Day 54: Santiago de Compostela to Tui | 118km

25 July 2026

You’d think goodbyes would become easier the shorter I have left of this trip, but it’s more difficult every time. Whenever I’ve said goodbye to friends, family, or Irene on this trip, it takes a day or two to get back into any sort of rhythm. I ride without much joy, just wishing I had company.

I slept well despite the biggest display of fireworks I’ve ever heard starting just as we were going to sleep last night, but I woke up with a mix of excitement for the final leg of the journey and a deep sadness about heading out there on my own again. Although I’m following the Camino Portugués all the way to Porto, it felt like I left behind my Camino. I will not be collecting stamps or any certificate on this pilgrimage, and everyone I met along the route was headed in the direction I had just come from, excited to make it to the end.

I wonder if there actually is a psychological effect to seeing all the golden shells that signify that you’re on the Camino. Although the arrows were pointed towards Santiago, I still felt safe knowing I was on a well-travelled path with plenty of places to stop for food and supplies. It’s the opposite of some of the more remote and desolate roads I faced in the beginning of this adventure. The snow-covered mountain I thought would kill me, the long roads through the barren north, and the stretches with no people in sight were not for me.

I’m physically on my own for most of this journey, but I’ve very much realised how much I need the comfort of having people around. For a long time, I was inspired by the film Into the Wild, which tells the true story of a young man named Christopher McCandless who leaves all material things behind and heads into the wilderness of Alaska in search of freedom and peace. In the end, he finds that happiness is only real when shared. I would never compare my journey with whatever he was on, but I’ve come to the same realisation: happiness is only real when shared.