Susan Gilbert

June 14th – As Buzz Lightyear would say, today is “To Santiago and beyond!”

It is raining outside and feels like the kind of rain that will last all day.  My heart is full with one part joy for this experience and one part sadness that the walking ends today.  Santiago has never really been my goal but step by step each day I came closer to the destination.  What a mixture of feelings bubble up inside me.  Everything feels different to me even though there are still patches of forest and eucalyptus leaves pressed by pilgrim shoes provides a heavenly scent on today’s journey.

Winding my way through the suburbs I see children being brought to school – just a normal day in their lives while for me this day is both a banner day and anti climactic at the same time.  It’s taken 37 days on the path to arrive at this place, resting for two.  In a very short while I can say I walked 780 kilometers (about 500 miles) on the Camino de Santiago.  More importantly my inner journey has no measurement in time or space.

The path is busy this morning with many pilgrims – their colored raincoats, backpack covers and ponchos adding to the festivities.

This sign lets me know only 4.7 kilometers to go.

I know I am getting closer when I start to see the Camino signs in the pavement.  Soon I can see the church spire sticking out between the winding streets.  There are pilgrims around me as well as the normal city bustle of the locals and I walk with the flow.

I’ve arrived!  It’s all a bit surreal and I have the same mixed emotions I’ve experienced all day:  elation, awe, joy as well as sadness that the physical journey has come to an end.

I’ll attend the noon pilgrims mass tomorrow and for now head to the pilgrims office where I’ve heard I’ll face a one hour plus line to present my credentials and receive my Compenstella.

This won’t be my last post.  I know that the Camino is now a part of me.  I’m going to Finesterre tomorrow then beginning my departure back to Seattle the following day.  You’ll be hearing from me again soon.

June 13th – Today’s walk will take me to within 10k of Santiago and I slow the day down even more to enjoy and experience.  I leave later than normal, meet Pauline for breakfast and walk at a normal pilgrims pace.  No flying pilgrim today.

This next to the last day on the path is about forests and friendship.  We meet up with Kim and Sue at one of the bars where we stopped for a break them continued on together.

The dense eucalyptus forest provide a lovely scented shaded atmosphere that is different than the hamlets and farmlands that have been the norm.  When the animals do appear I’m more aware.  This gal separated from her herd and surprised  us as she drank from the stream right next to where we walked.

We notice a dog who is drinking water and he stops lapping long enough to notice us.  That’s the “Way”.

Today I reached the airport and the beginning is Santiago’s suburbs, so I leave behind the rural Camino in this final stretch.  It’s been worthwhile to walk a bit extra today for a total of 17 miles so that I can reach the Cathedral tomorrow in slow motion and in time for the Pilgrim mass at 12 noon.  Time itself is a journey.

June 12th – Today’s walk is in and out of forests initially, first eucalyptus trees tall and fragrant then up into an ancient oak woods.  I walk thru the small hamlets of O Coto and Leboreiro with their medieval bridges and churches and walking the Camino is a joy I will never tire of…

The Camino surprise of the day is when I see sheep running down the path being herded by a woman who calls out to them.

I’m conscious of my desire to stay present but can feel the shift in both me and my surroundings after the first couple of hours have passed.  The path comes out of the woods and runs parallel N-547 with industrial parks making me wonder if this is what the remainder of the Camino will be like.  There is only tomorrow’s walk before my final day into Santiago the following day which I know is mostly suburbs.

I’m looking forward to Melide, my next town, where the regional specialty is octopus (pulpa).

I find Pauline at one pulpa restaurant along with Kim and Sue at another.  The four of us head out of town together and return to the path once again.  It’s a blessing to be with these three women who have shared the Camino  journey with me.

(Kim and Sue on the path.)

I am very happy to find after leaving Melide that there are more country villages and sweet surprises that includes this sleeping dog with its lambs.

My day ends with what will probably be my last long walk of 19 1/2 miles.  I am almost to Santiago.

39.500 kilometers to go.

