Camino, his sandals cast in bronze. We make our way to a Refugio called Saint Irene that is homely and clean, we all stay in one room on bunk beds. Everyone is very tired but and we have a good dinner and then go to bed. There are a few snorers but I am too tired to notice.

Day 18:
It is pouring. We walk through a forest, rain seeping in through every possible crease. The wind howls around us and I feel as though I am a part of this great force. We press on and it feels liberating and exciting to be out in this weather. We arrive just outside of Santiago.

The dormitories are dirty and there are no sheets or pillows, just dirty grey blankets. We enjoy a good meal at the cafeteria and watch the rain streaming down the windows. We join up as a group and chat about our Camino experience. I go to bed feeling ready for the journeys completion.

Day 19:
The weather is overcast, but clear. We silently walk down the hill and into the city of Santiago. We approach the cathedral from the old part of the city centre, weaving through narrow cobbled streets.

We enter the Cathedral from a side entrance. I am in awe at its grandeur, We move around to the back where there is a carved pillar with a hand print on it, a hand print where thousands of pilgrims have placed their hands to symbolise the completion of their journey.

We all take turns to place our hands here and say a little prayer. It is very moving. I look around at the unique crowd of people standing around me, people who just three weeks ago I hardly knew. I look closely at all of their faces and I take a mental picture.

I’m not sure if I will ever see them again, but I’m sure I will never forget them.

Visit http://www.spain.info for more info on walking the trail.