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A day in Santiago de Compestela. Spain.
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April 18th 2017
The morning dawned fine and clear which was ironic as my body decided not to do either. The 451 kms walked since leaving home has started to take its toll & my middle aged body had decided that enough was enough having got me here.
A quick couple of cafe com leites & my now standard breakfast of panadol helped to get me out the door for a 10AM rendezvous with Phelipe, his lovely wife Sandra and Michel his brother. I had first met these guys halfway up the mountain & had stopped to say Hi. We then stayed at the same hotels a couple of times.
- The old cloisters at the museum in Santiago de Compstela
Heading into the cathedral museum we learnt about the angel visitation to a Shepherd in 995 AD which told him of the existence of the tomb of St James buried underneath a woodland in a roman crypt. From there the ensuing and original basilica was burnt to the ground by the Moors but then rebuilt with the first phase finished in around 1235 AD.
As we left the museum we were told that the pilgrims mass at midday would feature the Fumero so we rushed across and got to see it, which is lucky because it hardly ever happens. Quite a spectacle and a fantastic smell. But more than that, this was like the bringing to life of my visualisation of Santiago started all of those years ago by watching the movie ‘The Way’.
Seeing the Fumero wasn’t the reason I did the Camino. But it was the embodiment of the journey. The symbolic, cathartic cleansing of my soul.
Heading off to get my Compestela (certificate) I waited for an hour with some pretty smelly pilgrims who needed a Rexona Fumero, before getting to the front of the queue and again feeling a tad emotional at reaching this stage of the journey. (Middle aged hormones? Maybe it’s the start of the change).
Heading for a late lunch of soup, lamb and frites washed down with Vino Tinto, the lovely Brazilians and I talked for ages about life in Brazil, life on the road and what the way has meant to each of us.
My next blog will be my last as I gather my thoughts on what this adventure has meant to me and what I can take from it back to reality.
For now though, this has been one of the best times in my life. I have spent most of my life giving to others and I would not change that for anything. But it takes its toll. You get tired giving of yourself over many, many years. Strength is not an unlimited reservoir for others to drink from.
This trip has meant time to myself. To re-calibrate. Refocus. Reenergise. To find peace. To let go of the times I have been wronged. To let go of the pain of disappointment. To find joy in the small act of putting one foot in front of another, clearing my mind and soaking up the noise of nature and my inner voice. It has been hard at times. But always, always an adventure.
MLC THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Must stop drinking at lunchtime
STEPS: 7,244 in a restful day
WEIGHT: somewhere in the vicinity of 10 years ago
SPANISH: mouy bien (very good) as long as I am with Spanish speaking people who order everything for me
WILLERTONS WORLD 