Terminus

Here are the infamous orange shoes - caked in mud from two days of tromping along the wet paths.  I donned them for the final 8km trek into Santiago this morning.

I opened the curtains in the room and saw to my delight that the sun was shining and the sky looked very promising.  No rain shield for the pack today.  It´s the small things.

I walked for several kilometers until I reached a somewhat famous spot, high on a hill overlooking Santiago, Monte do Gozo.  On clear days (of which this was not entirely, Santiago had low cloud cover) one can see the spires of the Cathedral.  Nevertheless, it was a beautiful spot and notable for punctuating the end of the trail.  Many smiles exuding relief to be found on faces of the many trekkers passing through.

Monte do Grozo, memorial commemorating visit of Pope John Paul II

Lots of bicyclists on the Camino.  Two fellows here this morning, visibly happy and relieved to be nearing Santiago.  I completely understand.

Among the several trekkers there, I spotted the young couple pushing the stroller with their infant son.  I had seen them several days before on the trail, in the rain, only then they were draped in ponchos.  Today I got to see them without their gear.  They were quite happy to be nearing the end.  They had started at SJPP, on the French side of the Pyrenees.  What an undertaking.

As I proceed down the steep trail the last 4.7 kilometers into Santiago, I reflect on the multitude of thoughts and insights, when all of a sudden I hear from behind me:  "Is that Peggy?"  Few people call me Peggy - I prefer not to be called that.  However, a small group of Australian women with whom I had dinner one evening call me Peggy.  I´ve chosen to let them since Australians seem to add the -y /-ee ending to almost everything.  So...  In any event, I turned around to discover the tiny woman, Claire, from Gold Coast Australia.

She was delighted to find me.  We had thought our paths would intersect yesterday, but I walked farther than anyone thought I would.  I had told them to look for my orange shoes.  Sure enough, that was what Claire spotted.  And I must say, I have not seen another pair of orange shoes on the Camino.  It pays to be an oddball.

So Claire and I walked in to Santiago together. And for the first time, the signs of the trail became much more difficult to find - too much urban distraction.

We made our way to the Pilgrim Center - how many cities can claim to have one of them?  After standing in line which resembled a small United Nations, I received my certificate of completing the Camino, the Compostela, and a Distance Credential.  There you have it, I´m legitimate.  It´s not why I did it, but it´s nice to look at.  And who is in line ahead of me but that couple with the infant son in the stroller.  That´s how so many experiences have been:  we meet, depart only to run into each other once again.  Sweet.  Not necessarily that we chat, socialize or anything in depth - but with that couple I had specifically asked after the baby and the mother had chatted briefly with me as I passed.  Then when we spotted each other in the line, we shared a momentary spark of recognition.  Sweet.  The baby´s name, by the way, is Kaspar.  He was very happy.

There are so many things that I´ve not mentioned but have been quite inspirational or mind boggling, but then I go to write this and have completely forgotten these things.  There was the blind woman and her companion merrily walking and singing along the path.  The companion leading with the blind woman pulling a little cart behind.  Stunning.  This path is NOT easy in the best of situations.  Then there was an older gentleman pushing a cart with his pack.  Still I cannot imagine that.  And he was moving as if there wasn´t a care in the world weighing him down.  Then there was the group of adults with obvious cognitive impairments being shepherded by a couple of counselors, through the driving rain, along this trail in the middle of nowhere - they were from a program in Madrid.  And the group of praying nuns, singing out the prayers in response to the leader.

Interesting and remarkable.  That´s just some of the things.  I´m happy to have made the friends I´ve made.  We have shared some very interesting and deep thoughts and perspectives.

That´s it for now - wifi is not working at the hotel I´m staying at, so I cannot upload more pictures until I can connect via my phone.

Until later...thanks for joining me on this path.