A Salceda to Santiago (19.08 miles/30.72 kms)

Well, today was it, the day I made it to Santiago de Compostela! A long day and not without its challenges, and one really weird one. I finished the Camino de Madrid/Camino Francis, 445 miles (my actual walking miles), at 2:00 pm today!

Interesting, I looked back at my blog from the last trek I completed, the Camino Via de la Plata, and had a similar experience of struggling at the very end. On the Plata it was my knee that was the issue that nearly stopped me at the end, and this time it was getting sick with a bad cold or flu. As I mentioned before, some say that you can’t really experience a true Camino unless you face tough challenges and then overcome them. Well, I could live without those challenges, but if you have challenges, in the end it does give you a sense of accomplishment.

I started the day with the typical Spanish Camino breakfast at the alberque with coffee, orange juice, white bread and jam, and an assortment of sweet inexpensive pastries, and was out the door by 7:30. Like almost every morning the last few weeks it was dark and cloudy, with a chance of rain. I walked to the Camino where the highway runs parallel with it and decided to stay on the Camino as it was nicely graded and smooth.

I had the Camino to myself for nearly a half hour and enjoying the solitude and beauty of the forest as I was going through. In the distance I saw someone walking towards me and figured it was one of the rare few pilgrims that had made it to Santiago and then was walking back to their original starting spot.

As I got closer to him I noticed that he was walking to his left, and I was walking to my right, which is what you generally do on the actual Camino or trail. But on the road or highway you walk to your left, facing traffic.

The path was fairly wide, enough for a car, and as we got closer I saw him move slightly to his right, but then he moved back to his left. He caught me off guard as I thought he’d move to his left, so I moved over to the right as far as possible. It was a little weird and I just stopped as he was within a few feet of me. He kept walking and stopped inches from my face! He was a little shorter man than me, 5’9” or so, and probably in his late forties or early fifties. It was weird! One or two seconds passed and then he went around me and brushed up against me as he passed, as though he was pushing me to the side.

He suddenly turned back and yelled, “why did you touch me!” My first thoughts racing through my mind was this can’t be happening on my last day of my Camino, fighting with a stranger in the woods of Spain! I have to say that my other thought was to defend myself if it came to that, and I was a little nervous, but not scared. I said I was trying to walk to the right, and tried to defuse the weirdness by asking where he was from. He replied, “what does it f_ _ _ ing matter where I am from!” Then he said in Europe you are suppose to walk on the left, and I said yes, but only on the highway. Then he called me a f_ _ _ king tourist. Again, I simply asked where he was from to change the subject and he repeated, “what does it f_ _ _ ing matter where I am from, you fu_ _ _ ing tourist.” And with that he turned and walked away, to his left and repeated, ” fu _ _ _ ing tourist.” From his accent I think he was French, not Spanish? I guess everyone from an European Union nation is not considered a tourists in any of the countries in the union?

I stood there for a few seconds and was wondering if this really happened on my last day of my Camino? I went from being puzzled to being angry, and even thinking the foolish thought that my manhood had been challenged and I didn’t flex my masculine (well kind of) muscles. And as I started walking and really thinking about it, this turned out to be another one of those Camino challenges that I had just faced, and I laughed about it because I got over one more challenge on the Camino, as weird as it was. I am glad that I didn’t let it escalate because it could have ruined a Camino that has been a great experience, and where ninety-nine percent of the people I have met were friendly, nice, and happy to be on the Camino. Who knows about this guy, maybe his Camino was bad, and because of that he wanted others to experience his unhappiness. Maybe someone he knows passed away, or his wife left him, who knows, but obviously he was an unhappy person, or even mentally ill. But for me it was a challenge I’ll never forget, as weird as it was.

For the rest of the way I stayed on the actually Camino and after a while encountered the multitude of pilgrims making their way on this last stretch to Santiago. As I said before, I take my hat off for anyone walking the Camino, no matter where they started. I saw many older people (older than me of course) walking at very slow paces and wondering if they would even make it. There were some people that looked very overweight, and some limping. All are out there trying to do their best, no different than me.

I have to say that today was one of my hardest days as I felt completely spent half way there. There were more little steep stretches than I remember. I think that the modern planners added those hills and rough sections just to give the pilgrims a little more work, or thrill, to just make their Camino more difficult for show. Like designers of the amusement park rides that want to add one more thrill in that ultimate ride.

