Padron to Santiago (15.46 miles/24.85 km)

Today was the last day of my trek, when I reached Santiago, Spain, and completed the Camino Portugues. I started from Lisbon, Portugal, 26 days ago, and after trekking 23 day and 403.57 miles (649.85 km), I made it to the Santiago Cathedral in Spain.

Today was a short day in miles, yet it seemed a little tough and one of the longest. I think it was just phycological, because it was the last day. It seemed like I’d never reach the Cathedral, yet I left at 8:00 and got there by 2:00.

I was a little sad not to have my friend Paul finish with me, but he will start back within a day or two when his blisters heal. However, I did walk much of today into Santiago with a French Canadian, Francois, who I met today.

The terrain today wasn’t actually easy as there were many ups and downs, and a few long steep climbs. Galicia Province is known to be mountainous and with very few level areas. The Camino did go through some very beautiful sections of forest today.

Much of the Camino surface today was dirt and in a few places it was strewn with large boulders, making it challenging for me with the Wheelie. Going across those rocky areas, especially the uphill areas, slows me down to a crawl. That’s when many pilgrims pass me. After a few rough areas I moved onto the road in several short stretches as the road parallels most of the Camino all the way to Santiago.

The world indeed is a small and interesting place. When I was checking into the hotel in Padron last night I met an American couple, Libby and Mike Edwards, who chatted with me briefly. Today I ran into them on the Camino and walked with them for a while, when they asked me where I was from. I said, Santa Paula, Ventura County, California, to which they replied that they had friends that live there, and that they had actually visited there. Their name is Jackson. Wow, the Jacksons, Doug and Tamaa? Yes! Well, they are really good friends of ours, and their kids and our kids are friends too. Apparently Mike was a teacher on an army base in Belgium where Doug was a nurse practitioner, so Mike and his wife Libby, and Doug and his wife Tamaa, were all friends too. What are the chances that in Spain, on a Camino, with hundreds of pilgrims, that I would meet someone who has the same friends as me. Wow! That’s what they call a Camino Experience.

Within three to four miles of Santiago the Camino goes through outlining cities and it cross or runs on the highway in several places. Those last few miles seemed longer, but talking with Francois actually made it go by quicker. When I finally made it into Santiago all that tension of worrying about finishing the last day seemed to melt away. Funny, but you could also see it on the other pilgrims walking that final stretch to the cathedral.

Once at the square it is interesting to see the different reactions and celebrations of the pilgrims. Francois, who had mentioned that nearing the end wasn’t as exciting as he thought, but once in the square he seemed to light up, and then he commented that he was feeling that excitement. He even had that look of an excited kid.

For me, even though I have been here three times before, there is still that sense of accomplishment, and excitement. Everyone on their Camino, whether short or long, usually feels a sense of accomplishment and pride because they pushed their own limits. For me this Camino was not as easy as it thought, but I have to admit I say that about all my treks. But, the temperatures in the high ninties to over one hundred were tough, being sick with the respiratory infection set me back several days, and then the painful development of the shin splints almost made me question whether I could walk through the pain. So, if I stop and look back at this trek, it was harder than I thought it would be.

There are many things that helped gave me the strength to complete this trek, my faith, my practice of TM meditation, my family and friends, the positive comments people left on my blog, but one of the biggest was that I was Walking to End Alzheimer’s, and trekking in honor of my mother, Henriette Stekkinger, who passed away from complications of the disease of dementia.

I was proud to wear the purple colors that represent the Alzheimer’s Association, and it was so rewarding for me when a few people came up to me on the Camino and thanked me for Walking to End Alzheimer’s. It was usually an America because though it affects people from all walks of life, and around the world, the actual name or word Alzheimer’s is not known all over the world.

After I celebrated at the Cathedral Square I checked into my pension room close to the Cathedral. I later met Francois at my favorite tapa bar, and that is the time you meet other pilgrims, celebrate, and swap stories. Interesting that Francois thanked me for walking with him into Santiago, and for taking him to the tapa bar, and I think he was starting to realize his accomplishment in finishing a Camino.

At 3:00 I attempted to get my Compostela (Camino completion certificate), but there were so many pilgrims applying today that they stopped taking applications in the afternoon. There have been so many pilgrims now that they give out numbers in the morning and you have to come back at a specific time when they reach your number later in the day.

My plan is to get my Compostela in the morning and spend the rest of the day walking around and watching the new pilgrims coming in to the Cathedral Square. I love walking the narrow streets crowded with hoards of pilgrims and locals, and window shopping and looking at all the Camino tourist items and jewelry, and seeing and smelling all the tons of restaurants. Seeing the pilgrims cheering, crying, singing, hugging, and congratulating each other for their Camino, whatever it was.

I will spend one more day here savoring Santiago, and then I’ll fly to Barcelona, and Sunday I’ll fly to Bergen, Norway, to meet my wife Mindee. We plan a little tourist vacation there, and even in Portugal and Spain, not trekking.

A special THANK YOU to all the people that supported me on my trek with your comments and messages, and of course, to all of you that have made a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association! It is a disease that affects millions of people, and if you are one of those fortunate people that does have someone close to you that has been touched by the disease of dementia, there may be a good chance that you will in your life time.

Best wishes to all,

Ted

Please excuse the typos, spelling, grammar, etc., as I am typing this on my phone, and I am probably pretty tired.

If you would like to see the Alzheimer’s Association website, see our team page, and donated, please go to:

act.alz.org/goto/tedstrek

Leaving Padron in the morning

The quiet morning streets of Padron

It was actually cold and foggy in the morning as I passed this church and cemetery

The Camino actually went up and then down the front steps of this church. I went around of course.

Still on the Camino, but you have to keep checking

Libby and Mike Edwards. By a chance meeting it turns out we have mutual friends! Wow, what they call a Camino Experience!

Libby and Ted

Back on the Camino through a wooded area

The Camino through more wooded area

This was s tough rocky uphill stretch

Beautiful stretch of the Camino. Wait, is that man wearing a Walk to End Alzheimer’s t-shirt?

Wow, I made it to the Cathedral in Santiago, Spain!

Wow! What a feeling!

Smaller chapels next to the Cathedral

My pension for the night

My room

My favorite places to eat in Santiago, a Taberna do Bispo, tapas bar.

Place to celebrate

Keep it coming

Roasted Spanish peppers and shrimp

Shrimp and scallops

The elevation for the day

My trek, and the finish, for the day