We're HERE!
We pulled into the central square at Santiago at about noon yesterday, June 23rd. 16 days, 800 kilometers, 9000 meters of climbing and descending, dodging pedestrians (other pilgrims), cars, trucks, snakes and a variety of other objects we made it.
We've had an eventful couple of days since leaving Sarria. The landscape changed, yet again. In Galacia it's hilly, mountainous even and covered with lush, rain forest like vegetation. It's somehow a bit of a cross between the Canadian Shield and some of BC's lower mainland with a huge amount of human history to explore and uncover.
Our stops were both in rural areas off the beaten track. On Saturday's ride between them about 20 kilometers was added to our ride simply going from the Camino trail to the hotels and back. We'll kind of. Our second night was in a beautiful building nestled in a gully beside a creek next to the highway. It was set along the Camino Norte, another of the Camino routes and we completed our ride by following it along to the junction of it with the Camino Frances.
The previous evening was spent in Pidre, south of Palais de Rei, where we met the world's largest dog;
Janet, Zoltan needs a companion.
The riding was difficult. Interestingly from Sarria to Palais de Rei we had the second longest climbing day. The altitudes are not as significant as in eastern portions of the trip - no mountain tops - but up and down through the day added to almost 1000 meters of climbing. It was also more crowded. A wrong turn as we left Sarria took us up the Camino trail instead of following the highway. It was obvious a lot more people had joined the pilgrimage. School trips seemed to be the theme of the day as we passed large groups of young Spainards walking with chaperons. In the Sarria hotel it was obvious that there were a number of groups who were arriving to begin their walks. The trail out of Sarria was steep and riding was tricky because of the number of people sharing it. At the first opportunity we moved to the road; which, as we approached Palais de Rei, joined the trail. A small country road, crowded with people, all walking in the same direction.
We've seen that phenomenon more closely in Santiago where all the pilgrims gather in the square and old city near the Cathedral. Crowds of people in the square celebrating their successes. Once here, yesterday, we found our way to the pilgrim's office where we received our certificates of completion. The certificates, in latin, speak of our accomplishment. We were worried we'd exchange our pilgim's passports for the certificates losing the stamps we collected in our stops along the way. Gratefully, that didn't happen and we have two souvenirs of our trip. The line of pilgrims took approximately 1/2 hour to flow from when we arrived. Surrounded by all nationalities and ages we listened as people talked about their journeys from wherever they'd begun.
As we left the office we bumped into our friends from Oregon, Dan and Claudia, who'd been riding their Bike Fridays along the Camino. We'd last seen them two days earlier during a stop for coffee in Portomorin where, it turned out, Dan experienced a mechanical problem with his bike and they spent several hours negotiating a fix with a mechanic there. It was good to connect with them one final time to congratulate and celebrate our accomplishments together.
One more random encounter was to come. On Saturday the hotel had held three guests - Sandy, myself and a gentleman from Croatia who was just completing his walk from St. Jean Port du Peid. He'd walked the full route - 800 kilometers - in 28 days. He was looking forward to leaving the next morning at 6 am to finish the final stage, roughly 20 kilometers to Santiago. As we walked to dinner last night a voice called out, "Senor!" We turned and there he was greeting us as old friends. He was looking forward to returning to family today (Monday). As we shared dinner on Saturday he'd spoken of his journey and how it had both challenged and changed him. In Roncesvalles he'd slipped, his boots were broken, and he was unsure he could continue. A night's rest and the injuries less severe than they'd felt the night before he found new shoes and began slowly. In telling us he was getting up at six to continue he spoke of how, before the Camino he was a night owl, working until one am and sleeping late. Now, he said, "No more. I rise early and begin my day."
For myself, it's difficult to speak of how the experience has changed me. As we stood in line for our certificates of completion a Canadian woman spoke of how the journey has been the hardest thing she's ever done. While challenging and long, I didn't share her sentiment. Physically it's been hard - perhaps as hard as any journey before. Yet, I thought of other journeys and certificates I've achieved. A Bachelor's degree, a Masters degree. And, other milestones - 30 years of ordination, marriage, divorce, parenthood. All journeys in their own right - all equally hard or harder in their own ways.
Certainly there have been moments of emotion. As we came closer to Santiago I found myself caught in emotional moments because of the accomplishment of this trip. Riding the full distance with only one rest day, we are tired, and that in itself is a challenge. Coming into Santiago we needed to get one more stamp for our passports. We'd been instructed that two stamps per day were necessary for our certificates of completion. Sandy didn't want to risk being denied a certificate for lack of one stamp. As it has many times on the journey our GPS didn't match the route the signs and arrows directed. We zigged, and zagged, in search of the right way to go. We did eventually find a stamp only to be left wondering at the pilgrims office as they were given a cursory glance, and returned to us. We left holding our certificate. The number of stamps were not counted nor confirmed. At the moment, I'm glad to finish riding. To enjoy a couple of days as a tourist - in Santiago, in Belgium, and to return home - is really what I am ready to do. Here's a few shots of the past few days.