When I got to that last big hill and I could clearly see Santiago in the distance and that old stable horse in me picked up the pace even though I was almost out of gas. It was obvious that my being sick had been affecting my energy level because I have not had my rhythm since before getting sick.

Once you get into the outskirts of the city you have to walk almost another hour to get to the Santiago Cathedral. I decided I would go there for a photo, and a little celebration, and then go to my hotel. After a few photos I went to the official Camino office to get my Compostela (certificate of completion), but there was over an hour and a half wait with so many pilgrims in line.

As I was walking to the hotel I ran into six people that I had walked with throughout the Camino that stopped to say hello. I was obviously easy to recognize because of the Wheelie, but I would not have recognized some of them since everyone looks so different when the don’t have their hats, sun glasses, rain gear, ponchos, and trekking clothes on. Then too, because you have talked to so many people along the Camino, you don’t remember their names.

I checked into the Bonaval Hotel, where I had stayed before, and got a great room overlooking the roof tops and the Santiago Cathedral. Making that reservation, and being a past guest, always helps.

When I first got into my room I felt so spent that I couldn’t do anything but sit on the bed for about a half hour. I filled the big tub with bath gel to get lots of bubbles and then threw my last load of dirty clothes that I’ll need to wash on the Camino into the tub with me!

I did go back and got my Compostela at 6:30 and there was still a line, and it took about a half hour. The clerk asked about the Camino de Madrid and then looked up the statistics for the various Caminos. He told me I was the one hundred thirty-second pilgrim that had completed the Camino de Madrid so far this year. That surprised me, yet thinking back that I only met four walking pilgrims confirms it.

After getting my Compostela I went to my favorite tapas bar that I have been to every time I have been in Santiago. I walked in and saw two woman that had been in line with me at the Camino office, one Italian and one from Australia. There was also a French man next to us that had walked from a different area of France, north of Barcelona. And there were two American women, more Australians, and many more from other countries. I love being in Santiago for a few days, and in places like this, because everyone reminisces and shares their stories.

I ended up staying well after eleven, mostly speaking to the French man. Funny how all I could think of this afternoon was getting to bed early, but the excitement of finally finishing your Camino is something everyone wants to celebrate. I have one more day and night here and hopefully I will celebrate again.

So, I have already been asked, which one did I like better, the Camino de Madrid or the Camino Francis? Both were so much different that it’s hard to really choose one over the other. I loved the Camino de Madrid because the solitude and different terrain. Only four other walking pilgrims during the whole time for me was heaven. Alberques to myself, not as commercial as the Francis, are pluses. And the time of year made the Madrid nice because of the weather and green scenery.

The Francis has the plus of having bars and restaurants nearly every few kilometers, which made it a lot easier than having to carry food and water. The social part of the Francis is a plus, but then again it’s gotten very crowded even this time of year. The Francis goes through more beautiful historic places, and then again goes through bigger cities that didn’t appeal to me as much.

Both, I think, are totally different, and I am glad I got to experience them both at the same time. If it wasn’t for some negative and positive feedback from a German friend of mine, Paul, who I met on the Camino Via de la Plata and still stay in contact with, I might not have experienced them together. Again, I am lucky, and blessed, that I was able to trek and complete the Camino de Madrid/Camino Francis with all the challenges I faced!

Best wishes to all, and a special thank you to all of you that sent me messages, big or small, that encouraged me and kept me going,

Ted

As always, please excuse the typos, grammar, and spelling, etc., because I am writing this on my phone and don’t always review my blog. And, even if I don’t review it, it’s a good excuse for my mistakes!

Getting ready to start the day

Walking to the Camino from the alberque

Back on the Camino

The Camino near where I had that strange, and challenging, encounter with the pilgrim

The scenery is always beautiful

You almost think you are there, but it’s further

Almost there, and I am almost out of energy!

This is the plaza at the Santiago Cathedral

I MADE IT! I AM HERE, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA!

The side entrance to the cathedral

The cathedral

My home for the night, Hotel Bonaval.

What a great view from my room overlooking the red tile roofs of Santiago and the Santiago Cathedral in the distance

My room

My bath, where I filled the tub with lots of gel for a giant bubble bath and then threw my body, and my clothes for the last time, in for a good cleaning.

See all those darn little ups and downs before Santiago