There are a few things Pilgrims traditionally do when their walk on the Camino comes to an end:
• Go behind the high alter at Santiago Cathedral and embrace the statue of St. James. This is way cooler than it sounds. The Cathedral opened at seven a.m. yesterday and we were there for our hugs. Also whispered a special prayer in the saint's ear😄 • Attend Pilgrims mass where they read the countries the Pilgrims arrived from the previous day. I cheered on the inside when they listed that Pilgrims from Canada had walked from St. Jean Pied du Port. • Witness the swinging of the Botafumeiro. They don’t do this every day so we were really fortunate. This is one one the largest incense burners in the world. It weighs about 80kg and takes about 8 men pulling on the ropes to swing it. The smoke really puffs out the sides and it is reported to go up to 68 km/h. I clapped right out loud with excitement when this sailed over our heads. Bad mass behaviour—bad Pilgrim😳 • Travel to Finisterre, which is the end of the world, and burn something. We didn’t walk the extra 100km, we took a rental car. I was going to burn my socks, but Dad heard it was illegal. So, the socks are coming home and I avoided an arrest. Our bodies are feeling more rested. Tomorrow we take a bullet train to Madrid. One step closer to home. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. Dear H.S. Family, Today we went to end of the cape at Finisterre. Romans considered this the end/edge of the world. Goodbye for now. See you when we get back. . Sincerely Flat L and Flat S Two countries, five regions, too many towns to count, 800 km, 1,466,646 steps—you are the official winners...O.K.—it wasn’t exactly like the Amazing Race and we definitely didn’t win a million BUT we made it.
• Two pilgrims (us) hugging family and friends. Credential stamps completed. Compostela certificate in hand. Sweaty, smelly, and one beard that definitely has to go. Scaffolding on the Cathedral—no problem. Simply we are feeling happy and blessed. Our Albergue is on the third floor of an old building very near the Cathedral, which is about bell height. This will be charming for about one night😄 Tomorrow we DRIVE to the End of the World. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. The mist returns. Shady forested trails with gentle climbs. Reforested with eucalyptus—we crush leaves in our hands and inhale. Banana flowers and palms—corn and blackberries—the diversity confuses us. Cyclist pass us giddy with excitement. Today they will reach Santiago. Tomorrow, Lord willing, will be our turn. And still there are Pilgrim stories:
• Two pilgrims (us). We note that Oct 12 is a National Holiday—we don’t register that tiendas and supermercatos will be closed. Dad flags down a delivery truck. We buy a giant loaf of fresh bread—wholesale😄 Blessing. A bartender is convinced to sell us a chunk of cheese. Blessing. I ask our hostelier if he will sell us a couple of the oranges that he has piled up to juice in the morning. He places his finger on his lips and gestures that I should “keep it quiet” as he gifts me fresh juicy oranges. Blessing. We are feasting. We are satisfied. The simplicity—The Camino. • Yesterday a man and his donkey. Today a man and his dog. Outside Santa Irene we meet Flan. Along with Walter (his human Pilgrim companion) he is a local celebrity. Of course they have copies of their book La Soledad Compartida (The Shared Solitude). It contains almost 500 pages of the wisdom they have gleaned travelling the Camino together. You can get an autographed copy—paw print and all! I resist the book as it is written in Spanish and I would have to carry it😄 I don’t resist the paw print stamp for my credential. Doggie/human inspiration “Sometimes a simple moment of joy is all we need to remember how lucky we are”. The simplicity—The Camino. So close I can almost smell the incense burning. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. Google Camino and donkey and everyone has a story—there is Shinto and Praline and..... In fact some guy from the U.K. even wrote a book about travelling The Way called One Man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago. So, you can imagine our excitement when we received a text from another Pilgrim alerting us that there was a Camino donkey sighting ahead.
