My Spanish friend told me that “walking on the Camino de Compostela in whatever length is always special and good for you!”. From his words I decided to make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but I did not want to walk from Spanish border to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia which will consume a lot of time and faith that I did not have much. As my friend said “in whatever length is always special!”, I chose to walk from Monte do Gozo (Mount of Joy) to Santiago de Compostela which is the last section of the Camino and maybe the most important part for many pilgrims.

Monte do Gozo is the hill outside Santiago de Compostela providing a first view of the city with the spires of the cathedral, the end of the route. Reportedly that many pilgrims cried with joy when they reach this place, but as my visit was in winter there were no pilgrims at all just a hill with a big sculpture that built to commemorate the visit of the Pope to this holy town. Also I could not see the spires of the cathedral as most people claimed! From the hill, I had walked back to the town until I reached the square with the great cathedral. The cathedral is very beautiful and deservedly to be the end of the route. The interiors are very rich with details, and the golden altar of Saint John is just amazing and I believe these will make all pilgrims quite happy to see this spectacular place after their long journeys.

As I tried the Camino experience for just less than 7 kilometers, I will not dare to draw any conclusion on this world heritage. I also didn’t know this experience was special or not, but I was quite sure that walking up and down the hills for 7 kilometers was good for my health. At least my friend words were proved to be true in some part.