Finisterre - Epilogue

I can't begin to describe what a great day we had!  The weather was awesome: sunny, warm, and breezy.  After another delicious buffet breakfast and an impatient wait until 10 a.m., our rental car arrived right on time.  Although we started out somewhat nervously, we soon discovered that signage in Spain as in the rest of Europe (as we have previously experienced) is simple and clear, making it almost impossible to get lost.  We had our brief moments, especially within Santiago city limits, with its narrow and one way streets, but for the rest it was a breeze.

We left Santiago promptly at 10, and headed for the coast in the village of Noia, as per the instructions of the concierge at the Parador hotel.  From Noia, we made our way leisurely through village and town after village and town, snapping some quick shots along the way, of glorious beaches...

And a not so glorious shot of an old forest fire scene...

When we finally reached the village of Finisterre (technically, it's Fisterra), we parked our car and hiked the last 3 kms to the end of the earth and mile 0 of the Camino, from whichever direction you come.  You might think we're crazy, but it felt so good to be hiking the trail again!

In a moment you'll see what Diane is carrying in the bag, and what I was carrying in another bag.  After 3 beautiful kms., we reached km 0...

It's an old tradition of pilgrims to either burn or dump some of the clothes or footwear that have become so worn that you'll never use them again.  Here's what was in the bags Diane and I carried: 4 pairs of shoes, belonging to Jeff and Chris and Diane and myself respectively, two of my old t-shirts whose underarms you don't ever want to see (never mind smell) again, and Diane's old bandages (she bought knee supports instead)....

 

Of course we didn't want to burn them and pollute that fresh, clear air, so we took this photo and then...

We hiked further down the rocks overlooking the Atlantic coastline and then had someone take this shot...

...while I added this one of the waters below, a little too risky to climb all the way down...

Shortly after we walked back to our car, we decided we needed to find the first possible beach where we could dip our feet into the Atlantic.  On the way there, whom did we see but our old friend Marcel with the flowery hat (see Villafranca rest day), though we were not able to stop and chat.  We found a beach very soon, and there Diane met one of her relatives, oops, I mean one of the donkeys we had met weeks earlier on the Camino.  He seems quite happy to see Diane...

Then we each took turns walking in the warm (yes, warm) Atlantic waters...

We also picked up 2 scallop shells, symblematic of the Camino, and fresh from the beach rather than from an office in St. Jean.  About 90 minutes later, we found our way back to the Parador hotel plaza (thanks to Diane's sharp navigating skills), dropped off the car, picked up our luggage,and walked it 10 minutes to our final night's destination in Spain.

And were we ever surprised!  For a place that cost next to nothing, we have one of our most amazing rooms of the whole Camino.  From our large 3rd floor room, here's our view from the back window...

That's the Santiago cathedral.  And here's our view from the front skylight, of a city park and an old arbutus tree...

Tomorrow we leave for an overnighter in Paris and we have arranged for a taxi to bring us to the airport (the third time ever in our lives in a taxi!).  As our last dinner, we had pizza and beer (not very Spanish, I suppose, but very good), and a huge sundae with whipped cream that we share (evenly, in my opinion, though Diane begs to differ).

So this is the end of our Camino.  As we talked about it last night, and off and on along the way, this is what we take from it all, as summarized by Diane, and I'll simply quote what she wrote out on paper in her words, which reflects my sentiments as well..........

"To walk the Camino is to become a pilgrim on a path that has been walked by millions of others over the centuries.  Putting one foot in front of the other for 36 days, for hours per day, for just over 800 kms., gives you time to think.  And when you think, you learn things.  For example, gratitude - gratitude that my knees acted up but didn't give out.  That the rain stopped and the mud dried.  We've learned humility from our blisters, and from people with far greater pain than us and still they kept walking.  We've been humbled by the Camino and by many of the people we've met.  We've learned that by just putting one foot in front of the other and with God's strength, you can reach those mountains in the distance and even climb them!  We've learned again that in spite of our many possessions, you don't really need very much: water, bread (crust not too tough, please), cheese, Compeed, moleskin, clean underwear and socks and a couple of shirts and shorts, to name a few.  Bert would add good red wine, an occasional ice cold beer, and great pizza!  We have learned by observation that people of all different sizes and shapes and physical/health obstacles can do the Camino.  Miracles happen and people can overcome and succeed with God's help.  We have felt God with us every step of the way.  We have seen him so clearly in the beauty of his creation that he made for us to enjoy, in the kindness of others from all countries of the world, and in the ancient cathedrals and churches of cities and villages.  We have been reminded that every day is a pilgrimage, and that what truly matters in life is the love of God given to us in Christ, and that we share and pass on that love to others."

