Time in Santiago was pretty relaxed after arriving. Much sleeping, catching up with some fellow pilgrims (mainly Team Belgium 2, Lisa from Austria) and not much walking. Mass was a must though I didn’t have the luck to catch another view of the Botafumeiro. I aslo enjoyed a German guide tour around the cathedral and (less so) an open air screening of some Spanish movie.
After two days of waiting, Guelane arrived in Santiago on Thursday morning about 10am. Both legs swollen and now using the once so despised hiking pole, but in good spirits overall having completed a 500km journey (460km to be exact from Hontanas).
We had another breakfast egg together (which we came to love on the camino instead of any power bar type food!) and after a coffee I left him at the hotel. He would go on to celebrate with his Italian friends before flying to Paris the next day.
I instead got back into walking mode towards fisterra. The name originates from the Romans that considered the spot the end of the world (‘finis terrae’). The distance of 86km wasn’t much considering 755km lay behind me and additionally offered the prospect of a less crowded pilgrimage. indeed, right as you left the cathedral and walk past the parador you are essentially leaving santiago and soon find yourself in a forest type environment. real fun to walk. only issue is the large distance between hostels / bars (usually 10km). unusual and no doubt a direct function of fewer pilgrims (you can’t have it all i guess!).
My flight back to london (in time to pick up Alex after school on wednesday as usual) was only scheduled for the 9th of September. So there was no rush and a full six days of walking ahead (to cover 86km to Fisterra & another 28km to Muxia … so 20km per day). i took 4 days to fisterra where an amazing seaside was waiting. the atlantic. the end of the world. a highlight for me was to meet frederic (france) one lat time. we hadn’t seen each other since a few glasses of wine in Logrono. He was already on his way back from fisterra having been walking for two month now. and it wasn’t to end here. his plan is to walk back to a small town near marseille and on my estimate (well, google maps really) will take him another two month. since he has been mainly sleeping outdoor I wish him warm nights on his way. great pleasure to meet him.
the sunset in fisterra, which I enjoyed alongside mathias & jorre, was pretty breathtaking. I also abandoned my 12 day alcohol break. well, good to know one can still do without ;o). on the sad side, as i would learn a day later, my arrival at the end of the world also coincided with my grandma’s passing away. amazing coincidence. my she be blessed.
the next day started pretty slow and it took me until 9.30am to get going. on the way out of fisterra I bumped into Nedele (as I keep calling her in this blog). she will finish in fsiterra, but looked overall pretty happy about her achievement. may things go well for her back in Luebeck! the way to muxia is easily doable in one day, but I have been recommended to stay in the seaside village right in the middle called Lires. the standout feature is a pretty sand beach and a hillside bar with great views of the ocean and sunsets. the hostel was also pretty nice considering food, accommodation and service.
on day 32 the final day of walking had finally arrived. a brisk 3 hour walk to muxia, visit at the seafront church, the next certificate (no three after the composted & certificate from fisterra) & a long lunch. I also met my taiwanese friend one last time. then for the first time in more than a month … public transport! the bus to Santiago took about two hours and got me there in time for the evening mass. a fitting goodbye from my camino.
what do i take back, what has changed? many will probably ask me this question in some form or shape. does the camino deliver what it promises? lets start here. many of my issues I had addressed before I came here to clear the head. a few issues required some thinking as to what to do next and i have gotten my answers, ambitions or whatever you want call it. its nice to see you are not the only in life with troubles. many of the (non-student, adventure type) pilgrims carry their own burden and listening to them helped to put things in context. what was most inspiring was to be off the grid for a month (yes my data usage was huge due to blog, but you know what I mean). apart from cash withdrawals I paid in cash for four weeks, meet so many new people, never know what exactly will happen next, being free to take a rest, sleep, walk at night … being free!
am I more religious now? I still struggle with some of the church concepts & wonders. probably i am still too much a scientist for that and always have value the church for its basic principles that organised life (somewhat) when laws were still absent in the past. but I do cherish the concept of love more. if love is god, as the bible has it and a very good friend of mine tried to explain to me at a camping trip earlier in the year, then god is around us and in us. often hard to fins in a capitalistic tiger cage like london, but its there. juan antonio from malaga is the best example. what a great guy. caring, helpful, fun and enthusiastic about life.
so, that was it for now. five days in london await me and I am really looking forward to seeing Alex (since both of us have been travelling a lot since we were on holidays in France). On sunday night i will embark on my second pilgrimage of the summer taking me from Lucca to Rome as well as the wedding of an old friend (well, not that old really). Cant wait to get back into the hiking boots!
