Santiago

Day 13 –Escravitude to Santiago – April 24, 2024

Today’s miles – 11.8   Total Miles – 184.7

We were very pleased we walked extra miles yesterday. NZ, Denmark and I were picked up at 7:30 and driven 4 miles north where we had stopped yesterday. Sunrise this morning was at 7:39 and sunset will be at 9:27 here in Santiago Spain. (In Phoenix today sunrise was at 5:46 in the morning and sunset is at 7:06 in the evening. The length of day isn’t that different from home, but daylight is shifted basically 2 hours later.)

We are about 10 minutes into our walk when NZ realizes her phone is still in the cab. I had left Enrique’s card (the cab driver) at the hotel, figuring we no longer needed it. We tried calling the cab company and were not making any progress. When we got back to the church the same man was working the store who had called for us yesterday. He called Enrique for us and sure enough he found the phone. A few minutes later he pulls up, with a new client, and delivered the phone. Now back to walking north. About an hour later we caught Denmark and England.

I often get asked if there is a celebration when you finish a journey like this. I remember when I finished the Appalachian Trail I was very confused as to what I should be thinking. There was much more of an excitement in the hiker community about being done that trip. The AT was a 4 – 6 month commitment and is much tougher physically and mentally but I still had mixed emotions about being done. There is a wonderful simplicity with life on the trail. Last year when Elizabeth and I completed the Frances Camino I told her I could go back to SJPdP and start all over. The French Way is just over a month, so it again is a good commitment and there is not much hardship as there are beds, showers and food everywhere. But still, you get in a wonderful routine of walking each day with amazing new friends from around the world, so it again is very mixed emotions when it comes to an end. The Plaza at the Cathedral has an exciting energy and for many they are completing an amazing life journey, so there is an excitement with completing the walk.

Today’s walk into Santiago was interesting. NZ wants to keep walking. She still has 3 months left on her travels all across Europe and Asia before heading home, but she is already planning a walk on the Frances for next year. Denmark still works full time so she can only get 2 weeks Holiday at a time. This was her second Camino and she is planning to return next year to do the Portuguese central route. England is 70. She had back problems and needs a hip replacement. She did the Frances before her health problems and did the shorter Portuguese Route this time to see how her body would hold up. She carried a full backpack the entire way. She is certainly an inspiration on how to keep moving forward when life throws challenges at you. She also is planning to return for another Frances. None of them were excited about finishing. When we actually arrived in the main Plaza there was not even a congratulations shared. Ireland was also with us and his is very understated. He and I talked sports for the last hour of the walk. He also plans to return and he is still working as well. We took a handful of pictures and then went to lunch, just like the others days on the path when we finished walking. The only difference is, tomorrow there is no where to walk to.

I am even more excited than ever to start the Frances with my family. I feel great physically and have gotten the routine of walking down. I will miss my new friends, but soon enough I will be with Elizabeth and we will be making new friends and memories with Cooper and Chelsea.

We will probably post again once we are together in a few days and then start the every two days once we are walking. Thank you for following along.

What we find in a soul mate is not something to tame, but something wild to run with.

Robert Brault