CAMINO STAGE 34: O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela. El Camino De Santiago: 13 Miles, Day 36, last day
We stepped out into the inky darkness with our headlamps at 7am, as it was a 4 hour walk to Santiago for the final 13 miles. We wanted to be there before noon, because not arriving early enough could mean not getting a Compostela certificate. 900+ pilgrims have been arriving everyday in Santiago in October, and the lines are so long some pilgrims get turned away. With our headlamps pushing back the darkness, we passed several pilgrims who were also making an early start. After climbing a few hills, we found ourselves in a stretch with no one in front or behind us. Serenaded by the birds and greeted by an orange sunrise seemed a fitting way to complete this last stage as we entered the outskirts of Santiago.
Five miles away, we encountered a mob of “tour-egrinos” (peregrinos) or pilgrims who take a tour bus and just walk the final leg and few miles into Santiago. We talked about the differences of those on a 10k or 100k vs a 800k Camino — the exterior comparison of muddy boots, dirty pack and hobbling “Camino shuffle” from aching limbs being the most obvious. We concluded the external comparison of pristine boots and normal gait wasn’t the point…. each pilgrim leaves with a physical manifestation of the road walked (Compostelas, t-shirts, patches, tattoos, or bruises, blisters, knee braces, bandages, etc)…….but internally, that is where the true Camino differences lie. Inside longterm pilgrims are the lessons gleaned while walking for weeks—Understanding limitations, strengths, what makes you tick and what keeps you going when you are beaten. Camino lessons from the highs and lows, the rain and mud, making unlikely friends and walking miles in their burdened shoes have intrinsic weight that remains long after the pack is set down and the trail ends.
“There is something deep within us that sobs at endings.” Joe Wheeler
Bagpipes and flutes greeted pilgrims as we entered the plaza to the Santiago Cathedral. The excitement and exhaustion was palpable. Setting down our packs, flashbacks of the last 500 miles where we had traversed mountains, stumbled along streams, with rocks in our boots, aching knees, and bleeding feet all while we crossed Spain, flooded back. Tears bubbled to the surface. It was finally over. The feeling of completing a goal was exhilarating.
Within a few moments, the inevitable moment arrived, the dawning realization …. “It’s the end… now what do we do?” I felt immediately a deep knowing that Camino never really ends…. It will continue in our lives long after the blisters heal and feet recover. The Camino leads to other roads, ones not taken, with courage to go down them now. A Camino ending is just a beginning.
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
After all our journeys, when the end comes, there’s always a fresh page to look forward to and new book to begin. Here’s to weaving a new story …. Chapter 1…
“Our lives have ebbs and flows. Ends and beginnings are illusions. Starting over is nothing more than recognizing The Pause before picking up your thread and continuing to weave your own story.”
Molly M. Cantrell
The Unhurried Traveler 
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