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Last day: slow breakfast, final stamps, return.
July 24: journey closing day, from the hotel outside Santiago to departure through the airport.
The day started at the hotel with a proper breakfast, the kind you enjoy without rushing: both sweet and savory. After weeks of pilgrim pace and basic meals, that moment felt different, almost like an official transition toward the return.
Even though I finally had a comfortable bed and could sleep longer, I still woke up very early: at 5, then at 6, then at 7. My body was still tuned to Camino rhythm.
After breakfast I went back to Santiago and stopped by the office to get the last sello. It was a simple gesture, but symbolic: the last stamp, the last formal piece before truly closing this adventure.
The rest of the day was mostly logistics: transfer to the airport, waiting, then departure with delay. We still exchanged messages in chat, with that mix of lightness and end-of-journey melancholy. In the group, farewell messages were passing around, with the shared feeling that the Camino was ending for everyone, each in their own way.
Right at boarding time, I also made a symbolic gesture: with my small knife I shortened the stick to make it fit Ryanair size limits. In reality, it had already become very short, so much so that I had not used it for walking for many days because it was worn down. But by then it was too full of stories to leave it there: it was my souvenir, rich with history and memories, between all my friends signatures collected on the Camino and the tally marks that recorded the passing days.
A rich breakfast, airport noise, and that strange suspended calm when you know you are leaving a place that got inside you.
The last day does not just close a stage: it puts order into everything you lived, and makes you understand what you truly want to take home.
If reading this diary makes you feel the Camino might be calling you, but you still need to clarify a few things, start with the free guide.
Day notes