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¡Ultreya, todos!
I solved my conundrum this morning over chocolate con churros! Andrew, Serge, and Didier are all going to take a bus to Finisterre, a place that the Romans had seen as the end of the world. So there is more walking to be done! Maybe that’s my ultimate destination! After all, it is 2012, so I think it would be fitting to walk to the end of the world. Don’t you? First, though, I think a day of rest is in order.
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This morning, Jean and I visited the Museo das Peregrinacions to learn more about the Camino. I was surprised to see a whole exhibit dedicated to pilgrimages from around the world, to Mecca (where 3 million pilgrims run in a circle together), to Grabarka (where pilgrims carry crosses the whole way), to Lhasa (where pilgrims prostrate themselves every few steps), and to Albuquerque (where pilgrims dance)!
Before I get ahead of myself, there’s plenty to learn about this destination! For instance, the exhibit on the Camino had architectural reconstructions of the temple in which the remains of Santiago were supposedly discovered, along with the legend of how the boat bearing his body drifted up a river into Padrón, where the local queen had it transferred and buried in its current location. Since his rediscovery, Santiago now appears in three incarnations: peregrino, matamoros (Moor Slayer), and gloria divina. He is the only saint to be so multi-faceted!
I also hadn’t realized just how far the Camino de Santiago stretches! The museum had another map showing all the known routes to Santiago, and some were truly epic! Some caminos start as far north as Scandinavia and as far east as Istanbul! I’ve heard of some super peregrinos turning around and walking to Jerusalem, though in stages over several years. Still, the idea of pilgrimage seems pretty universal, and for the first time, I had to wonder, when my mom walked all the way from Siberia to Korea, how long it took, who helped her, and whether she had any signs to follow. The next time I can hire a messenger albatross, I should ask her. Woodchuck might know too, but he was pretty young when it happened.
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I spent the remainder of the afternoon aimlessly wandering. There is so much to see in Santiago—museums, relics, bakeries—that it’s kind of overwhelming, especially at the tail end of a long journey. I wandered for the rest of the morning and long into the afternoon. I sat on the Cathedral step and listened to the rotating gaita players for a while, had a double-take at USC (the University of Santiago de Compostela), and made a few passes of the bakeries offering free samples! No matter how many times I went back, they kept handing me pieces of Tarta de Santiago and some amazing almond cookies!
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I joined Steven and Jean for a picnic in the Carballeira de Santa Susana. Tomorrow, they will both take a 24-hour train ride back to Paris and their pre-Camino lives. I wonder how things will be different for us when we return to our homes. Maybe we’ll walk more, meet more people, or even embrace that part of Spanish culture we’d found most frustrating: the siesta!
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The Finisterre crew confirmed over dinner that there was some beautiful country to be seen that way, which finalized my decision. Tomorrow, while the others head east, I shall head west to the lighthouse at the end of the world! Though our dining partner, a Jesuit priest, reiterated that Santiago is the real destination and Finisterre is just a new-age, party town, I feel differently. Something is calling me to the sea, and though these pre-Christian routes have plenty of age, they are hardly new!
This was a great day of recovery, both physically and spiritually after yesterday’s string of disappointments. Now, with a new goal in mind, and no one else to set my pace, maybe I’ll learn the most important lesson yet from the Camino. And who knows? Maybe, once I’ve walked to the end of the world, I’ll find George sitting there, waiting for me! Wouldn’t that be something?
Buen Camino!
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Total Distance Walked: 759.1 km (465.5 mi) |
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