20/06/2024 – Walking the walk 19

Day 36 - wet again, but also short. We have only 20km left for tomorrow. We have both coffee and beer, in our hostel café, with a growing group of equally-damp pilgrims. There are 7 backpacks dripping on the floor right now, including ours. Check-in at 1pm, by which time we will not only be warm, but also dry.

Several people have asked me what I learnt from this experience. It doesn’t feel like very much. I guess it depends where you are when you start. We brought a habit of gratitude to it. That has, (maybe?), widened, to include rain, clouds, breezes, lack of pain…. But, I think we knew the importance of these good things, and how many of them we are given every day.

I do think it has highlighted the importance of selfcare. You cannot participate, be helpful, be kind, if you are not standing there when it is needed. It’s not about entitlement, or denying the extraordinary courage, power of sacrifice. But, for an ordinary person, like me, it, perhaps, starts with enough for yourself, so that you can have/be enough for others. But, living this last decade with Carey’s example, I already knew this going in. Enough isn’t so very much in one sense – warm, dry, safe, whole - but so few people actually achieve all of these at once…

It is also important to remember that, for me, leaving an unsatisfactory situation is an old behaviour. It’s what I do when purpose, meaning elude me: I look for them elsewhere. This adventure has gifted me 10 months of “permission” to stop striving for usefulness. But, this time, we are going back to what/where we left off.

Day 37 – a day of “mists”, not rain exactly, but constant drizzle. I have descended the Mount of Joy into Santiago three times. Never have I had the promised view, including today! But, it’s not about the view. There is a sense of achievement, having come so far. There is gratitude, for being more-or-less whole after a lot of bumps, thumps. There is satisfaction in knowing that tomorrow we can sleep in, before we head off again to the sea. And, a delight in knowing we have a few more pilgrim days to look forward to.

Today was a total zoo. Walking in with the pilgrims is a daytrip for many tourists. At 10 miles (16km) and 10km, they were being ferried in by coach, minivan, taxi to join the already augmented throng.

Nevertheless, we walked into the Cathedral Square elated. We took our snaps and selfies. We checked-in, found a nice tapas place for a drink, then celebrated with a splendid lunch of Indian food. As Carey says, “nothing says “Camino” like pollo jalfrezi!” We’ll find a laundromat later (weee!). And, it’s the summer solstice – the end of (meteorological) Spring and the start of Summer, a significant day on which to end a journey. A day of celebration all round!