Walking the Camino de Santiago

Sept 12

‘This is my time, my time to shine
Count it on down, spark that fuse
Mark my words, front page news
This is my time, my time to shine
Watch me shine, watch me shine!’ - Matt Beilis

I left very early this morning in the dark for the last trek on the Camino Portuguese. Christian was with me. Lucas’ leg is finally feeling good, so when we reach 7km of the 24km journey for today, he will be waiting to walk into Santiago de Compostela with us. It’s an exciting day for all of the pilgrims as this marks the last day on the trail and marks some big accomplishments for all of us. For me, I will have walked 709km in total from Lisbon.

As the sun started to rise, and as we continued to climb higher in elevation, the amount of pilgrims on the trail also continued to increase. It wasn’t so crowded that you couldn’t enjoy the trail, but there was definitely a lot more of “us”. I liked it! We were all heading to the same place to celebrate a journey, no matter where we started. You could feel the excitement and see the anticipation in everyone’s face as we grew closer to our destination one step at a time.

Occasionally the trail would spill into a small town that would supply us with some much needed coffee or sodas/water. Then we would move back into the forest ascending toward the top.

Luca had now joined us as we hiked the next 7km into Santiago de Compostela. We wound through streets and parks until we reached the entrance to the Cathedral, and our final destination on the trail.

Once we took in the moment, we walked into the pilgrims office and received our Compostela. The Compestela certifies you completed the journey. Later, we attended the pilgrims mass in the cathedral. Watching the famous botafumeiro swing across the pilgrim crowd was a highlight I won’t forget.

I’m staying in Santiago de Compostela for a couple of days. On the 14th, Solange is scheduled to arrive and I hope to surprise her as she too completes her journey. I’ll head home a couple days later.

My thoughts: I’m filled with emotion. Excited for completing this journey and being in such a magical place as Santiago de Compostela. It’s bittersweet because that means this experience is almost over for now. There is something so special about the Camino trail, the pilgrim family, the extreme kindness we give toward each other from all over the world, and the beauty of this region of Europe. I’ll miss my walking buddies Luca and Christian. We’ve grown close over the last couple of weeks, but I know we will stay in touch. For those of you who have been following along with me, Thank You for being part of my Camino!…For now, I’ll just say Buen Camino.