Pilgrim's progress:

We're almost there. We've walked 724 kms in 30 days and we should arrive in Santiago tomorrow sometime just after noon.

At the moment we're in a town called Arco do Pino, watching football on television in a bar. It's too late and too hot to travel the final 19 kms to Santiago today. The bar is packed with football fans, Portugal is playing the Czech Republic.

The weather has been bright and sunny, so these days we start early in the mornings and finish in the early afternoons. I'm waiting until I actually arrive in Santiago before I try to comment on the meaning of the trip. I'm glad I've done it. I'd recommend it to others, but I wouldn't do it again, or so I think at the moment.

Carlos has been a great traveling companion, and I have a lot to thank him for. His wife Ana will be in Santiago to meet us tomorrow. Tonight we'll have supper with Antonio, a friend from Saragossa we met along the way, and then to bed by ten oclock, so we can be up bright and early. I'm walking slowly because of problems with my right foot. Also, I'm generally tired. I look with longing whenever a bus or a taxi speeds by, but so far I've resisted the temptation.

- David Beaty