Final Post: The Camino Doesn´t End Here

This will be my final posting for this blog.  I have other stories to share, some of which are my most meaningful moments on the Camino, but I realize that with my return to the USA tomorrow, November 2, I need to be looking forward.  Perhaps some of these stories will come out in my monthly "broadcast reports" that I have been writing for the last eleven years.

Before concluding, I would like to share one story from the Camino that was especially meaningful to me.  One day, a friend shared with me that he had met a man from Scotland who had had a big argument with his wife.  (Henceforth, I will call this man from Scotland, "Scotty.")  Scotty decided to take some time away and, in just three short days, he had gathered his supplies and arrived to walk the last half of the Camino.  When I heard this story from my friend, I was really grieved. I could only imagine the turmoil that Scotty and his wife were experiencing.  Or perhaps I should say that - while Scotty was walking the Camino - I could only imagine the emotional turmoil that his wife back home was experiencing.  I felt compelled to pray for him and hoped that - wherever he was - God would do something special in his life on the Camino.

A couple of days later, I was sitting at an outside cafe having a late lunch and looking through my guide book to decide where to stay in town.  I then gathered my backpack and walking sticks and started heading the .7 kilometer to the other side of town to register for the night at the albergue where I had decided to sleep.  Just at that moment, I found myself walking next to a younger gentleman and we started to chat.  As it turns out, it was Scotty, the man for whom I had felt such a burden two days earlier!

Scotty and I only walked less than a kilometer together, but despite the brevity of our conversation, we really connected.  He openly shared a bit about his situation with his wife, and then I openly shared how burdened I had been when I had previously heard his story and how I had even prayed for him.  He was touched by my sharing and it just seemed "right" to talk with him more about this.  In the end, we stopped walking and stood outside the albergue where I had decided to stay.  I challenged him, you know, in my gentle way (smile) to be in touch with his wife. He shared that she had responded to his Facebook page.  I shared back that this was her way of reaching out and it was possibly now his responsibility to reach out to her, not on Facebook, but with a more personal email.  Perhaps I was a bit bold here, but I reminded him of his marriage vows, asked him if he had children (yes, a girl who is age three), and encouraged him to not give up but to do all in his power to save his relationship with his wife.

When we were preparing to part, he admitted that he had cried out to God a day or so earlier, asking "whoever" is up there to hear him and to speak to him.  I smiled and said, "I can assure you, God is reaching out and speaking to you, and I hope you will listen" (smile again!).  He then said, "People say that there are moments on the Camino when you have a ´Camino experience´.  I think this is mine.  I WILL consider what you have said and I probably WILL be in touch with my wife."

This past Saturday night, about 1 1/2 weeks after this conversation, while I was staying at that albergue on Mount Gozo that looks like a WWII concentration camp, I looked up and Scotty was standing in front of me!  He came up to me and shared, "I had hoped I would see you!  I wanted to tell you how meaningful that moment we shared was for me.  I DID contact my wife and we are talking again and are going to make a renewed effort to make things work out.  Thank you so much for what you shared."  I was, of course, touched.  I even had the opportunity to encourage him again, this time, to go home, start seeking God (not religion!) in the Gospel of John, and to examine how his vertical relationship with God could help to restore his horizontal relationship with his wife.  He nodded and I really believe he will go home, get a Bible and start reading about the ways that Christ related to people...NOT people relating to religious practices. And I believe that he will go home too and begin the reconciliation process with his wife.  Not only was this a Camino moment for Scotty, it was a Camino moment for me too.

Speaking of Camino moments, those of us who have walked this long pilgrimage realize that the Camino is not just a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It is a walk for the rest of one´s life.  I heard about two men who were walking and talking and one of them said, "I am going to meet God in Santiago."  The other looked up and replied, "If you want to meet God in Santiago, then you need to take Him with you."  I see life like that.  We will never really "meet God" ahead of us unless we are willing to respond to the Light we have now received and to allow him - as it says in Proverbs - "to direct our paths and to make our paths straight".  No, we don´t have little yellow arrows to guide us, but we do have the assurance that God will never leave us or forsake us. 

I attended another service at the Cathedral a couple of days ago, and a special choir from Germany was present.  Just at the end, as the organ churned out its majestic notes, the choir began to sing the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel´s Messiah. When I heard those notes trumpeting forth, and as I heard the beautiful voices singing praise to God, I thought to myself, "Lord, THIS is what the Camino is really about...THIS is what life is about...believing in you as we seek to endure to the end and as we seek to carry your truth to the ends of the earth, praising you with jubilant voices, and trusting that you WILL guide us and direct us to complete the life that you have bestowed upon us."  I hope YOU my readers will also be inspired to consider this truth in your life, and I hope you also know how much I appreciate your love, care and prayers for me during this special time. 



Some of the choir at the Cathedral on Tuesday



The spires of the Cathedral rising above the rooftops



One of the bagpipers who plays in the portal (an arch) welcoming pilgrims into Santiago

The monastery where I am staying...no heat, no insulation, but a great place to meet fellow pilgrims



One page from my pilgrim passport that shows where I stayed each night.



