Final blog posting, our journey comes to an end

We experienced the Camino without any major injuries or problems which is a blessing in itself. The total journey covered about 890kms / 550 miles and took us a total of 39 days including the walk to the end of he world. From St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago it took us 33 days of walking plus 2 days of rest. On our longest day we actually walked a little over 24 miles! It makes trying to get a close parking space to the mall at Christmas time seem kind of silly.

The Camino experience helps you to recognize that everyone has a story and sharing that story builds friendships and bonds. It became a privilege to listen to people talk about their life, struggles and families. We made lots of new friends many of whom grew to be our Camino family and they will all be in our hearts forever.

In itself the Camino is a very different kind of pilgrimage because it not only engages your heart and soul but it is physically demanding all at the same time. Relationships begin with one person helping another with a blister or a swelled tendon ... grow as you talk and share, then end when for whatever the reason your paths go in different directions. This all happens in a matter of days, you part ways and then a few days later your paths cross again and the joy is that of finding a long lost friend. Many things happen that some would call coincidences but when you step back and think about it, all seem to be part of a grander plan ... it happened the way God intended it to happen. Even when we would make a "mistake" something special would come out of it. For instance we decided to stay in a municipal albergue one night (very inexpensive), paid and went up to our assigned bunk bed and saw that there were about 50 beds in the room .... BIG  mistake. That evening Betsy struck up and had a nice conversation with a man from Mexico who was assigned the bunk bed next to ours. We didn't see him again until we were at the pilgrim's Mass in Santiago and he turned out to be one of the priests con celebrating the Mass. Now take it one step more, he ended up being the priest that gave us communion! Hard to put all that into a category of coincidences. So it went on the Camino.

Did the Camino change us? We'll have to let our family and close friends back home determine that ... but I will tell you we do feel different. For sure our circle of friends has broadened and our lives have become much richer from it all. We miss all our family and friends and look forward to seeing all of you. We continue to pray for you and any prayer requests you have given us.

Buen Camino

In Santiago - 9/18

We spent the last day of our journey in Santiago just enjoying the sites, outdoor cafes, doing a little shopping and taking some time for a few final moments & prayers in the Cathedral. Christian made it back from Finisterre and we met him in the late afternoon for a final farewell sangria. Christian is a delightful young man and we will always have a special bond with him after he did the final walk with us into Santiago last Friday. He will always be in our hearts as our adopted Camino son.

After we said our final goodbye and parted, as we headed for our hotel who did we run into ... Josee! We had lost touch with her after we separated during our walk to Finisterre. We texted Christian who then joined us and we all went and had ice cream. Again we said our good byes to Christian and added last hugs with Josee. We all leave Santiago tomorrow.

Cee to Finisterre - 9/17

(Distance: 16kms, Time: 3hours)
Today we walked to the end of the world. After the 40 kms yesterday we were tired but by noon we were standing at the 0.0 kms marker for the Camino. We had debated about taking a bus to Finisterre but it felt really good that we had walked all the way. The day was sunny with a light breeze blowing and we sat in the rocks at the top of the cliffs, enjoyed the view, reflected on our Camino and then got up and walked the 3.5 kms back to town. It is a tradition to burn something in the rocks ... Betsy and I elected not to but Angeliek burned one of her shirts. When we got back to town we met Christian who was just arriving and had a drink together then boarded the bus for the 2 hour ride back to Santiago. It was a funny feeling reaching Santiago ... it felt like we had just negated the last three days & 90 kms of walking.

once again we get to see the sun rise

our early views of the ocean

at the 0.0 kms marker

standing at "the end of the world"

the Camino end

Betsy & I met Angeliek for dinner & desert and then after delaying it as long as we could we bid Angeliek goodbye. It was very sad to have to leave her but we feel blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know her. She is a fine young lady who will do well no matter what path her life takes. She will be our "adopted Camino daughter" forever and always in our prayers.

Vilaserio to Cee - 9/16

(Distance: 40 kms  Time: 11 hours)
Yes, you read the distance correctly ... we walked 40 kms today or a little over 24 miles, through the mountains and about 30 mins of rain. Angeliek, Betsy and I wanted to make it all the way to Cee so that tomorrow morning we can get to Finisterre in the morning (16kms), enjoy the "end of the world" and then catch a bus back to Santiago. The 40kms was really hard on us all

early in the morning

me in rain gear ... only time I usedit the entire Camino

road on top of the mountains

view out the window of our room in albergue

In Santiago - 9/14 ..... Santiago to Vilaserio -9/15

(Distance: 34 kms  Time: 10 hours)
We left Santiago this morning on our way to Finisterre. It was a perfect way to leave Santiago ... early in the morning, with some of our new Camino family (Angeliek, Christian, Jolee, Betsy and me). As we made our way out of the city and up a small hill, we turned and looked back to Santiago and there all lighted up in the middle of the dark city still asleep was the Cathedral. It was just the right way to close our Camino and move on to Finisterre and  "the end of the world". At lunch Josee and Christian decided to stay in that town while Angeliek, Betsy and I walked on. The trail was hot and mostly uphill so it tok us much longer than we anticipated and we stopped short of our goal. So tomorrow we will walk some more but probably at some point take a taxi to the destination for the day so that we can keep our time table and hopefully catch up with a couple of other Camino family members before we all disperse and head back to our real lives.

