Today was a wonderful day. Having completed or journey yesterday, recovered our beautiful certificates of completion, and attended the Pilgrims Mass, all we had on our agenda for the day was to change hotels. We slept in and went to breakfast at about 10 then chilled out in the apartment until noon. We walked about 15 minutes to our final Santiago hotel,dropped off our bags and went shopping for souvenirs and gifts for those who missed us. We then had an amazing Spanish lunch with all the classics. Jamón Serrano, gambas ajillo, and mejillones followed by a paella and finished with flan. We then returned to our hotel to repack and finalize plans for the return of the family to the US.

I spent my evening arranging for tomorrow’s adventure with Scott and Merci Hutchison as we plan to walk to Finisterre. This is the traditional “end of the earth” walked by pilgrims during the middle age. This is something I have never done and it will earn me my fourth Compostela or certificate of completion. There is a certain irony that I will be walking to the end of the earth while my brothers and children are flying overhead to the new world. The fact is it may be a new world for them after the experience of the Camino. It has been said that those ho have walked The Camino cannot explain it and those who have not walked it cannot understand. They return to their families a bit changed. For this I am grateful and proud.

Completed the Camino de Santiago midday this morning. Great fun seeing the people we shared the trail and meals with along the way. An amazing family experience. So happy we did this.

With the assistance of a wonderful Albergue employee, I was able to make a reservation at an Albergue for the night of 8 September. I had exhausted all options in my guidebook and was in fear that we would not have a place to stay. This is the pilgrims nightmare. One of the big changes in the Camino for 2022 is the volume of people. The big years. The years to avoid walking the Camino are the Holy years. That was 2021 where the church grants plenary indulgence for walking the Camino. What I did not know is that the Pope extended the Holy year to include 2022.

So we stated walking the 17-18 Km the morning of the 8th (John’s 42nd birthday) with a reservation in the Albergue Lavacolla. We arrived around 1 to find out that it did not open until 2. Sitting and watching is a welcome activity for pilgrims. When the Albergue finally opened, we were given a room to ourselves. 6 beds and our own bathroom and shower. We were in early and had time to all shower, have our laundry done for us, and went off to eat. Upon our return, the owner of the Albergue met us and asker where we ate. I told him that we went into town because I wanted to see the church (from the 1600s). He must have thought I was looking for a pilgrims mass (which many towns have). Later he sought me out to tell me that there would be a pilgrims mass here in the garden of the Albergue. It seems that one of the pilgrims was a Canadian priest and he offered to say mass. By 3 PM the garden of the Albergue has turned into a thriving community. There were pilgrims chatting while doing laundry, sunning their tired bones, having beer or wine from the supermarket across the street, and making new friends. I was so pleased to have my family see this depth of Camino spirit. I attended the pilgrims mass at 7 PM and received another blessing. My cup runneth over. Today we finish.

Relaxing in the yard of the Albergue after a day of walking and a well earned lunch

Just a few Km from our finish point today. Only 10-12 Km out of Santiago

After so many wonderful comments about the smiling faces in the pictures of the family on the Camino, I feel that I need to interject a bit of truth and reality. Spain is a mountainous country. Crisscrossed by mountain ranges that for centuries separated the provinces as well as the Moors and the Christians, Spanish towns are always located along some body lines of water. This means that when the pilgrims from all of Europe began to walk to Santiago, they would have to walk down hills to get to town and back up to get to the next one. This is what walking the Camino entails. It is as though there are no flat ground in Spain. So the smiling faces you see in the photos are covering up the sore muscles and annoying blisters. It is, however, a shared experience that has been and continues to be priceless.

We made it to Salceda. 27 Km from Santiago

The group proud to complete the climb out of Ribadiso (in the background)

The last portion of the Camino can be crowded

Gentle readers, my apologies for not having written yesterday. I posted pictures but was reluctant to write due to an uncharacteristic lack of positivity. After years of anticipation and my desire to make this Camino a wonderful memory for my family I was feeling as though I had failed. I was wet and tired. All the equipment I brought for the others who may have blisters and I was the only one suffering with blisters. To top it off, my reputation as a fast walker having averaged 18 miles a day in 2015) was being crushed as people were walking past me as though I was standing. My pride was dashed and I was having a hard time dealing with the existential angst. The good news that it all worked out. We found the place we had reserved. To be truthful, we found a Camino bar/restaurant in the rain where I had decided that I could not walk another step I asked the owner to call for a taxi to take us to the Albergue. She was as sweet as could be when she told me that the place you want to go is only 200 meters down this hill. To verify, I asked John to drop his pack and see if it was there. He returned with all smiles and we packed up and made the last meters, showered, did laundry, and had a fabulous meal with wine. We slept for 9-10 hours and started again today. Life is good. Excess of Pride is bad.