We’re in Santiago de Compostela, having arrived here yesterday (Saturday the 6th of June). I’ve tried a couple of times to write this post, but my thoughts have not come clearly. Let’s see how this one goes.

The walk, since our last post, has been lovely. Out of Ponferrada, through the wine region of Bierzo, up over high hills past O’Cebreiro and into the province of Galicia where the terrain shifted remarkably. Stretches of trail through endless fields of crops and vines turned into tree covered boulevards of oak and chestnut, lined with moss covered stone walls which lead us along babbling creeks and rivers; and all this through a patchwork of forest, grazing livestock and villages sitting amongst rolling hills. Yep. Hard to take.

Lots of little things happened along the way.

We stopped at a cafe on the way up to O’Cebreiro (the third highest point in the Camino Frances). It was perched on the ridge of the hills with the tables and chairs backing onto pasture and separated from the cafe itself by a quiet road. The coffee was good (not to be taken for granted in Spain) and the entertainment was amazing. Two kids (the baby goat kind) bounced around us, into the cafe and in and around our chairs. One of them even turned into Paul for a brief moment.

We caught up with Danae in Ambasmestas out back of a lovely albergue on the banks of a crystal clear creek and heard all about the fall she had taken coming down from Cruz de Ferro. She had landed on a rock which left her with a gash in her thigh that needed nine stitches. Passing pilgrims had come immediately to her aid, and helped her down the hill to Molinaseca where the Spanish medical system patched her up and sent her on her way. No charge.

We chose the long route across the Oribio river valley to swing past the 11th century San Julian de Samos monastery. It was a beautiful days walk which made up for the fact the monastery wasn’t open until 12.45. We had arrived there at 10.00 am. It was still worth seeing from the outside.

And we had dinner in the gardens of a charming albergue at Barbadelo, an Italian feast set in the late afternoon sun with people from all over the world, some of whom we knew and many that we didn’t.

As we drew nearer to Santiago we passed the milestone that is Sarria. Sarria is approximately 110 kilometres from Santiago and a place renowned for a huge increase in pilgrim traffic. The Camino authorities introduced a 100 kilometres minimum rule some time back, setting Sarria up as the most common launch point for those seeking their Compostela (pilgrim certificate). The guide books advise you have three choices to deal with the crowds. First you can leave early and try and get ahead of them. Second, you can stay ‘off stage’ so there are less people joining the walk where you do. Or third, you can suck it up!

The pilgrim traffic did increase. The first two days out of Sarria felt like we were on a conveyor belt. It was like being swept along in a busy fun run and our walking pace quickened accordingly. We found ourselves marching like maniacs to overtake and overtake before asking ourselves why we were doing that and calming ourselves down.

Oddly enough, the days after that were some of the quietest on the trail that we’ve had. We adopted strategy number two and stayed ‘off stage’. I kept expecting we would still come across the hoards, but it just never happened and we ambled along peacefully under the chestnuts and oaks.

Our little Camino family seemed to coalesce the closer we got to Santiago. Luis and Raisa from Canada, Marie from France, Pauline from the Netherlands, Danae from the USA and the four of us. We started convening with some or all of this group nightly, to eat out or grab and drink and talk Camino. Marie even spent a night with us in the apartment we had booked in Portomarín lest she find herself, in her own words, ‘pretending to be Mary (of the virgin kind), sleeping out in the local church’. She had been unable to find accommodation despite exhaustive efforts. Another member of our Camino family, Robyne, trailed along a day or so behind.

Two days out from Santiago I idly suggested the idea of a debrief on our experience. I had been recalling the dinner the four of us had the night before setting out from SJPDP where we had all talked about our intentions for the Camino. We got sidetracked that day and didn’t get to chatting about this.

Later, Paul prompted me for my thoughts on what I was going to take from the Camino, I had nothing. Nothing. My mind was blank and I scrambled to try and come up with something the Camino had taught me. Still nothing came to mind.