My compostela, which is the document I received for completing the Camino.  My name is written in Latin.

Onward to the "Ends of the Earth"

On Monday, the day after I arrived in Santiago, I went with a couple of friends, Dave from San Diego and Danny from Manchester, England, to visit a seaside community called Finisterre, which is about ninety kilometers from Santiago.  Many pilgrims choose to travel to Finisterre, some hike, and some - like me - take the bus!  For hundreds of years, people believed that Finisterre was the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula.  The name of Cape Finisterre, in fact, derives from the Latin, finis terrae, meaning "end of the earth".

It is tradition for pilgrims to travel to Finisterre, throw their walking sticks into the Atlantic Ocean and then burn their clothes to rid themselves of lice, bed bugs, or other such unwelcome creatures. We tried to burn some of Danny´s socks, but the wind was too strong and the flame from the cigarette lighter was too weak. So, on this particular day, our efforts to follow tradition were blocked.

Our joy at seeing the turbulent waters crashing against the rocks below and the majestic landforms above, however, was not blocked.  This site has a mystical feel about it, and I can only hope that the millions of pilgrims who have come here over the last thousand years and who have beseeched the Lord´s blessing and guidance contributes to this experience.  I would like to have stayed at this site for several hours, to sit and ponder and pray, but our return to Santiago beckoned, as well as the bus that was waiting to take us back!

After I returned to my room (in a former stone monastery near the Cathedral) in the evening, I was reading Isaiah 62, starting at verse 11.  While this text was originally intended for the people of Israel, I discovered it rather unexpectedly last night, and the subsequent verses seemed to speak directly to me.  Some of these verses exclaim,

     The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth..."Say to Daughter Zion, ´See your Savior
     comes...you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.´"

This is all part of God´s encouragement that He has bestowed upon me in the last few days, things that are not meant for a public blog, but which I attribute to the prayers that many of you have offered on my behalf during this pilgrimage.  I am grateful to you.  I pray also that my rejoicing extends to you and onward to the ends of the earth, whatever that truly means.

Finisterre

The stones placed on the cross are a symbol of people laying their burdens down

The horizon from the "end of the earth"

Dave and Danny with me

Site where clothes are burned

The lighthouse on the point in Finisterra

The coastline along the bay in Finisterra

The last way marker, which says, "0.0 K.M." (0.00 kilometers)!  (Note, the scallop shell is the symbol for the Camino. It has its origins in the myths and traditions about St. James-who in the Spanish is called "Santiago".)

 

Days 35-36: Arrival in Santiago!

On Saturday (Day 35), I only hiked fifteen kilometers because I wanted to walk the final five kilometers and enter Santiago on Sunday morning when I was fresh and able to attend the worship service. That night, I stayed in a hostel that reminded me and my friends of the concentration camps from WWII.  There were about thirty stone block buildings with numerous small rooms that provided beds for eight people in each room.  This albergue (hostel) can house five hundred pilgrims at one time! I was thrilled on Sunday morning not only to leave this albergue behind, but to FINALLY arrive in Santiago!

Thus, having started The Camino Frances on September 23rd in St. Jean Pied de Port, France, and after walking eight hundred kilometers (which is five hundred miles), I entered the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain on October 28 (Day 36) to pay homage to this saint but most especially to give glory and praise to God for His watchcare over me during these challenging weeks. I thank Him for walking with me through beautiful sunshine; I thank Him for keeping me strong through torrential rain storms; I praise him for keeping me cool during blistering heat; and I am grateful for his warmth during the mornings when it was freezing cold.  I stayed in a different place every single night except one, and that place didn´t even have a sheet, blanket or paper mattress cover for the bed.  I fought off painful blisters and possibly even a Morton´s neuroma (my toes are numb on one foot!) to the point where I finally got rid of my hiking shoes and started wearing sandles and wool socks that I had bought in Leon to complete the journey.  The truth is that I was actually one of the lucky ones...I know people who were hospitalized for GI problems, several who saw the doctor for infected blisters, others who were hospitalized for dehydration and kidney problems, numerous others who were almost incapacited by tendonitis, and one person who saw the doctor for veritgo (dizzy spells).

I finally arrived around 10:15am at the Cathedral in the center of Santiago.  I bumped into three women from Maine-Roberta, Deb and Holly-as I entered the city, and we walked to the Cathedral together.  It was sweet to move towards the culmination of my journey with people I had met along the Way.  Upon our arrival, we learned that the priests were going to swing the botafumeiro during this service, not the later service like we had originally heard.  Incense is sometimes used in worship services to symbolize the worshippers´prayers rising forth to heaven. The botafumeiro is a large incense burner that was also used in historic times to fumigate the sweaty and sometimes disease-ridden pilgrims who had just arrived in the city.  Eight attendants swing long ropes that are connected to the transepts at the very top of the vaulted cathedral ceiling.  These long ropes control the large, incense burner with it´s burning coals inside.  As the botafumeiro swings back and forth, back and forth like a trapese artist across the horizontal crossbeams of the sanctuary, the scented incense streams out and leisurely wafts to and fro - some rising towards the heavens and some falling gently like autumn leaves to the ground.  

