Autumn draws to a close....
Entering Melide where we were to surprise Dennis with a nice feed of Pulpos celebrating his birthday, a nice little rest after 15ks of walking this morning.
Australian Eucalypts between Boente and Castañeda, some 18ks or so along the road, like a guard of honour, line our path and fill our senses with memories of home.
Castañeda, around 23ks along the road. Our dominance of the camino was seriously challenged today by a fellow after we left Melide. However, persistence and team work managed to burn him off as we entered the town of Arzua.
Ribadiso da Baixo - about 26ks along the road, only a couple to go.
We arrived at Arzua about 1:00pm and had a late lunch which left a little to be desired, as far as cost went anyway. Fairly simple accommodation, and a town which did not offer too much for the pilgrim, as it had long mixed the ancient with the modern, leaving little room for the former.
Day 36 Arzua to Pedrouzo
Day 36: Friday November 3rd Arzua to Pedrouzo 20ks (Left 7:20am, arrived 11:15am - 4 hrs)
Peter´s birthday. Setting off towards Pedrouzo from Arzúa. A feeling of resignation was creeping over us at this point - the knowledge that we were so close to our destination filled us with a sense of accomplishment. But at the same time, the fact that our experience was nearing its end left us feeling somewhat bereft, as what lay beyond the camino seemed less important than the experienced we were presently living. Again, the voice within was declaring: Savor the moment; live the present.
Between Salceda and Santa Irene, about 14 or 15 ks of the walk done this morning. An elderly man digs post holes in a very green field. This is typical country from here until Santiago de Compostela. The gums have taken over from the oaks almost completely.
Santo Irene, 2.5 kilometers from Pedrouzo where we will stay our final night outside Santiago. Pedrouzo proved fairly uninteresting, and a bit of a disappointment as a last stop over before Santiago de Compostela. Not much to the town, and described in the pilgrim´s guide as "not very pilgrim friendly". We would have to have agreed, though the accommodation was fine.
Day 37 Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela
Nearing the Village of Labacolla, 10ks along the morning's walk.
DAY 37: Saturday 4th of November Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela. 20.1ks (Left 6:20am arrived 10:15am - 3hrs 55mins)
Not a long walk to our final destination. We stopped for a while at Monte de Gozo on the edge of Santiago de Compostela which made our time slower. Very dark setting out, with a bit of fog. A long flat and uninteresting walk for the first part, along the side of the airport. But afterwards, quite a nice walk.
Barbaro and companion arrive just behind us at the plaza of the Cathedral of Santiago. Seen on and off along the Camino since before Burgos. We had passed Barbaro on many occasions along the Camino, and he happened to crop up just ahead of us on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela. For a terrible moment, we thought that after all our efforts to remain "ahead of the pack", Barbaro was going to beat us to our final goal! However, we pegged him back and got in ahead of him.
Arrival at Cathedral, Santiago. Barbaro kindly offered to take this photo for us. I am looking a little perturbed, but I was trying to instruct Barbaro as to how the camera functioned. Barbaro treated us with great respect, perhaps because he never thought that the three "old blokes" would have been able to reach our common goal ahead of him. The moment was special in that we all shared, for that briefest of moments, the knowledge that together we had experienced and achieved something that no words or pictures adequately describe. Coincidentally, we are standing in the same formation as the very first photo taken on the day we began the Camino.
We have arrived! After taking in the plaza we made our way to La Oficina de Acogida al Peregrino ( the Office of Welcome to the Pilgrim), having been directed there by our Dutch friends with whom we met almost immediately upon arrival, and there we picked up our official certificate indicating that we had completed the Camino. We then sought out our lodgings, then went to the mass for pilgrims. We were lucky, as the huge thurible was used to incense the congregation at the end of the mass. Quite a spectacle to behold. From memory it took 8 men to hoist and swing it to and fro, and it swung almost to the ceiling of the cathedral each time. Even non believers would be moved by the experience - the incense is a centuries old tradition, blessing and purifying the pilgrims as they arrived at their destination.
Day 38 Santiago de Compostela
Sunday 5th of November:After the Sunday mass, meeting again with friends we had encountered. Ray and Elise from Australia, Paul and his wife Dianne, also from Australia, plus Heinrich and Iris from Germany. We had promised to meet this day and share lunch, which we did together at the famous Casa Manolo, a popular eating place for pilgrims. It was a long lunch, with a little more wine than we had planned due both to Pete's generosity and the fact that Paul, we discovered, despite his girth, didn't really drink - too late!!
A bit of animation after a long lunch and some good reds. Leaving the restaurant, no one seemed to be able to say goodbye, so we ended up at an outside cafe drinking a couple of cleansing ales. It seemed we were all a little hesitant to part, as we knew that this moment would officially end the experience of the Camino. Iris had seen off Heinrich after lunch, so perhaps she was looking for some company too. Whatever, the conversation was most enjoyable and the company most agreeable.
The cathedral at nightfall.After a further walk around the city centre, where we were to briefly meet Camilla and Rose, we went back to our hostel. Peter and I went to pay the bill, and the owners invited us to share a beer with them. They were exceedingly hospitable, and I enjoyed chatting with them. It was by far the most friendly reception we had experienced throughout the whole of the Camino.
Day 39: Taking Leave of the Camino
Monday Nov 6th: The hand upon the hand print left by a millennium of pilgrims. The curling vine carved into the pillar has been warn down by the hands of pilgrims over the centuries, and has now taken on the shape and appearance of a hand print.
An early visit to the cathedral before setting out to the airport by taxi. Dennis places his hands inside the ancient image of Santiago, a gesture of thanksgiving for a safe journey and for blessings received.
Santiago Apostal, Saint James the Apostle, farewells the pilgrim. We flew to London this day, and upon arriving at the Columban Centre House, we were to learn of Michael McGlade's death. Such are the realities once off the Camino. We were each to be amazed at how the Camino was to remain for so long afterwards still a part of us. Every track or winding path that we saw whilst travelling by train, bus or car left us wondering as to its destination, and what sort of experiences and places would unfold if we were to follow them. The options that face us each day are so vast and so many, and yet mostly we walk on through these believing that only one option is open to us. One option must be chosen in every moment of life, but how immense are the number offered to us. We would treasure life's experience more if we were sensitive to all the possibilities, and how unique our particular choices are. This was the central thought I carried with me as we left the Camino.
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