For myself, speaking for both of us, I think, it will take some time to fully appreciate ALL the benefits of this great adventure.  Aside from all the fun and good times and great relationship we experienced with Diane's sister and our brother-in-law Jeff, the only thing I will say at this point is that I had heart and attitude issues to deal with and that I have truly felt God's peace filling me throughout this journey.  I will leave it at that and simply say, "thank you, Lord, for your love for us in spite of us, and for the opportunity and gift of the adventure of Camino el Santiago de Compostela!"  

Thanks also to all of you who joined us on our Camino via this blog.  We are gratified to note that we have had almost 11,000 page views.  That kept me from getting lazy and thinking nobody cared anyway so why bother.  But many of you did care, and we thank God for you and for your encouragement and support in this way.   For now then, and simply: Adios!

Distance today (on foot): 6 kms

Time on the road (on foot): 2:00+

Total distance to date: 802.4 kms

 

Santiago Rest Day

After a great sleep last night (thanks to Arlene for the sleeping pills!), we woke up to sunny skies and the gorgeous view outside our window...

 

...and spotted a cat on a cold slate roof looking for food or what??

We've just finished an amazing buffet breakfast in our Parador hotel together with Jeff and Chris (who are leaving at noon today by air to London and then home the next day - they have a high school class reunion Alaskan cruise to catch, poor souls!), and Joyce Wierda and Arlene Stegeman (who are leaving by air tomorrow to Paris overnight and then home the next day).  Over breakfast we again met a number of people we've come to know on our pilgrimage, including Andrew from California, who suffers from epilepsy due to a brain trauma and had a grand mal seizure during his walk.  He's doing fine, and he's going to continue walking first to Finisterre and then south to Portugal.

At the moment Diane and I are sitting each in an old antique chair, enjoying our room with a view and the cool breeze wafting through the window, our feet up on the window sill.

As I mentioned yesterday, shortly after we had arrived and showered and enjoyed a cold beer and snack, we set off to get our compostelas.  We shuddered when we saw the lineup but realized that with up to 1000 pilgrims entering the city per day (the majority having walked just the 100 kms necessary to get one), lineups were going to be unavoidable...

The lineup behind us was just as long and you cannot see how long the line is once you enter the middle gate you see above.  The last in line were told to expect a 2 hour wait; it took us about 90 minutes.  Once inside, you are asked for your pilgrim's passport , which we received in St. Jean and which has been stamped at every place we stayed along the way as proof that we had earned the compostela...

...then you are asked what your reasons were for walking the Camino (religious, non-religious, otherwise - remember Jos from Amsterdam in the movie The Way?).  You then receive your compostela and your first name is supposed to be written in Latin.  Obviously my simple and only name stumped them!

We then returned to our hotel to enjoy a delicious bottle of white wine with 6 of us (Jeff, Chris, Joyce, Arlene, and us) and headed out to the cathedral for the 7:30 pilgrim's mass.  It is only on Fridays that the botafumeiro is lit and swung during the service, so we wanted to be sure we had good seats, which we did - in the third row to the side (where the botafumeiro would swing right past us).  While we waited for the service to begin, we took turns looking around the cathedral.  The only picture I took at this time was of the silver ossuary in a barred vault under the altar that are said to contain the remains of St. James (Sant Iago), the son of Zebedee and disciple/apostle of Jesus.

When it was time for the service to begin, the church was packed to the rafters with well over 2000 people, most of them pilgrims from all over the world, though many are not Christian believers (we know this from personal conversations - people do this walk for many different reasons).  We were led in singing by a nun dressed simply in black and with a beautifully clear voice.  Accompanied by a majestic pipe organ, she would sing a line and ask us to sing it back.  The acoustics were amazing!

Then the priests came forward and the liturgy began with a couple of readings and a short homily, which was translated in summary form in English and encouraged us to live a life that was a witness to Christ as we left all of our separate ways.

Look to the right and you can see the nun's hand conducting the singing.

Then the mass was celebrated and Christian pilgrims from all over the world, including Diane and myself, came forward to receive the wafer representing the body of Christ given for us.  It was a very moving and meaningful experience, especially also to sense the communion of saints from so many nations and languages.

