Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Day 9 On the Camino- The Last Day on the Trail

The emotions of today are quite evident in all of our faces. No one is saying much, but we all know today will be something special. How could it not be? We have walked with our new friends from O Cebreiro and now we will all, as a band of brothers and sisters walk together this last day into the center of the Cathedral Square. We have become as one now. Our thoughts are many as we look back over the last nine days and reflect on the real meaning of our pilgrimage. It is all different for each of us, yet the same. Most of us have a tiny lump in our throats. We are thinking of not only our accomplishment of this trek, but also how this has changed our lives. We leave the confines of our Pazo this morning as we gather around the manor house's courtyard cross. I guess this is fitting, but also we found it had a clear wireless signal to update our messages, and for me to add another post in my electronic journal. We are greeted with the brightest of days and the sun will again warm us as we walk in the early morning. We still have some spring left in our walk, but more especially today we walk in victory. We find ourselves leaving Arca and this millennium old trail and walk into the 21st Century. The sounds of the airport are close by, but only for a moment we catch ourselves back in the present. The last picnic of our journey is in the small village of Lavacolla, and is on the steps leading to the village church. Grand stately trees from centuries past put a welcome cover for the intense sun. It is also the last day for our coach driver, Celso (pronounced Thelso in Spanish) who was always been there at the end of our day to load us back up and shuttle us to our nights lodging and to check us in twice per day to make sure we were all still accounted for. He spoke no English, but by this last day he also became a dear friend. We stop to regroup as our band of ten pauses at the Mount of Joy, we say a prayer in the little chapel of San Marcos, stamp our "Pilgrim's Passports" for the last time and begin our descent into Santiago. As we march towards the Cathedral, we pass Pilgrims washing up in the river just prior to our entrance into Santiago. We are now walking on modern streets and sidewalks for the rest of the way. The present day sights and sounds of a big city with all of its traffic and normal day functions bring us back to the reality of which we left over a week and a half ago. We search for the spires of the Cathedral as we walk, but they do not present themselves. The city is such that you walk in a continual downward path and through the ancient pathways on the old cobblestone streets, it saves itself until you can see her in all of her glory. Our last passage way goes through an ancient tunnel where a bag-piper greets you with the sounds of Old Santiago. This sound only adds to the emotional state we all feel at this time. As we break through into the Square we are in awe of this magnificent edifice. It appears as large as St. Peter's in Rome or maybe even a bit bigger from its frontal view. We head to the exact center of the square and with tears filling our eyes we hug now as a large family finally reaching home. This day becomes a thanksgiving of sorts as we have arrived safely, all of us, along with our tired and weary bones, bandaged toes, but joyous hearts. It reminds us not only that we have arrived here in one piece, but how truly thankful we are for what God has given us. Words can not describe this journey, only our faces as we all look at each other with the same respect. As we take our family pictures with the backdrop of the Cathedral, we see more and more pilgrims entering the Square to celebrate in their joy as well. It is indeed a moment we will always cherish. We now have to finish the business of the day and report to the Office of the Peregrino. Here we will present our "Pilgrims Passports", which we have so dutifully gotten stamped over the past nine days with 2-4 stamps per day to this office for inspection and questions. In years past the questioning was extreme, but now the interrogation is on a more friendly basis. We are given our Compostela, inscribed in Latin with our names proudly written thereon. It is a simple parchment, but proclaims to the world we have done it. Now we celebrate! Tonight we have our celebratory dinner with our two guides, Alex and Jason and partake in an ancient Galician Feast. The wine flows, the reflections of the past week are openly shared, and we all look forward to a peaceful nights sleep with no major walking in store for the following day. How good can life be! Tomorrow we will attend the Pilgrim's Mass at noon preceded by a tour of the Cathedral. We will visit the tomb of the Apostle and behind the High Altar through a small passageway we will be able to give a personal hug of thanksgiving to St. James as he looks out over the many pilgrims who sit in quiet contemplation. No one can feel this true joy unless they themselves walk the Camino de Santiago. I hope you have all enjoyed the story of our walk that the ten of us took part in. It has been my personal pleasure to share this with you, our friends, family, and our dear loved ones. So as we leave you it will always be, Buen Camino Dave, Judy, Dan, Leslie, Monica, Maureen, Gertraud, Gail, Dot, & Misa...and of course our trusted guides Alex and Jason.

9 comments:

  1. Congrats guys! I've enjoyed reading about your journey and look forward to some Uncle Dave storytelling to embellish some of the finer details.

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  2. Congratulations! Well written and fabulous adventure - thanks so much for sharing!

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  3. Well done! Thank you for sharing your story. Your writing truly allowed your emotions to be felt by all of us.

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  4. Hey Bro and Judy,
    Really enjoyed sharing in your adventure. Great job, both on completing your journey and the beautiful blog. DAK, you missed your calling as a writer.BTW,this is your sister, not Jim

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  5. ...and we too have enjoyed sharing this journey with you from afar. Thank you for your generous time of sharing of this beautiful journey.

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  6. Congrats to you both! What a wonderful journey. Thanks for letting us share it.

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  7. Dear Dave and Judy,
    by chance I've come across your blog and I must say I've been touched by your words.
    I'm going to walk some 110km of El Camino starting next Thursday, and, despite the fears to unfitness and tiredness, I'm looking forward to it.
    Thank you for sharing your experience!
    By the way, did you really carry a laptop? My God! I'm weighing all my clothes to take the lightest ones! :-)
    Thanks again,
    Roser, from Reus, Catalonia (Spain)

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  8. Hi Roser, Hope you had a great Camino. Sorry I missed your post earlier. I'm thinking about a return trip next year,

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