Going home tomorrow

Because of a couple of changes I had to make in the middle of my camino (splitting a stage or two that turned out to be longer and harder than anticipated), I wound up walking into Santiago without enough days to walk to Finisterre and Muxia. That means that I am essentially "stuck" in Santiago for more days than usual. I could have taken a bus or train somewhere for a day trip but on each of the days I had a friend/friends coming into town and we had plans for an evening meetup. 

So I did the usual post camino routine. Pilgrims mass, cathedral visit, trip to the park, etc etc. Lots of time to think and process. 

It's not every year that the intense personal connections are made but the last two weeks on this camino were extraordinary. In our group were two young guys --a 16 year old from the Canaries and a 19 year old from near Bilbao. Maybe it's because I was the oldest and they were the youngest, but for some reason we had a very tight connection. One of them would inevitably show up when I was dragging, and I was always there to stop their complaining --if I can do this, surely you can too. These photos were taken as we were saying our goodbyes. 

No concrete thoughts yet on next year's camino -- I leave that to the grey dreary months of Illinois winters. But I do have a few  ideas starting to percolate.  🤗

Home tomorrow. 

In Santiago

I am here. Today our group of 15 all waited for each other at the entrance to Santiago. 

Some left at 4:15, some at 5:30, some at 6:00. I went with the 5:30 group.

And we all walked into Santiago together. 

I will be here for a few more days than usual but I am glad I will not be walking  another step in my boots for now. 

This has been an extraordinary Camino. 

20 kms from Santiago

This was not a particularly beautiful walk today. Lots of asphalt, lots of eucalyptus trees, and lots and lots of people. But hey, we are now 20 km from Santiago. 

The 15 of us had lunch together and are in an albergue together. 

We will all hobble in together and that will be that. Crazy. 

Getting close to the end

Today, the Camino Primitivo joined up with the Camino francés.  We are now part of what my pal Reb calls the moving sidewalk. It's pretty incredible to see the numbers of people walking -- some looking fresh and spiffy (mainly those who started a day or two ago at the 100 km mark -- the minimum to qualify for the compostela), some of the walking wounded who look like they've been through the ringer, and then bedraggled pilgrims like the 15 of us. 

We have fallen into a comfortable routine. Everyone eats breakfast together and then we all walk at our own pace until we see that the ones at the front have stopped for a coffee. Then we all regroup and move on to the next stop. 

Today when we hit the Camino Francés, I had to look to see if one of my favorite little Romanesque churches was open, in the tiny town of Furelos. In this church, built in the 12th C, there are some beautiful 14 C murals. 

But what I like most is the 12th C metalwork, just beautiful. Whenever I see it I am reminded that there is absolutely nothing that I will ever make or do that others will admire 1000 years from now. 

My feet are fed up, my body is tired, but I 

am very content.  I would have to say that this camino ranks right up there with the best of them.