 

 

 

More photos

The Famous Yellow Arrow

Remember I shared that pilgrims are guided primarily to Santiago by a simple yellow arrow that is painted on walls, buildings, signs, bridges, trees and any place that will help us know which direction to walk.  Here are a few yellow arrows for you to appreciate. As you see, these are not necessarily "professionally" painted...but they accomplish their purpose, and that is what counts, at least for the pilgrim!

Days 31-34: Entering Galicia

I am now walking through the region in Spain called Galicia.  Galicia is the region where Santiago de Compostela is located. The guidebook I have been using (A Pilgrim´s Guide to the Camino de Santiago by John Brierley) says, "The mountains of Galicia are the first object in 5000 km that the westerly winds coming across the Atlantic hit, so you can expect an immediate change in weather with frequent rain showers...and thick fog all feeding a maze of mountain streams and deep river beds" (p. 235).  Brierley writes that this land is similar to Celtic lands with small fields and lush pastures grazed by sheep, cows, pigs, geese, and chickens.  Actually, this land reminds me quite a lot of the Appalachian Mountains where my sister lives.  There are times I almost think I will see my sister Sara coming up on her bicycle, ready to go biking with me!

As the book relates, the weather does change a lot here, but I have mostly been amazingly fortunate.  Four days ago, it could not have been more beautiful.  I even say a rainbow (though there was no rain). On that night, I stayed at an albergue (hostel) where I had dinner with an American man from San Diego and a dear couple from Ontario.  It was a perfect evening, as we reflected on our respective Camino experiences.  I came up with the idea that we should make a Camino board game and that opened up all sorts of funny possibilities for what the game could be like.  You know, things like "you have three blisters, go back three spaces".  Most of our jokes can only be appreciated if you have walked the Camino, so I won´t bore you with more details. But for us, it was a halarious night with much laughter and special reflections from all of us about our experiences along the Way.

The very next day couldn´t have had worse weather.  I slogged through rain and rain and more rain.  I slogged through cow poop, cow poop and more cow poop.  I slogged through mud, mud and more mud.  I walked for almost eight hours and most of that time was pouring rain. When I arrived at the albergue, I could hardly hold a pen to sign my name because I was so soaked and cold.  Later that evening, I had some very interesting conversation with a woman from England.  I will not share that experience here, at least not now, but it was one of the highlights of my Camino experience...sort of like that note I found under the rock!  So, despite all the rain, and my weary efforts to trudge a few extra kilometers to the next albergue, it was all worth it!

For the last three days, I have walked a total of sixty-two miles.  Today, I walked the farthrest I have ever walked in one day - thirty-three kilometers - which equals almost twenty-one miles.  I am now only 20 kilometers away from Santiago!!  Tomorrow, I will walk just fifteen kilometers and will stay in an albergue that has spaces for five hundred pilgrims!  Then, Sunday morning, I will walk the final five kilometers to the city and will attend the "Pilgrim Mass" at 12 noon at the Cathedral church. Of course, it will all be in Spanish, but I figure God knows English too!  When I arrive, I will be praying for you, my dear friends, and especially thanking God for your encouragement and love for me over these five hundred miles/eight hundred kilometers!  I couldn´t have done it without you.

Days 28-30: Reaching for the Stars

I am now 96.4 miles (155.2 kilometers) from Santiago de Compostela!  I entitled this post "Reaching for the Stars" for two reasons.  First, the last few days, and yesterday in particular, have been filled with climbing and climbing and more climbing.  Yesterday, the last 6-7 miles of my hike were like walking straight uphill, really like reaching for the stars.  I was clambering over slate surfaces, gravel rocks, tree roots and large stones. I was dodging cow patties, listening to cow bells on woolly sheep, and today, met several cows face to face along the trail! Early yesterday, it was cold (37.5 degrees F), and the wind and whisps of fog danced around the mountain as I made my way closer and closer to the more intense climb nearer the top.  A beautiful river/brook bubbled along the trail to my left, and the yellows, reds and oranges of fall foliage accented the water´s mossy banks and dark blue and black reflection. 

I also called this post, "Reaching for the Stars", because the name, "Santiago de Compostela" ("compost terra"), means in the original Spanish, "field of stars".  I am inching closer to Santiago de Compostela every day, and I couldn´t be more excited and determined to reach my goal.  Some share that "Santiago calls them closer every day."  I am sure that is true for some, but for me, the thought of reaching my goal and then coming home is what calls me.  For me, reaching for the stars is really about reaching the heights of love and life, and that means, at least for me, being reunited with my family and friends.

Hope you will enjoy and appreciate these photos: