The next day in Santiago

I woke up to pouring rain today. But guess what, I didn’t mind, I didn’t have to put on my hiking boots and hike 20 kms in it. I did, however, have to get out of bed eventually as I had a 10:30 appointment with the Tattoo Artist, Ethan Clay

I had sent him a photo of the original design and told him I would want some changes. I had done up in Adobe Fresco a really bad mock up of what I would want but he was able to work with it and he quickly put the tattoo design together.

I will explain the tattoo. Obviously, you can see that it is the infinity sign and that there are a boy and girl walking holding hands. I had him do the shell in the bottom left imperfect to match Jörg’s shell which had a few chips. I had carried Jörg’s shell from 2009 with me on this trip. In the middle, you can see the mountains on the right and the ocean waves on the left to represent the trail. I also feel that the ocean waves have a double meaning in that after the camino, we moved to the ocean which was a huge part of Jörg’s life. In the middle is Buen Camino. Jörg absolutely loved saying those words to everyone he met. It always brought him great joy. It also brought me great joy and strength on both caminos. Nothing like when you are feeling tired and sore, passing through a village and a local person says the words to you, you perk up a little more and can go a little further.

After the tattoo I came back and had a little nap. In the afternoon, Christina and I went to the shopping mall by bus. We were there a few hours but I only bought a few things. Still need to do more, but I can do some shopping with Baars clan when I get to Germany.

In the evening I got together with a few of my camino family and had a wonderful time at dinner at a Tapas Restaurant. Sharing all our stories, good times, challenging times, and silly idiotic times. The one thing we knew, is that half these stories could only really be understood or appreciated by those who have walked the camino. That makes them even more special.

I have made a slight change in my plans. I am going to Finisterre tomorrow instead of Sunday. The weather forecast is better. So Christina and I are going together for one day. I know some of you thought you heard the last of me but I have one more blog entry after this. Finisterre has a significant memory for Jörg and I and I will share that story with you tomorrow.

TTYL

Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

It was so nice to sleep in today. My watch alarm went off at 7:00am by accident, but I quickly switched it off and went back to sleep.

We finally got out of the hotel by 10 and went to the cathedral. We hugged St, James and then stayed for the mass. We were lucky today because they had the big incense burner going. It was really quite spectacular.

After mass we caught a taxi to the mall and I went shopping for a couple hours. I bought a pair of running shoes, socks, underwear, backpack, and a shirt for Joerg (but I am currently borrowing because I lost the blue one he gave me) I also printed some pictures for both of us (mostly pictures of the two of us) but I did print the shirtless one of Joerg that I love.

After shopping we relaxed in the room for about an hour and then went to the special pilgrim mass at 8pm at the cathedral. It was so great. It was in a smaller chapel with about 40 people. We first had to introduce ourselves and where we started. Then there was a reading, and then if you wanted, you could share how you felt on the first day. Another reading, then shared what experiences you had, or lessons you learned on the Camino. I almost got up and shared my “butterfly” and “you are loved” stories but I didn’t.

After the service, Joerg and I walked the streets arm and arm talking about our experiences and sharing them. One of Joerg’s was that he realized it was not good to always be alone, it was good to have friends and people beside you, then he turned and said to me “and you beside me”.

We then stopped in a restaurant and had a beer, tapas and lemon sorbet with cava. While there, we talked about what happens next. I was happy when he brought it up as it was on my mind for a while and I was going to bring it up soon. I told him that I wanted him to be part of my life. He feels the same but feels a little conflicted because of his devotion and expectations of his family. He said he sometimes thinks about moving to Canada but doesn’t think his father would want him to. They are very traditional and want their kids around.

I asked him “even if it was for a woman? Don’t you think he would want you to be happy?” He said “maybe”. We talked about Africa, how he could work in a factory in Canada but we didn’t make any decisions as we know we still have a few days left as we rented a car.

This day was very special for me. Joerg confirmed what I could feel that he wanted to be with me. The funny thing is that I have not cried yet. I am so unbelievably happy. I think sometimes that it is not real, that it really isn’t happening. But on the other hand, it feels so natural that I feel calm about it.

I am also sometimes scared. My life is changing so fast and so much. I wonder what is next.

The Camino, what a memory! I must admit, I found the whole thing pretty easy, but I know that is because he was beside me, taking care of me, loving me. The Camino is complete, but the rest of my life is just beginning.Read more