I walked into Santiago on Tuesday, June 24th, at 8:15 am. My early arrival resulted from a 3:00 am departure from my albergue. Robyn had called the evening before to tell me a dear friend from Norway would be leaving Santiago at noon and I wanted a chance to see her. The dark walk was beautiful until 4:15 am when my headlamp went out. I stood in the middle of a very dark forest, looked skyward, and said, "you´ve got to be kidding." Luckily, every time I hit the on button it came on for about 6 seconds and I wasn´t forced to sit until the sky lightened.
Santiago was a blur of hellos, bittersweet goodbyes, visits to the pilgrim´s office for my compostellas, etc. My own room in a hotel was a treat after so many nights sleeping with dozens of my closest walking companions. A highlight of my time in Santiago was finding a young French woman who we had met on our first night of walking in France. What a treat to get to hug her again, have dinner, and share our camino experiences.
After two days of goodbyes I took the bus to Finisterre and met Robyn and Tom. It was so great to see them again. We walked to the end of the world and have spent a little time catching up on our respective adventures. Saturday they walked to Muxia where I will join them Sunday...either by taxi or on foot.
It´s hard to believe it is finally over...great friends, difficult moments, and wonderful, wonderful memories. But really, the camino is our whole lives...and the next stage lies ahead.
Buen Camino...Cindy
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