We are here. We did it it 112 kms plus complete with aching legs, feet, and blisters. ( i got my very 1st one and was awarded the trophy for the biggest) Steve has many more drat it.
It was very sad to know that today our Camino ended so we dawdled, stopped a lot, rested just to draw it out. The feeling of wonder and amazement as we drew closer and closer to the Cathedral was very special. We were applauded by strangers as we approached - the end in sight - we were heralded in by bagpipes and when we received our compostello there was hugs and kisses all round and hearty congratulations.
We were also privileged and very blessed to be in Santiago this year as it was the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Franciscan order and to commemorate this occasion we were able to obtain another compostelo from the monks at the Church of St Frances today also.
What ever your stance be it religious, spiritual or none of that ilk you cannot deny the sense of a deeper power and sense of wonder as you enter Santiago. The sign of The Cross and The Way of St James is everywhere you look on signs, on the ground on walls and lamp-posts.There is an invisible cord pulling you urging you to keep going as you sense you are getting closer and closer to your journeys end.
The city of Santiago de Compostela seems to morph before your eyes as you drag your weary body down the steep decent into the city boundary, and begin the slow, gradual ascent to the Cathedral of Santiago (St James); kilometre 'zero' on the camino. You enter the city limits and trudge along modern industrial/shopping precincts. As the 4 kilometres to the cathedral unwind you notice the change in architecture, the narrowing of the streets, the lowering in height of buildings, the tarmac giving way to cobbles. You move from a city comfortable and proud in the 21st century to one birthed in the 11th & 12th centuries. Who said time travel isn't possible?
Yes your feet are aching and you are tired and want to stop-but you know what - you don't Could it be the other pilgrims ahead and behind you that spurs you on or is it maybe curiosity to see what this compostelo is all about. Is this the end of our or merely the beginning? That our friends is why this is a personal journey that no one bit the traveller can answer.
Day 2 in Santiago
We were pilgrims yesterday and tourists today. We hit the shops oohing and aahing buying this and that and more. The linen is something of a buy gone era exquisite and shoes i simply cant decide tsk tsk. Jewellery - we were introduced to the black stone a bit like our onyx but peculiar to Santiago. Like any tourist city the souvenir/nic-nack shops abounded and the fun was seeking the genuine from the cheap & nasty. Beggars are also prolific in and around the cathedral precinct.
Music abounds at what seems like every turn. Shops playing celtic melodies and songs, street musicians (all very talented) from jazz guitar, blues guitar, festive accordion and beautiful celtic bag-pipes to name a few.
We visited the Cathedral and stumbled in via the exit door of course. We walked slowly just speaking in hushed tones not wanting to disturb the aura. We saw where St James lay, where the stem of Jesse was and the incense swinger ... To disguise the odour permeating thru the Cathedral when the pilgrims entered for mass. A ceremony also took place where their robes or what was left of them (disrepair or infestation, take your pick) were discarded and burned
We have just finished dinner and the air-conditioning rained all over us much to the amusement of waiters and guests. Took up our drinks (my lemon bitter, please note) and Steves beer, dried ourselves off and ordered dessert. Paid and left the restaurant farewelled by hearty gusts of laughter as they pointed to the ceiling and then us; our waiter explaining that this is Santiago and it always rains here; even if we were the only ones to get wet! We would sit at the only table in the entire restaurant and receive a water baptism.
We enjoyed a lovely stroll back to our hotel, enjoying the vibrancy of the city as people sit and enjoy the balmy evening (20deg C) in the innumerable cafes and bars.
It is now 23.13 and the sun has just closed its eyes and laid down to sleep and so will we.