We spent our last night before Santiago in the ramshackle town of Lavacolla. A stop peregrinos in times gone by had used to wash themselves in the river and prepare themselves for entry into Santiago. We had just 10 kilometres to go the next morning.

We left early, around 6.30, because we wanted to get in while the cathedral square was relatively quiet. 3511 pilgrims had finished their Camino the day before us (Santiago Pilgrim Office statistics). It sounded like a lot.

The trail was not especially lovely that final morning, making its way past run down back quarters and houses in varying states of dilapidation. Along the way we deviated some five hundred metres to visit the statues of pilgrims perched on the site where, once again, back in the day, pilgrims caught their first sight of the spires of the Cathedral of Saint James. As we walked into town I still didn’t know what to feel or think other than that I should be feeling something!

We crossed the outskirts, into the old town before hearing a bag piper from the Plaza de Obradoiro, the cathedral square, ahead. We dipped down a ramp, around the corner and there it was. A busy cobblestone square with a joyful atmosphere. We had to make our way into the centre of the square before the facade of the cathedral revealed itself properly.

We did exactly what every other pilgrim arriving in the square does. We took turns holding our arms in the air in celebration while others took photos for us, to capture the moment. We had walked at least 790 kilometres to get here (we have little faith in the stated distances appearing on the trail which are useful as a guide only in most cases). We’re not special. Millions of people have completed this walk over centuries. It still felt special to us as it no doubt did to each of them.

The pilgrimage to Santiago is a curious thing. Saint James of course was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. He is said to have spread the word to the Iberian peninsula but his remains were not discovered here until some 800 years later.

As the story goes a Galician hermit named Pelayo saw a mysterious light one evening which he followed until he found a stone tomb. He reported his finding to Teodomir (Bishop of the region) who in turn reported it to King Alfonso II. The king prayed and fasted before declaring they were in fact the remains of Saint James.

News of the discovery spread fast and by the end of the 9th century, pilgrims were beginning to make their way here from across Europe. As explained in the museum of pilgrimage in Santiago:

‘The appearance of the body of the Apostle falls within the mediaeval tradition of miraculous discoveries of relics in places in which there were tales of their existence. This led to the creation of important shrines which attracted pilgrims from wide and far’.

Pilgrims came believing that by arriving they would achieve, ‘redemption and lift the weight of sin from their souls’ (guide book).

I find the whole thing intriguing, if not spurious. There does not appear to be any substantive evidence that this is actually where Saint James was buried (from what I understand it seems highly unlikely) and yet the cathedral in his name is monumental and the pilgrimage it has inspired a phenomenon going from strength to strength more than a thousand years later. The museum of pilgrimage also provided numerous examples of how the whole discovery was also motivated by politics of the time.

In any case, it was now our turn to visit Saint James just as so many have before us. We took turns queuing and visiting the cathedral (no bags allowed inside so someone had to watch them). Saint James’ crypt is below the altar. We followed a long procession of pilgrims down heavy set stone stairs into the crypt before passing by a silver casket holding the saint’s earthly remains, relics of enormous significance to the Catholic community. We passed through and out the other side, turned 180 degrees and climbed a set of stairs behind the altar where we took our turn hugging the steel sculptured statue of the saint. He was cold to the touch…

Mass followed. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go, but our Camino family was all there so in we went. Emma and I perched ourselves at the base of a stone column, near the intersection of the two long arms of the cathedral and about as close as you can get to the altar itself.

The mass was conducted in Spanish, but the ceremony combined with the attendance of more than 1200 others created a sense of occasion nonetheless. At the conclusion of the mass, seven men robed in red stepped forward, just off to our front and side. They untied a rope secured to a huge stone pillar. The rope had seven seperate handles, one for each person and ran high to the ceiling above before coming back down to suspend a large silver incense burner, the Botafumerio, in the centre of the cathedral.