!!!!! SANTIAGO !!!!!

(Distance: 8kms  Time: 1.5 hours)
WE MADE IT! We walked into Santiago this morning around 9:45 with Christian and quickly made our way to the Cathedral. Soon we saw Jen & Hella who arrived yesterday and they guided us to the pilgrims office where we presented our credentials and received our "Compostela". Our Camino is complete and we are excited, tired, emotional and blessed. We attended the noon pilgrim Mass which ended with the swinging of the giant incense burner Botafumeiro, originally used to fumigate the sweaty pilgrims. It was awesome and emotional all at the same time. Later we had lunch with Josie, then Christian came by and joined us for a while. Right as we were getting up from the outdoor cafe, Angeliek showed up! It is great to see everyone and tonight we are all meeting in front of the Cathedral at 7. Since we are a week ahead of schedule we are thinking about continuing on 90 more kms to Finisterre (which was know as the end of the world), then maybe a train to Fatima before returning to Madrid and the trip home. Stay tuned ....

as the sun rises we are at a momument on a hill above Santiago

we join the perigrenos pointing to Santiago in the background

in

in front of the Cathedral

the alter

Betsy's Compostela

Salceda to Vilamaior - 9/12

(Distance: 18 kms  Time: 5 hours)
The Day: Two days ago we prepared ourselves for the worse with the "tourist pilgrims" joining the Camino for the last 100 kms. We also thought that as we got closer and closer to Santiago we would be walking on a lot of pavement along streets and highways. Our experience has almost been the opposite. Somehow we have been able to dodge the hoards of new pilgrims even though we can see the evidence that they are around ... lots of buses & taxis. Our walking time has been pretty much alone which has been very peaceful. Also, the trail has been primarily on natural paths through heavily wooded areas. It has been perfect weather with the temperature climbing to the low 80s and the woods providing lots of shade from the sun. So our last few days as we approach Santiago have been very satisfying. Tomorrow we will start out early and expect to get to the Cathedral mid morning!

The People: we started out late this morning since we had a shorter distance and we walked a bit with new friends, Anna & Leva (a daughter and mom walking together) but soon we were on our own. We met a few people along the way, some of whom we joined in watching the new pilgrims get picked up in taxis after a couple of hours because their feet hurt. Shortly after  we got to our destination for the day, Christian met up with us. Tomorrow we will walk into Santiago together.

today's peaceful path through the woods

tourist pilgrim buses

some old ruins we walk by

Melide to Salceda- 9/11

(Distance: 25 kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: Today was a pleasant surprise. Somehow we managed to stay between the waves of pilgrims and were left pretty much alone on the trail. It was a beautiful day, about 78 degrees, sun was shinning and we walked along mostly natural trails with lots of shade and a gentle breeze blowing. It doesn't get much better than that. If we can escape the tourist pilgrims one more day we will be home free in Santiago.

the day starts out

a small village we are entering

the typical path for the day

The People: Christian and Josie remain a part of our day as well as our numerous daily encounters with Cherry. We met some new people at dinner, a couple from UK and then a mother / daughter combo from Belgium. Lots of people around us ... all with their eyes on Santiago. We are getting emails from Mike (from Canada) and Jee Young (from Korea) but both seem on different paths than us and we may not ever connect with them again on this Camino ... we are hoping somehow we do as they have become very special people in our lives.

our modest pilgrim meal for tonight

our friend Cherry just ahead

Ventas de Naron to Melide - 9/10

(Distance: 27kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: It was a fairly easy day of walking without many ups or downs as far as the terrain. However, the Camino is changing at a rapid pace. It has been a very different experience since passing Sarria where a lot of people start for the last 100 kms. First and most obvious, it is more crowded with all the newcomers and the attitude & approach has change with people getting dropped off in a taxi and a lot more people not carrying their backpacks (they get them transported to the next stop). Looking closer at the people now around us, you see more "designer" clothing and women actually wearing makeup. Bright colored sneakers, cute little backpacks that are designed to look nice but not very useful ... things like that. For the first 700kms it was a Camino family and now it is more like a Camino city. For those people that just do the minimum last 100 kms their experience will be very different than ours ... it doesn't make it worse or better, just very very different. One good thing is the fact that when a group gets annoying we can easily out distance them especially on the hills. It is good for the ego when you pass by so many other walkers too :)

The People: Christian is still kind of with us ... he didn't walk with us today but we saw him and we are supposed to be meeting up at the albergue in Melide but so far we have not seen him. We met up once again with Cherry on the trail and also passed by Josie.