We've had an eventful couple of days since leaving Sarria. The landscape changed, yet again. In Galacia it's hilly, mountainous even and covered with lush, rain forest like vegetation. It's somehow a bit of a cross between the Canadian Shield and some of BC's lower mainland with a huge amount of human history to explore and uncover.
Our stops were both in rural areas off the beaten track. On Saturday's ride between them about 20 kilometers was added to our ride simply going from the Camino trail to the hotels and back. We'll kind of. Our second night was in a beautiful building nestled in a gully beside a creek next to the highway. It was set along the Camino Norte, another of the Camino routes and we completed our ride by following it along to the junction of it with the Camino Frances.
The previous evening was spent in Pidre, south of Palais de Rei, where we met the world's largest dog;
Janet, Zoltan needs a companion.
The riding was difficult. Interestingly from Sarria to Palais de Rei we had the second longest climbing day. The altitudes are not as significant as in eastern portions of the trip - no mountain tops - but up and down through the day added to almost 1000 meters of climbing. It was also more crowded. A wrong turn as we left Sarria took us up the Camino trail instead of following the highway. It was obvious a lot more people had joined the pilgrimage. School trips seemed to be the theme of the day as we passed large groups of young Spainards walking with chaperons. In the Sarria hotel it was obvious that there were a number of groups who were arriving to begin their walks. The trail out of Sarria was steep and riding was tricky because of the number of people sharing it. At the first opportunity we moved to the road; which, as we approached Palais de Rei, joined the trail. A small country road, crowded with people, all walking in the same direction.
We've seen that phenomenon more closely in Santiago where all the pilgrims gather in the square and old city near the Cathedral. Crowds of people in the square celebrating their successes. Once here, yesterday, we found our way to the pilgrim's office where we received our certificates of completion. The certificates, in latin, speak of our accomplishment. We were worried we'd exchange our pilgim's passports for the certificates losing the stamps we collected in our stops along the way. Gratefully, that didn't happen and we have two souvenirs of our trip. The line of pilgrims took approximately 1/2 hour to flow from when we arrived. Surrounded by all nationalities and ages we listened as people talked about their journeys from wherever they'd begun.
As we left the office we bumped into our friends from Oregon, Dan and Claudia, who'd been riding their Bike Fridays along the Camino. We'd last seen them two days earlier during a stop for coffee in Portomorin where, it turned out, Dan experienced a mechanical problem with his bike and they spent several hours negotiating a fix with a mechanic there. It was good to connect with them one final time to congratulate and celebrate our accomplishments together.
One more random encounter was to come. On Saturday the hotel had held three guests - Sandy, myself and a gentleman from Croatia who was just completing his walk from St. Jean Port du Peid. He'd walked the full route - 800 kilometers - in 28 days. He was looking forward to leaving the next morning at 6 am to finish the final stage, roughly 20 kilometers to Santiago. As we walked to dinner last night a voice called out, "Senor!" We turned and there he was greeting us as old friends. He was looking forward to returning to family today (Monday). As we shared dinner on Saturday he'd spoken of his journey and how it had both challenged and changed him. In Roncesvalles he'd slipped, his boots were broken, and he was unsure he could continue. A night's rest and the injuries less severe than they'd felt the night before he found new shoes and began slowly. In telling us he was getting up at six to continue he spoke of how, before the Camino he was a night owl, working until one am and sleeping late. Now, he said, "No more. I rise early and begin my day."
For myself, it's difficult to speak of how the experience has changed me. As we stood in line for our certificates of completion a Canadian woman spoke of how the journey has been the hardest thing she's ever done. While challenging and long, I didn't share her sentiment. Physically it's been hard - perhaps as hard as any journey before. Yet, I thought of other journeys and certificates I've achieved. A Bachelor's degree, a Masters degree. And, other milestones - 30 years of ordination, marriage, divorce, parenthood. All journeys in their own right - all equally hard or harder in their own ways.
Certainly there have been moments of emotion. As we came closer to Santiago I found myself caught in emotional moments because of the accomplishment of this trip. Riding the full distance with only one rest day, we are tired, and that in itself is a challenge. Coming into Santiago we needed to get one more stamp for our passports. We'd been instructed that two stamps per day were necessary for our certificates of completion. Sandy didn't want to risk being denied a certificate for lack of one stamp. As it has many times on the journey our GPS didn't match the route the signs and arrows directed. We zigged, and zagged, in search of the right way to go. We did eventually find a stamp only to be left wondering at the pilgrims office as they were given a cursory glance, and returned to us. We left holding our certificate. The number of stamps were not counted nor confirmed. At the moment, I'm glad to finish riding. To enjoy a couple of days as a tourist - in Santiago, in Belgium, and to return home - is really what I am ready to do. Here's a few shots of the past few days.
at Portomorin
Along the road
riding through the countryside
our last hotel
along a creek
and old mill
and swimming hole
streets of Santiago
view from the square
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