Arrived early this afternoon in Santiago, and what a complicated set of feelings! Happy to have achieved the goal; glad I do not have to face any more 30 + km days anytime soon; relieved my knees will not need to make any steep descents for awhile; sad that I am unlikely to ever again encounter most of the fascinating and wonderful people who have walked on my schedule and been albergue, meal, and trail companions. Those who have never walked the Camino will never know the magnificence of the experience! The walking can be painful and occasionally difficult, but oh the rewards. It will take many weeks to sort my photos, notes and feelings to make full sense of the experience, but all complaints to the contrary, the rewards far exceed the time and effort expended.
An unexpected reward late this afternoon--in addition to seeing many of my Camino companions for a final time--was the swinging of the botafumier at the 6 pm mass. This is the second time my Camino has ended with that awesome display, a fitting coda to a fantastic month.
This began as a blog on the general topic of pilgrimage with postings including examples of pilgrimages, photos and musings on various matters related to that topic. It was abandoned in 2012. I am now Reviving it after abandoning tumblr. From January 2019 it will be more general with coverage of thoughts and travels, though pilgrimage will remain an important element.
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