the path today pretty much followed the roads

some of our companions today :)

Barbadelo to Ventas de Naron - 9/9

(Distance: 31 kms  Time: 8.5 hours)
The Day: Even though we keep saying that we are going to stop leaving in the dark, we keep doing it ... 6:30am this morning with sunrise around 7:45. Ok ... some more project management talk ...today we gave ourselves a "stretch target" and we made it! 31 kms begins to put us in position to walk into Santiago around 10 am on Friday morning. The pilgrim Mass is at noon so that works out perfect. No new blisters or aliments today so we continue to do well on that front. Each day brings us closer to Santiago, which is a 2 edged sword. First our excitement increases with every step but then the realization of our Camino almost being complete makes us a little sad. We have lots of time to process all that we have experienced so for now we are trying to focus on the moment. One short month ago Santiago seemed so far away and now we are within 50 miles. It does not seem possible but by the grace of God it looks like we will make it.

The People: Christian continues to be with us, sometimes walking ahead and sometimes joining us. We had a surprise this morning when we stopped for our coffee. We walked into the cafe in a small village and Cherry was there to great us. Then later in the day we crossed paths with Josie once again. New friends, Jen & Helle from Denmark seem to be on a similar schedule as us so hopefully we will continue to see them (btw ... Jen is a project manger so we have had a lot to talk about). God continues to intertwine our lives with people we have quickly learned to call friends. Every time we think we have lost touch with someone forever, they show up at a cafe or somewhere along the "way" ... we are in awe.

the sunrise

small village   we passed through

the fog begins to lift

some of the "local" scene

a bridge to the next town

Triacastela to Barbadelo - 9/8

(Distance: 23 kms  Time: 7.5 hours)
The Day: We are starting out a little later so that we do not have to walk very long in the dark with our flashlights. Sometimes the yellow arrow markers are difficult to see without any natural light. Think about it ... it seems silly enough that for 500 miles we are following these little yellow arrows all the way across Spain, let alone to try and do it in the dark. Today we climbed another small mountain and the fog had a hard time lifting but as it lifted it provided some really beautiful views with a mix of mountains and fog in the valleys. We decided to not stop today in Sarria and to go on to the next town. Sarria is the last place that someone can start the Camino and qualify for the Compostela certificate and we wanted to be ahead of the crowd starting tomorrow in Sarria. The distance to Santiago is now less than 70 miles and we are anticipating reaching it on Friday (I know that would be Friday the 13th but we will let St James take care of that :) Now for my IBM friends that are project managers, that would mean we would reach our target one week AHEAD of plan. We have not had many blisters or injuries and that has been a blessing as everyday we see many people struggling with various ailments. Tonight we are in a very nice albergue that to be honest almost feels like a resort. When you look at the pictures below you will see what I mean. Yes ... God is good.

leaving in the dark

the view as the fog lifts

the view from our albergue's garden

The People: Today we spent part of the day once again with Christian and seem to be crossing paths with a young girl from Japan named Mari ... they are at the albergue with us tonight. Around lunch time when we passed through Sarria, Betsy and I decided to stop at a cafe for something to drink. As we approached some empty outdoor tables a woman called to us and asked if we would join them for a drink. The man she was with lives in Sarria, she is from Italy and they hope to open an albergue that caters to people with disabilities. They bought us a drink and wanted to know everything about our Camino journey.

Betsy & me as we rest after a hard day's walk :)

our view from the lounge chairs

Lugana to Triacastela - 9/7

(Distance: 23.8 kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: We started out early and in the dark. The weather wasn't great but it wasn't raining ... lots of fog. We were high up in the mountains and it was cold. Betsy wore her fleece most of the day and I had a long sleeve shirt on. Still, as some of the fog burned off, the views were spectacular yet again. We both felt pretty strong most of the day and we enjoyed the walk. It does seem as if it is becoming more crowded but we were still able to find some stretches where we were alone. One benefit ofmthe fog was that it was very quiet ... kind of like when you are out in a snow fall. We got to our destination by 2 pm and after doing our laundry, getting a shower and grabbing some lunch it was almost time for Mass. The Mass was very unique and tailored for pilgrims. The readings were read in 7 different laungues and Betsy read the the English version. We are now only 6 days from Santiago which is hard to believe. Soon this will all be just a memory which feels kind of sad.

The People: We had one of those days where old friends seem to pop out of nowhere. After reaching the top of the mountain around 8:30, we had breakfast and  saw Sally & Mark fom Colorado who we had not seen for a couple of days. Moving on, we started down the path when out of a building came Cherry from NYC. It was great to see her again and we walked together for a while and caught up. Then a little further down the path we passed Jamie who we thought was way in front of us. It turns out he got a bad case of tendinitis and had to rest for a couple of days. Later on in the day out of nowhere, Christian showed up and we walked the rest of the way into town with him. In town we saw a number of familiar faces which just makes you feel good.