Final Steps

Okay, so I promised to finish up the blog, and I have to admit that I have been dragging my feet. Whether this is from a desire not to admit that out pilgrimage is over, or the exhaustion that lead to a couple of days resting in a hotel room, I'm not sure. In any case, the last 5days of our walk where both a whirlwind,  and at the time seemed to crawl by. Gill and I began to count down at day 10 and the days seemed to go on forever. We had one occasion of walking in to town several times for money and for food, which added 5km on to a 20km day. We also stayed in a lovely albergue run by the conferternidad of the Camino in England. This meant that the hospilateros were Brittish, and had a deep love for the camino. We also met a couple that met on the camino 10 years before. They now were on the path of walking 100km to their wedding. They very thoughtfully invited us to their wedding which we actually didn't end up attending. Still it is perhaps one of the most unique, personal, and lovely wedding stories that I have heard.  We spent a good long while walking with them. Also, it was this couple that informed me that when I wrote "pastora" on the profession line that most people must be thinking of me as a shepherd (of actual sheep) because a pastora (in the feminine sense) doesn't really exist in Spain. Gill found that quite hilarious. I decided that I'm okay with it. After all both callings have similarities.

On the 3rd day before the end we met up with mom and dad.  They walked the last 100km of the Francese route. This is nothing to sneeze at. It is quite a commitment, and Gill and I felt really blessed to have the opportunity to walk with them for a time. Also, they provided hotel rooms and meals for us for a couple of days.  Sliping into a familiar patern where the logistics  and reservations were handled by our parents was admit-ably nice.

The day we met up with them was the day all of the paths come together. This meant that there were a lot more people. The whole ton of the trail changed. At every restaurant their were tons of pilgrims. Some people were walking with kids in strollers and many were taking their time down the trail. It wasn't unusual to see people lounging on the grass or having a beer with friends. After the month Gill and I had of being mostly alone and traveling through very small towns this was a big change. Our guide book warned us that it would be quite a shock, and it was. At the first meal with mom and dad Gill and I were both a little overwhelmed by the noise of all of those people. We had to remind ourselves that different doesn't necessarily bad. It was cool to see people from so many places interacting, getting out, and cheerfully walking.  The general atmosphere was one of joy. Most who had traveled the longer distances were glad to be at the end, and those doing the last 100 or so brought with them excitement and enthusiasm.  That being said we were glad to not be staying in the now overcrowded and boisterous albergues. The last couple days went by like a dream. It was hard to believe that the end was so near. The very last day Gill and I struck out on our own once again. We pulled a hero day and doubled mom and dad's distance. We did this for several reasons: 1. We were ready to be done 2. Mom and dad graciously encouraged us to finish as we started(just the two of us) 3. Our feet had accustomed(so we thought) to the longer distances. Well the truth is that through our 330 miles or feet had grown at least a full shoe size. This meant that the shoes(even though we bought shoes a size larger than normal) began to feel tight on our feet.  Gill and I both revisited the blisters from the beginning of our trip. I guess our feet took the "wanting to finish the way we started" a little too seriously.  Along the way that last day I made a point to place rocks on the sign posts. With each one I held it and prayed about that person or situation. At the next sign post I would place the rock and pick up another. This really served as a physical way to release those prayers that I had been holding onto the whole camino.  As Gill and I walked into the city of Santiago we couldn't believe we had finished and we hadn't. Turns out to get to the Cathedral you had to walk about 6 km into the city. It was a long 6km and when we walked through the passage into the square the feeling was overwhelming. Bagpipe music filled the square with the sound of completion and success. We stepped into the square holding hands. Gill and I turned to each other both with tears streaming down our faces and said, "we walked a long way". It was amazing. We sat down in the square joining tons of other pilgrims and just looked at the cathedral. Of course we took some pictures and then went in.  We got our compostelas and found a place to stay. Then we took of our boots for the last time.

Visuals

There are still a couple of days I need to add here, but with the chance to add pictures(we met up with our parents and they have their computers) We thought we would catch you up visually with our trip thus far.

Gill and I begin our journey. This is us heading out to the airport.

Citing of the first trail marker (a blessed sign that we had found our way)

This is what the arrows normally look like

Sometimes arrows are hard to find ;)

2nd morning stair master.  

If only all stair masters ended in a view like this

Here are the pilgrim fountains that are provided along the way for drinking water.  

Day 2:  we began to really walk along the coast.  

We met some playful friends along the way.

At least we got to go under the mountain and not over (a blessing we didn't appreciate until later)

This was the city we walked from.  

Some arrows are a little difficult to follow

It was cold and wet but we tried to stay positive.

That didn't last long.  

So we decided to take a break (I may have been a little tired)

The next day there was a little less rain, but this is right before I got an ulcer in my eye.  There are a couple of days without pictures as we tried to get all the medical stuff figured out.  Gill has some pictures of my eye patch and her blister that we will have to post later.  

After a long rest we walked to Santillana del Mar.  Here is the beautiful Cathedral.  

We walked some more and got to see another cool Cathedral.  

Then we saw the first concrete buildings(a blue monastery and a reddish Cathedral) in Spain in Cobreces.  They also have a cool pilgrim monument.  

We stopped a lot in parks for snacks and a chance to sit.  

We saw some really beautiful views of the mountains and the ocean.  

This is San Vicente 

Here are the Cubos of Llanes.  They are a monument to the history of Maritime trading.  

They are all really huge and painted in unique ways.  

This is the picture on the front of our guide book(except with water in front of it) 

This day it rained all day.  It was cold.  This is the field we had to trudge through and the electric fence we had to limbo under.  

After all of that we ate a snack in the bus stop.  Thank God for bus stops and Oreos. 

We stopped here, in La Isla because  Gill had a cold from the day before so we called it and early day.   It was beautiful.  

The next day we passed the oldest church on the Camino Norte.  We couldn't go in because they were in the middle of mass, but I got a picture through the key hole. 

We had the muddiest shoes and clothing upon arrival in Villaviciosa.  The pictures don't do it justice.  

Another beautiful view.  

We came across this on the path through Luarca. 

We climbed all the way from over there!  

Then we crossed a river.  

Who can complain with views like these.  

There are so many bell towers.  

We thought this was a seesaw, but it ended up being some sort of leg exercise thing.  Don't think pilgrims really need the extra exercise.  

We have made some friends along the way.  (This is Barbra)  

This is one of the many Camino signs along the highway.  

We Finally made it to the last 100km!!!

Conquering the last 100!

We were a little excited.  

We met a man who carves stone(more on that later)

So close...

We got to stay at a monastery.  

 mmm.  Refreshing.

We found St. James hanging out on a fountain. 

Here is the monastery from a distance.  

No explanation needed.

50 Kilometers! 

This is a church from the 12th Century.  

This is by no means the complete picture, but I hope it gives you some better ideas about our trip.  I will fill you in on the last couple days when we get internet again.  Thanks again for reading.