It is Finished!

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Trip Start Jun 15, 2010 Previous
Entry Trip End Aug 01, 2010

  Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
Friday, July 23, 2010

After my last entry it is obvious that I am tired. I asked way too much of all of you to fill in missing words and try and make sense of what I was saying. Let me clarify our adventure last night before I talk about our arrival in Santiago. After the 6 hour cue and rejection at the door, things got pretty ugly. The short story is that the crowd behind us stormed the door and went into the gym to stay. They were not going to be denied. We heard later that the police came but did not know what to do so they just let everyone stay. We are very happy that we left.


Let me also clarify what we did and the emotional toll it had on us. As I stated in the last entry we decided to take a cab to a large albergue 15K up the road in San Marcos. As we were contemplating our options and making this decision, we were not thinking about the requirement of walking the final 100K in order to qualify to receive the Compostella. When we got out of the cab in San Marcos we all felt physically ill. We were very disappointed about how the pilgrimage was seemingly ending. Solutions can always be found if we are willing to let go of our preconceived notions. Our solution was to take a cab back to Arca and walk the remainder of the Camino. We figured all we did was find a bed. It was a funny conversation that Terri had with our cab driver. The phone conversation went something like this, "Hello, Javier? We are the people you just dropped off in San Marcos. Yes. Can you pick us up in the morning around 7am and take us back to where you picked us up tonight? Yes. Yes. Yes, so we can wall back here tomorrow. Yes. Thank you." He must have thought we were a ljttle crazy. He arrived the next morning as scheduled and we walked the remaining 22 Kilometers into Santiago. 

The walk into Santiago was much less hectic than we expected. We thought it would be wall to wall people, and although it was busy, it was not unruly. It was strange walking through Santiago. It is a major city and you walk several kilometers before even coming close to the Cathedral. It feels very much like Disneyland. Instead of "Mickey Mouse Ears" everywhere, there are walking sticks with shells attached, pilgrim hats with shells attached, and every sort of knick knack you can imagine. It takes a great deal of effort to focus on the religious/spiritual purpose of the journey.  Walking around Santiago we see the faces of people we have not seen in days or weeks but with whom we shared a common journey and destination. Much like our lives and our final destination in heaven.

It is strange to be finished. I suppose the reason it feels strange to be finished is because we have not finished, but have only begun to understand the meaning of the Camino. The pilgrimage does not change you. What it does do is magnify your life so that you see who you are, what you are doing everyday, how you are with others and how you are walking and living the message of the gospel. The Camino is a mirror within which we see ourselves as we are...if we choose to look. There are many people who walk just to walk. There are many we met who are simply tourists. There are many who walk to simply "get" the Compostela. But, no matter what our motivation, we all end up in the same place. Maybe a little glimpse into the mystery of God.
See you all at home.

Blessed be the Pilgrim
Buen Camino

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A monument to honor the Templar Knights	Jesus and James back together again	They love their BIG figurines in Spain	Line to hug the statue of St. James
Cathedral de Santiago	Giant incensor hanging above the altar in Santiago	Cathedral de Santiago with scaffolding	Line Saturday afternoon to get your Compstella
Another shot of the Cathedral

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