“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Life the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau
Tomorrow is the big day. We will finally arrive in Santiago after hiking for 40 days plus one rest day…and including a detour that added 2 extra days and about 40+ miles. It’s felt like an eternity in one sense and the blink of an eye on another.
This morning we all jumped out of bed early and hit the trail. The moon was still up when we walked out the door. We needed to walk 20km (12.4 miles) quickly so we could find beds in the next major town and the halfway point to Santiago. We have officially blended trails with the Frances (the original way) and it is a zoo! People are everywhere so accommodations have become scarce. It’s a little stressful, not gonna lie. Last week we booked two nights in Santiago because we knew there would be a ton of pilgrims but we also heard there is a huge music festival happening and that has taken the overflow rooms and prices have skyrocketed. Luckily, we booked in a pilgrim hostel for 22€ a night…otherwise hotels are starting at 350€ a night. Ugh. Thank goodness for the Pilgrim Passport. Anyhoo, we kicked it in high gear to O Pedrouzo (Arca) because of Caesar’s tip about one of the hostels catering to pilgrims who have hiked over 500km between the hours of noon-1pm. So we would get first dibs on beds if we made it in time. Which thank goodness we did. 🙏
Since we are near the end, we have merged with many people who are only hiking the last 100km (62 miles). This is a HOT BUTTON with the thru hikers. Here is why. To get the Compostela (certificate of completion) a pilgrim only needs to walk the final 100km. So the Camino turns into what I refer to as the Disneyland Camino. It becomes very commercial and “peopley” at this section of the trail. Cafés are located about every 800 meters, entrepreneurial artists have set up booths along the roadside selling trinkets, and restaurants strategically place advertising signs with pictures of the menus in trees and wedged in the shrubbery. Capitalism is everywhere, even on the heroes quest for enlightenment, am I right? All these new folks show up in their cute colorful (non-smelly) outfits with shiny new shoes and backpacks. Like the first day of school. They smell amazing, wear makeup and fix their hair. (I don’t think mine has properly been brushed in a month. Sexy.) They talk and sing and laugh really loud while they walk so the silence we once knew for the last 550 miles is now gone. They cut the lines at the cafés and race each other on the trail. It really pisses off a lot of people who have been hiking for weeks on end over difficult terrain for long distances (mostly in silence), in crappy weather while sleeping with a bunch of snoring people in sleeping bags on uncomfortable beds. We thru hikers are a beat up bunch by the end. We have a permanent stench to our clothes and bodies. Our skin has leathered and weathered. We have worked through so much personal emotional and mental baggage that meeting these people exposes a new layer that we haven’t mastered yet…and pisses us off even more. We have also become a safe Camino family that looks out for each other and is very aware of our surroundings and the vibes of the other pilgrims. We know each other’s routine and when to get close or give each other space. We have found our rhythm. Then, we get to the end and it’s like someone let all the monkeys loose. It’s a nut house. It’s kind of wild to watch the difference in the environments and behavior. Humans are fascinating creatures. It’s like all of a sudden you’re walking along quietly and a group of 14 people all wearing hot pink shirts and yoga pants are right in front of you talking about God knows what. You think, “did I just enter the matrix?”
I remember during my first Camino, it was shocking to the system. Now it doesn’t bother me so much. I just let them all go first and I smile because it doesn’t really matter in the end. We will all get to Santiago eventually. I remember what Song told me. “It’s everyone’s Camino to do how they please.” So I really don’t care what anyone else is doing. Even the bed situation doesn’t worry me too much because I do believe the Camino and universe will provide in one way or another. We may have to sleep on a church floor or pay too much for an AirB&B off the trail and take a taxi to and from it but we will find something. This tip Caesar gave us about the hostel was priceless though. Instead of knocking on doors and wasting a bunch of time, we went straight to the one place that would take us without a reservation. Ahhhh Camino magic. And in return, it pissed off the new hikers. We got beds before some of the others waiting in line and we watched the eyes roll. Eh, what are ya gonna do. I was happy and grateful they took our entire group…all seven of us! It’s kind of a goofy way to handle the situation but it’s Spain and such is life. We just have to roll with it. I have to trust that the outcome of these situations is for the highest good and growth of all. Sometimes the lessons aren’t easy to learn.
Here’s the other thing I’m learning, we all are at different stages of our lives in terms of, not only age and physicality, but also in internal growth. Apparently, I need a lot of help in that area, which is why I’ve hiked this damn thing 3x…over 1,500 miles in four years. Maybe these other folks just need a walk in the woods for a week to resolve whatever they’ve got going on. I don’t know and it’s really none of my business.
I met a woman from South America on my first hike and she was only doing the last 100km. At that point in time, I was judging her. I asked her why, what’s the point? I thought the big transformation takes more than one week of walking. Then she shared her story. She was a single mother and her kids were finally grown. She had been planning and saving for 15 years to walk The Way. She was older now and her health wasn’t as good and she didn’t have a ton of extra money to spend but she wanted to walk and she wanted the Compostela. She said, “Honey, I’ve been walking the Camino all my life. This is just the final walk to the Cathedral where I can say thank you.” Whoa. Ah-ha moment. I know that for the thru hikers, the newbies are annoying and we can be a little judgey about it. But unless we find out the story behind the person, we are actually the annoying ones…and possibly the newbies.
Dora said she read online that during the month of May, 25,000 Compostela’s were given out to people who completed the Frances (the original way) compared to only 1,500 on the Norte. 😳
Today Hyekyung got a phone call that her dog of 15 years is sick and in the hospital. Say a prayer for Coco…and for Hyekyung. ❤️🐾❤️
As a celebratory moment of getting this far, we ate ice cream at 10am. Life is short, eat dessert first.
Once we were settled with our accommodation, we went for lunch and beers. I had the Pulpo (octopus) and it was delicious.
I really enjoyed walking with our group today. These last few days feel like our friendship has bonded even deeper. I’m going to miss these guys and gals.
I met a woman at dinner tonight. Inge from Holland. I didn’t ask her her age but her and her husband have been married for 27-28 years and have been together 32. She lights up when she talks about him. She has been on the Norte for six weeks….and tomorrow she will meet her husband at the cathedral in Santiago. She said she has planned these six weeks alone for four years now and Leo, her hubs, has been totally supportive of this and all of her other adventures. Like the six months she spent in Pakistan to work with mentally and physically disabled children. ❤️Anyhoo, he was inspired to hike the two week trek from Porto to Santiago on the Portuguese Camino. They will both finish their Camino’s together tomorrow. How romantic. She definitely knows the secrets to a happy and healthy marriage.
I haven’t carried my backpack for two days now because of the leg but tomorrow I’m going to walk into Santiago with all my gear. Wish me luck!
Arzúa – O Pedrouzo (Arca) – 19.3km
Goodnight and much love from Spain.
