Start (on June 9, 2023): Arca
End (on June 9, 2023): Compostela de Santiago
Distance: 12.5 miles (20.18 kilometers) and 1,111 feet (338.63 meters) of ascent.
Quote: “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.“ ~ Ursula K. Le Guin
Musings: Our final walk along the Camino de Santiago del Norte was in and out of rain all day. Rain gear on. Rain gear off. Rinse and repeat—literally! But somehow the variable weather seemed a perfect ending for our Camino. Carol and I were walking with a group of about 15 or so other pilgrims as we finally entered the city. At the first glimpse of the cathedral towers, a spontaneous cheer burst out of the entire group. Passersby on the street waved and laughed. It was truly joyous. The old city center has long narrow streets. The streets are so narrow, in fact, that cars are not allowed in the old center. So after that first glimpse of the towers, we couldn’t really tell how close we were getting to the cathedral square. We knew that we were getting closer, however, when we heard and then saw a bagpiper. Galicia has a bagpipe tradition similar to Ireland, and we’d heard that there would be a bagpiper serenading us and all the other arriving pilgrims into the square. We passed under an ancient archway where the bagpiper was playing, and suddenly the narrow street opened into a grand square filled with people and that incredible cathedral towering above. My heart just swelled, and I had a hard time choking back tears.
Earlier that day, my husband, Dave, got up at 4:00am in Prague to get a flight to Majorca, and then a second flight to Santiago, so he could meet us in the cathedral square when we arrived. We were worried that his plan would not work when his Majorca to Santiago flight was delayed, but he managed to get there on time anyway and was able to greet Carol and me as we entered the cathedral square. I was very happy to see him after more than 40 days apart—the longest we’d been apart in our over 30-year marriage! Our Camino friends, Viv and Martin, had reached the square earlier in the day, but they returned to the square to greet us as well. It was an emotional and joyous time to be there all together as we completed a monumental goal. But there were mixed emotions for everyone too as we knew that we would also soon be saying goodbye to so many dear friends and this life-changing experience was rapidly coming to an end. Yet, plans for reunions and future caminos and other adventures are already in the works and so all of our journeys continue, and I know that many of our roads will cross again.
We had a wonderful pilgrims’ dinner at the monastery across from the cathedral on Friday evening with Carol, Dave and me, Viv and Martin, and Steve and his daughter, Hannah, who had also come to Santiago to meet her dad. Viv and Martín were heading home on Saturday morning. But we met for dinner again with Steve and Hannah on Saturday evening, before they headed out to complete Steve’s camino to Finisterre together the next morning. Some pilgrims do not stop in Santiago but continue walking for another few days out to Finisterre, which is the western most point on the European continent. Steve and Hannah were walking from Santiago to Finisterre together.
On Saturday, Dave, Carol, and I attended the pilgrims’ mass at noon at the cathedral. It was a beautiful service in that magnificent cathedral. And the cathedral was packed with people from all over the world. I would hazard a guess that there were people there from every continent (except maybe Antarctica). All seats in the many rows facing the alter were filled, along with all seats in both annexes on either side of the alter. But those hundreds and hundreds of seats were still insufficient for the crowd. All along the aisles were pilgrims and others for whom there was standing room only. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw any church or synagogue filled to and beyond maximum capacity like that. One pilgrim told me that they hadn’t taken communion in decades but did so again at the pilgrims’ mass following the completion of their camino.
Carol, Dave, and I made plans to rent a car on Sunday and drive to Muxia, a little town on the coast, to which Helen and Tony from upstate NY, and one of our Camino kids, Hilary, had walked after completing their Del Norte Caminos in Santiago. We were able to meet up with them for a late breakfast and walk through part of the town and along the beach. It was a wonderful reunion. Carol, Dave, and I then drove out to Finesterre to take a look at the penninsula and lighthouse before heading back to the Santiago airport to catch a flight to London. Carol will return from London to Washington State on Monday. Dave and I will spend a few days in London catching up with old friends before heading home on Friday.
I am now sitting in the Santiago airport awaiting our flight to London as I write this last entry to the Camino Capers. Before I close this chapter, it is important to me that I tell all of you this. Of all my experiences on the Camino del Norte, writing the Capers has been the most surprising and rewarding for me. I started this blog to solve a communication issue. Neither my mom nor Carol’s husband are on social media. They wanted to know how they would get pictures and updates if all Carol and I did was post on Facebook and Instagram. I, however, didn’t want to be sending multiple posts and emails to keep folks updated. I was thinking about how to solve this problem when I discovered the relatively new Substack platform. It seemed to solve all aspects of the issue. I could post one update and those who were interested could subscribe for free and get the updates sent to their email boxes. No need for multiple posts on various social media sites or multiple emails. I thought I’d write a couple of sentences every so often and post them along with a few pictures, and that would be that. (If I’d known I would be writing as much as I did, I definitely would have brought something other than my phone with which to write. My poor thumbs!) But what I found was that sitting down to write about each day helped me to process what the highlights had been, to capture the memories that I didn’t want to lose, and to think about what had been meaningful, interesting, difficult, funny, or poignant each day. The blog became as much about integrating the experiences I was having for myself as it was about updating friends and family on our trip. And then I began hearing from friends, family, and even strangers about how they were enjoying the updates and what the Capers was beginning to mean to them. Folks told me that they looked forward to receiving the Capers each day, that they were starting to dread when the trip and the Capers would end—much as I was, and that the Capers had inspired them to plan their own caminos or other adventures. I cannot describe how heartwarming, encouraging, and uplifting these many responses were to me, and I thank you all so much for that. I can hardly believe this, but the Substack platform reports to me that the Capers is being read in 22 states and 9 different countries. When I first read that statistic, I thought it must be about the Substack platform as a whole. But no. That’s just the Capers. Wow! Who knew?
I’m so grateful to each of you who took the time to read the Capers and follow and engage in our Camino. The Capers has helped me to reconnect to a creative side that had perhaps atrophied during my busy years balancing career and family. If, like me, you believe that each person is created in the imagine of the Divine, then it seems to me that, like our Creator, an essential element of our humanity must be that we are creators too. I am deeply grateful for your help and encouragement as I wrote the Capers and engaged again with my creative side. I hope to engage more deeply with that side going forward. Indeed, I feel more myself when I do, and that is largely thanks to all of you.
One last heart-felt thank-you to everyone who prayed for us, encouraged us, rooted for us, commiserated with us when we needed it, reminded us to take care of ourselves, and generally cheered us on. We have been so grateful to have you along on this journey with us. It simply would not have been the same without you.
For the very last time, here are the photos from the past few days, and a buen camino to one and all!
June 9th:
Beginning of last day duo selfie.
Beautiful, billowy teal poncho makes last day appearance.
Lots of rain gear!
Carol leaving a rock she had brought with her from home on a Camino monument the last day.
First glimpse of one of the cathedral spires.
Reposting this picture just because it’s my favorite.
Dinner at the monastery next to the cathedral.
June 10th:
In the cathedral a half hour before the pilgrims’ mass began.
June 11th:
Muxia
Boot sculpture on a rock on the Finesterre penninsula—the western most point in Europe.
I listened to travel writer Andrew McCarthy's Camino pilgrimage walk w his 19 yr old son, as interviewed on "Eye on Travel w Peter Greenberg". 6/14/23 Part 3. Worth a listen? Google search brings up many additional interviews and his book.
Now what do I read. Oh I’ll be so happy to have you back home at least for a few weeks. I truly loved your writing and pictures and it was like waiting each morning for the postman to bring an exciting chapter. I do think that you should write that book. Love you oodles.