From Santiago to Madrid

I woke up in O Pino and wasn’t sure exactly what to do. But that muscle or nerve or whatever it is was not happy, so I decided to take a taxi into Santiago. Lest you think it was a wasted day, I was able to see two good friends, Faith and Bostjan. One of them lives in Santiago and the other, from Slovenia, was walking, a different camino but had an injury and had had to stop.

It was a really weird feeling, being in Santiago, but not really being one of the “in crowd.” I was kind of an interloper, a cheater, not a “real pilgrim.”

My first order of business was to pick up the duffel bag I had sent up from Leon, which was waiting for my October arrival into Santiago. Unfortunately, I will never have an October arrival into Santiago. Next, time to take my online Covid test. It was very stressful, and took several hours, but finally the magic of Faith and the Pilgrim House made it happen.

From there, I met Bostjan, and we had a quick reunion, but then I had to get to the airport. Taxis were nowhere to be found, and finally a taxi driver going off his shift took pity on me and drove me to the airport in his private car. The fixed fare is €20 and I tried to give him €30 for his generosity, which I thought should be repaid, but he absolutely refused it. The generosity of people is just astonishing to me.

I am heading to Madrid, and will spend two days there with my dear dear friends. I have a flight home on Tuesday, and have pretty much made my peace with the end of this Camino.Read more