The Botafumerio is dramatically swung high, and at great speed, through the cathedral on special occasions; or whenever it has been requested and paid for by a group of pilgrims. One of those two things had clearly happened as the robed men pulled the rope vigorously in time to the motion of the swing, increasing its height and speed. At full flight it rocketed overhead from one side of the cathedral to the other leaving a trail of smoke in its wake like the vapour trail from a jet.

In fact the Botafumerio originated in the Middle Ages, to purify the air and mask the foul odors of the massive crowds of unwashed pilgrims arriving at the end of the Camino de Santiago. Albergue’s now have showers which is fortunate.

After church (words I had not anticipated writing when we left home) we gathered with our Camino family and went for lunch. We laughed and talked and shared our experiences some more. We talked about whether the walk was what we expected, what it was like to walk alone or as part of group and whether and to what extent it had changed us.

There is a lot of hype out there suggesting walking the Camino is a life altering experience. Most people I spoke to about this almost seemed surprised they were still themselves. They did however also go on to reflect on dispositions and insights which, if followed through on, may well change in their life after walking. Not to mention friendships formed along the way.

Danae, who has a background in the performing arts, sung for us a few bars of a song she had been working on for a musical about the Camino. Which of course led to us playing our ‘toe sock pilgrims song’ and performing (seated) the little dance we had poorly choreographed way back before reaching even Logrono. Much laughter ensued.

I genuinely enjoyed being part of this unexpected little group. It would have been even better if Robyne and Guy were there too. It is a curious thing who you meet along the way and who sticks. It is not hard to imagine these people as long term, long distance friends. Perhaps that is the magic of the Camino – time and inclination to connect with people.

All of this delightful hecticness done, today has been relatively quiet. Emma and I poked around Santiago and sat in the square to watch the celebrations of pilgrims arriving. It is a very happy place to be. We also formed our own little welcoming party for Robyne. It is nice to have someone to cheer you into the square. Paul and I also attended a small session convened by Pilgrim House, as a space for people to talk about what the Camino meant for them.

I still don’t know the answer to that question for me, but there is no doubt that the walk has evoked questions and thoughts I never intended thinking about. As Emma, Paul and Khia now know only to well it would seem I am quite exercised by the existence of God, why people believe and the role of the church, now and in times gone by. Perhaps this is because it is what I was taught to believe before losing my faith somewhere along the way. The Camino has unexpectedly provide time and space to revisit existential questions. I can say I have greatly enjoyed the many long winded conversations (debates?) on these topics with Paul, Emma and Khia as we have walked, wined and dined.

Other thoughts of a less grandiose nature include that I am now celebrating my inability to come up with any sort of deep and meaningful reflection on my Camino experience. The Camino has cleared my head and silenced the constant chatter in my mind, just like Guy told me it had done for him when we had talked weeks back. I wanted to do this walk because I had hoped the simplicity of waking, walking and repeating would wipe the stress of work away. I am pleased to say it has done that and more. It has been an absolute pleasure to think of little more than how long it’s been since we last saw a little yellow arrow pointing us where to go and what bird it is that is chirping overhead (even if all that was often interspersed with deep dives into existentialism, faith and spirituality). They say the Camino provides… but what it provides is no doubt tailored to each pilgrim.

It has also been an absolute pleasure walking with our friends Paul and Khia. Khia you have amazed me with your grit and determination to walk to the very end. I know at times it was uncomfortable. You did it though. Walked across a country.

Paul, I have thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated our various conversations, and of course all the fun laughing and being silly presenting to be bull runners or zombies or galloping knights of the realm. I know you came to see our time on the Camino and the walk itself as a gift. It was just that (despite the shin splints).

And to Emma, another amazing journey to go with so many others we have shared. I feel this one has been especially enjoyable and have loved every one of the many minutes we’ve spent just walking and talking. I’ve loved walking with you always.

And now it’s time for cats of the Camino!