Then it was time to light the incense inside the botafumeiro, which is a symbol of purification but which, the priest also jokingly explained, was used once to cover the stink of pilgrims in ancient days who did not have access to showers and baths as we do.  I'll simply post a series of photos with brief comment.  First, the botafumeiro in repose and the pulley system in the ceiling to which it's attached...

The botafumeiro is lit and then a group of monks in red begin to manipulate the thick ropes that manipulate the pulley to which the botafumeiro is attached...

The photos that follow try to capture the botafumeiro in flight.  Watch the reaction of the priests in white and look carefully.  When that thing comes by you at 68 kph, it's a blur, and you can understand why they make sure the aisles are clear!

Oh, and if you're thinking that a video would have been easier, would you believe I didn't know how to put my iPad on video mode?  Believe me, I know now!!  

All in all, it was an unforgettable experience and I'm trying to figure out if a system like this would work in our new church in Abbotsford from our catwalk 70 feet up in the air....NOT.

At this point, I'll stop writing. We're going out to look for some simple souvenirs and get some fresh air in the square and look for other friends we've met along the way.   I'll finish a little later this forenoon...

OK, we're back with a few small souvenirs and having on nice and unexpected surprise.  We went up to the cathedral again just after the noon mass and went inside and what did we spot - a student wearing a Calvin College t-shirt!  Of course we ran over to discover a whole group of Calvin students with their teacher, a Mrs. Slagter.  They had finished walking the Camino just this morning, though they had begun their Camino in Burgos, which was our second rest day stop way back.  And everyone was excited because the botafumeiro had been used again as an exception, sponsored and paid for by a donation from Calvin College.  What a great way to promote Calvin, and (ironically) in the heartland of Spanish Catholicism!

Now we're back in our room, with no intentions to leave the hotel anymore today.  We find that we are good travellers, but lousy tourists.  Outdoors is our thing, so we're resting up for tomorrow's adventure, about which we admit we're a little nervous as well as very excited: our concierge has arranged a car rental for us tomorrow at 10, so we get to drive the Atlantic coast and visit Finisterre at our own leisure for only 3 euros more than a bus would cost for us both.  

So tomorrow we'll write our final blog of this trip, with hopefully some amazing pictures of the coast, and some reflections of what this Camino experience has meant for us.

Arca to Santiago

It's almost 10 p.m. as I write and we are pooped!  It's been a busy day since we arrived, waiting in line for our compostela (certificate of completion - took almost 2 hours), then attending the pilgrim's mass at 7:30 (got our seats at 6 so we'd have front row seats for the botofumiero (more on that tomorrow), then dinner Spanish time (while watching Spain play Holland in soccer).

I'll write briefly about today, then fill in some more detail about the pilgrim mass tomorrow.

We began the day as the sun was rising, and took this picture of our 4 shadows on the road...

We soon found ourselves on shady trails amid lush forests.  We couldn't help but ask the guy in this picture below about the weight of his pack - it had to be over 50 pounds but he just shrugged it off...

As I said, we began early, and you can see the mist that still remained from the early morning as we walked along this wooded path...

The sun soon made all that disappear...

We came across this elderly couple walking along the road, and they are all unfailingly polite to us pilgrims...

As we get nearer the city of our destination, we find ourselves more often on quiet paved roads, and you can see the large numbers of pilgrims...

A number of years ago, Pope John Paul II came to visit and this monument was built in honour/memory of his visit...

Although it was a ways off the beaten path, Diane and I made sure to visit this sculpture of pilgrims looking ahead to the city of their destination (these pics are especially for you, Fred!)...

And this is the view these pilgrims see ahead of them...

Along the way we met old friends again for the first time in weeks...Janice is from Comox...

Wile the city where we enter is fairly modern in terms of its construction, it soon gives way to the old as we near the cathedral plaza...

And then, finally, 40 days and almost 800 kms later, we arrive at the cathedral plaza of Santiago de Compostela, thankful to be here but also thankful for the journey we shared together and with so many others...

We have a wonderful room for the next 2 nights in an old monastery now luxury hotel right next to the cathedral.  Here's the door to our room!

And here's the view from our room window...

And now it's time to say good night, and until tomorrow...zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Distance today: 20.1 kms

Time on the road: 5:40

Total distance (not including all the kms walked to find our hotels, places to eat, etc): 796.4

Walking days remaining: many, many more as the pilgrimage of our lives continues!!