And Then There Was One

You know what happens when you leave super early? It’s super dark. Only one other time did I need the phone flashlight, and that was when Missy was still here. We ran into (almost literally) someone we’d met earlier, also when Missy was here. I’d seen him in pictures with some of the Borda folks who are ahead of us, so I was surprised he wasn’t finished, but he took some rest days for an ankle injury.

I wore the hiking dress today. It seemed appropriate, since I am so grateful to have had it returned. And, you know, it was clean.

The weirdest thing we saw today was a woman walking out of the hostel just as I met Mim. She had a daypack on and hopped on a razor scooter and scooted away. I assume she takes the bike route, but it seems like a lot of work. I had scheduled a pickup, so dropped my daypack in with Mim and Kathy’s. I wanted to carry my pack today, but I did not want the weight of my hiking shoes. I wore my Tevas since the trail was supposed to be very straightforward, and it was only 12 miles. I don’t want to wear the hiking shoes, because I now have a big blister on the ball of the other foot, and I can’t wear the trail runners I bought since they screwed up the tops of my toes, so both of them went in to the daypack.

Despite the dark (and lack of a razor scooter), we made good time and were having breakfast at 4.5 miles. The first place in town wasn’t open, but the second was, and was offering bacon and eggs. A lot of pilgrims came in behind us, so our timing was good. We peeked in the chapel across the street, then ran into Annette as we were leaving. She made a comment about the first place being crazy busy, and, sure enough, it was open and overrun with teens. Did I mention our timing was good?

We stopped again a couple of miles later for some Aquarius and water. Somewhere along the way we passed the marker that showed 9.95K to go. There was one point where we felt like we had “our” Camino back. It was quiet and peaceful, and we’d encountered several people who had been walking for weeks, not days.

We’d seen a beautiful picture from Andrea the day he finished showing the cathedral in the distance. Unfortunately, we never saw it. We also missed two apparently large statues indicating that you can get your first view of the cathedral. We saw the place where they are; we discussed the place where they are as we passed it. Actually see them in said place? Nope.

Walking into Santiago de Compostela inspired some mixed emotions. The “I can’t believe we’re here!” was tempered by the fact that we were only on the outskirts with more than a mile to go and that the quiet countryside became in-your-face city with one curve of the road. As we kept walking, though, the businesses and restaurants became apartments — still crowded, but quieter. We followed the arrows along some cobblestone streets, and the buildings took on that distinctive stone “old town” look.

Eventually we could see the cathedral peeking over the surrounding buildings, looming larger the closer we got. When we reached the steps down to the arch to pass through to the Cathedral plaza, there was a bagpiper playing, apparently part of the “welcome and congratulations”. Yay. Mim and Kathy stopped walking, waiting for him to start again. I seriously debated leaving them behind, but I waited so they could have their experience. He, on the other hand, was talking to some guy and didn’t seem to plan to start playing again any time soon, so we finally walked down the stairs.

The Camino does provide.Read more