I have arrived in Rua my last stop before Santiago. I am twenty five thousand steps away from completing the one million step journey.

It is Tuesady the 6th of October. I walked her to Rua today from Arzua. It rained for the first three miles and then the Sun came out for the balance of my twelve miles today. I made good time and arrived here in about five hours which included one short stop. I am trying to keep my feet dry but it's hopeless and once the rain stops it's a mud dance which just can't be avoided. My feet are wet but not like yesterday.

I got lucky with the hotel in Azura. When I first got there my feet were drenched. I get to my room and do the best I can at getting the Limos cleaned up. But will they dry? It's going to rain on my way to Rua but regardless I would like to start with dry shoes. Many of the little hotels still have radiators but they only work if the hotel has the entire system turned on. I'm in luck. They have turned on the system and I will now have dry Limos on Tuesday to start the day.

After I get all of my daily work done and cleanup my Limos I am on my way to the pharmacy. I need some Spanish bengay. I'm sore. I am walking back to the hotel and I run into Bill, Gaynor and Jane. We agree to have dinner. First we will have a glass of wine because dinner is not for another forty five minutes. 

They are all good people and fun to be around. Jane is still trying to figure out why she is on the Camino. I think she feels like she is the only one who does not know why she's here. I just offer an opinion that it does not matter and perhaps she will reach a conclusion about it after she completes the Camino. It really does not matter. She goes on to tell me that she is going to visit Bill next year and that when she does she is going to visit me in California. I think she is serious.

Bill and I compare notes about today versus the day we walked together from San Juan to Burgos. We both agree that today was very difficult but the Burgos walk also had much tougher trail conditions and elevation changes but most of all it was the wind. 

Gaynor and Jane will be walking much longer on Tuesday because Gaynor wants to arrive in Santiago on Wednesday in time for the noon Pilgrim's mass. Jane does not care about the Mass but will walk with Gaynor regardless. Gaynor is flying out on Thursday so it's the only way she can get to the Mass and then still have time to go to the Camino office to get her Compestella. I will walk a lot less today because I will be in Santiago for two days so I can attend the Pilgrim's Mass on Thursday or Friday night. I'm in no rush.

Dinner is very good at the hotel. We all chose the veal and its was a good choice. So that's it for now. I'm having some gmail issues which is causing photo challenges. Tomorrow I will walk the final twelve like miles into Santiago. One thing I will do for sure is to wait by the Santiago sign until someone is there to take my picture. I just took the picture of the sign the first time but I won't make that mistake again. Tomorrow also brings me to the Hill of Happiness where I will place Walker's stone along with two others. The other two have been requested by friends who prefer that I keep it confidential which is what I will do.

So that's it. SANTIAGO. One million steps! Good night and Buen Camino!