A cynic would say, “Can anyone just bring his donkey—pop up a tent—and set out a dish for coins?” Personally, I applaud the effort. Chewy and his human, tent and all, are just outside of Melide. For a meagre donation you get carrots to feed Chewy, as much donkey play time as you want, and best of all a donkey stamp for your credential. I suppose you are encouraging Chewy on his way as the imprint has a little donkey with wings and the words Fly Chewy. Any day I get to interact with a cool animal is a great day in my books. Thank you for Blessing this Pilgrim. Buen Camino and may your donkey journey take flight. Fabulous day for walking. Feeling great in spite of more bites. Another Pilgrim suggested I scratch them with the crust of my bocadillo.—that really says something about Spanish bread. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. A beautiful sunny day—no fog! Fascinating Galician corn cribs, or horreos, dot the farms along the side of the path. Although storage has been modernized they are maintained as part of their heritage. Although Spain, as it currently exists, has been somewhat consistent since the early 1500’s it is fair to say that understanding the complexity of its heritage is difficult. It is fascinating to attempt to unravel the current political turmoil. So that, of course, is my story for today:
• October 1st Catalonia holds a referendum for independence. Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic? There were two boxes: Yes or No. They vote overwhelming YES—90% We supper with a young brother and sister from Barcelona. “We don’t want independence”, they say, “We want respect—we want a dialogue”. Catalonia must declare independence within 48 hours and they do. • Days Later...Pilgrims sit in the bar sipping cafe con leche. We can tell there is violence on the TV. Riot gear—conflict—Spanish vs Spanish. Someone is being interviewed—their Spanish is too fast for us. We try to decode the Scroll feed. Do you understand? Are you getting it? Madrid has rejected the vote. There are protests in the streets. • Forward to October 10th—in every bar locals are glued to the newscasts. Some turn away with tears in their eyes. Something Important is happening. We now sit on the patio outside a cafe. Does anyone have wifi? Can someone tell us what is happening? Someone storms out. In English he tells us he can’t watch it anymore. Watch what? There is going to be a speech in parliament—it has been delayed an hour. Are you Spanish? “No”, he says, “but what happens here will effect the entire European Union!” • The evening passes. The speeches are made. A Spanish Pilgrim tells us it is the “best possible outcome for now”. Independence has been suspended pending dialogue. However, locals remain fixed to the news cycle. This will be a long hard road for Spain and Catalonia. Buen Camino—we pray you walk in peace. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. Dear H.S. Friends, Really cool old corn cribs here, They are called horreos. What do we use to dry corn where we live. Sincerely, Flat L The city of Portomarin is less than sixty years old. It is fascinating to see parts of the old city under the water of the reservoir. The entire church was moved piece by piece to the new city before the planned flooding. Clearly if it was in Perth County there would be endless bus delays as it was foggy again this morning. What was charming two days ago now seems oppressive and damp. Suddenly no more fog. We marvelled that it had burned off so quickly, then we turned around. The mist was still there but we had climbed through it—we were above it looking down. My heart was overcome by the beauty of moving past it.
Now a couple of pilgrim stories: • Roland Ian Kitchen aka Sneaky walked many Caminos. He found meaning in the walking: the direction, the calm, the social life, the full glass with new friends. Numerous marriages, five children he was proud of, and a grandpappy. He was heard saying, “I’d rather be a human being than a human doing”. He found time for his friends and everyone was his friend. In 2015 at 68 years of age, on his 8th Camino, Kitchen passed away in an Albergue in Ventas De Naron. His memorial quotes Thomas “Old Age Should Burn and Rave Away at End of Day” Good on you, Ian—Buen Camino. • Again Ventas de Naron. The tiny stone chapel of Magdalene. It is dark inside. He hears us at the door. He calls out a welcome. We see that there is no reason for light—he does not see. He takes my hand and wraps it around his so I can place the stamp on my credential. We press down together. He hands me a pen—10:10:17 he says in English. He smiles. I write the verification. He wishes a blessing for a Buen Camino. He chooses to not rail against his circumstances— perhaps he sees better than I do. Today was a rest day of only 17 km; so we are sitting outside our Albergue eating an ice cream bar and watching the acorns fall. Tough life of a Pilgrim😄 You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. The morning mist is so thick the trees release dew like raindrops. Hundreds of spider webs glisten along the roadside—no spiders in sight. We walk as if in another world. The cattle moo from the lower floor of family homes. Yesterday’s laundry hangs limply from the lines with no hope to dry until the afternoon sun burns off the fog. Another magical morning in Galicia.
Many Pilgrims begin their walk in a Sarria as the official Compostela only requires one hundred kilometres. New pilgrims—new stories: • We are three older pilgrims—long on the road. They are fourteen twenty-something pilgrims starting in Sarria. We share one dormitory. They are doing what young pilgrims should do—staying up late and having fun. We are doing what older pilgrims do—heading to bed early and rubbing Vaseline on our feet. I hear something in Spanish that I think roughly translated is, “Oh, oh....there are some old geezers in our room”. We stick our earplugs in and hope for a good sleep. In the middle of the night one twenty-something, still full of energy, hops out of his bunk. He shakes the oldest of us awake and complains that OUR snoring is bothering THEM. The oldest pilgrim graciously apologizes. I curl up in bed and pray I don’t smack anyone. Although tired, today it is just a funny story to add my Pilgrim collection. And honestly...Good for you young Pilgrims for engaging in the challenge—Buen Camino. • He is from Darwin, Australia. He is a training supervisor with St. John’s Ambulance. Back Pack Jack travels on the rear of his rucksack. The adorable bear, complete with first responder uniform, seems to wave at all who pass. Jack is also a symbol that the Pilgrim carries an extensive first aid kit. He says he has already restocked it four times since St. Jean Pied du Port. He was happy to help a Camino Cyclist that was thrown from his bike hitting the trail full force—that definitely had to hurt. Thanks to Back Pack Jack and Company and Buen Camino little bear. We are in Portomarin which means we have under 100 km left! You Are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. |
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Ray & Diane HomewoodSharing the Blessing of Travel Archives
January 2018
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