June 11th – I walk back across the bridge over the rio Torres and reservoir that brought me to Portomarin.  The path quickly turns off the road onto a dense woodland path.  Low clouds form a mist that makes me feel I am in the cacoon of the Camino.

The morning warms quickly especially as the path leaves the shadow of the trees and I stop to remove my coat.   My hand brushes against my hair and I am surprised that it is dripping wet.  ‘Baptized by the Camino’ was the thought that flew into my head.

The Camino is magical.

I opened my ears four weeks ago and asked the Camino to speak to and guide me.  What I have heard is:  stay open to the being of my life – feel more joy, let the superficial drop away and embrace those things not yet tried: paint, learn a foreign language, be open to receive,  see the beauty in every day and practice acceptance for whatever the path presents.  As these last few days bring my physical walking to an end I pray that my inner journey continues long after I return home.

Ventas de Naron is just before my high point today, Sierra Ligonde.  There is a very small chapel here, Capela de Magdalene, where a man welcomes me and calls me forward to have my passport stamped.  He takes my hand in his and we stamp it together as I realize he is blind yet he ‘saw’ me enter.

I stopped at Casa Garcia, Gonzar for coffee and again later at a small Albergue at Ligonde when Kelly from Texas called me in.  Her church group is working with a beautiful little Albergue here and she offered free water, coffee and clean bathrooms, the later being something I could not pass by! It was a lovely little oasis just a little halfway to my destination of the day.

Blue skies and lovely farmland prevail through the day and when I came across these sleeping pigs I thought how nice a short nap would be when I arrive at my destination with 16 miles walked for the day.

June 10th – I’m staying at a pension in the city but the rooster whose crowing wakes me sounds like he is right under my window.  Last night was an unusual evening spent with old and new pilgrim friends at a dinner that lasted until almost midnight which meant it was much later before I could go to sleep.  I’m usually up before my alarm but today it was hard to get out of bed.

Walking out of Sarria I was imagining what it is like for the new pilgrims who start the Camino here.  Watching the leave I see their fresh clothes and shoes along with a spring in their steps – so different than the pilgrims who walk slowly and often with a limp who have been on the path.  Leaving Sarria the walk is easy – no big hills up or down – and the scenery serene as it winds through the rural roads and across dirt paths.  It would be a great way to start.

With only a few days left I find myself stopping more often to just look and feel.  The Camino is always full of surprises and today is no different.  The flashing red lights were a new experience (Be sure to watch the video to completion for an added surprise) but even more so that the signal to Stop, Look and Listen mirrored my behavior this morning.

Yep, that was my RunTracker app so you got to hear what I hear periodically as I walk!

Soon afterwards I see the donkey I’ve seen on the path and walking thru the town of Sarria last night.  I stop to talk with the owner, Roland and find that he and Rocinante have walked from Finesterre to Burgos and are now returning.  They have their own website rolandante.blog.hu , Facebook page and pilgrim credential stamp.  I am missing my animals and this is an especially fun meeting for me on the Camino.

Continuing down the path I hear music.  Not knowing its source I start taking a video.

How I will miss these surprises when I return home!

This is farmland and the farmers and their animals surround me.

The marlet I’ve been waiting for finally arrives – less than 100k to Santiago!  It’s not that I want my journey to end – it’s just that I am amazed by how far I have walked.

A sweet little cafe with Bob Marley’s “We are the children” floating onto the path lets me know I am not far from Portomarin.

I am pleasantly surprised to see my next stop is located at a large reservoir and river.  Portomarin is my home for tonight.

June 9th – I awoke at dawn this morning and in a very short time while I was getting ready heard the sheep across the road moving out into the pasture making their sweet sounds.  Today I walk to Sarria and in an attempt to slow down the soon end to my Camino I take the long route via Samos where one of the oldest Benedictine monasteries which is one of the oldest and largest in Spain can be found.  This slightly longer path I am walking with pilgrim friend Tim who also wants to see the Monestary.  The path begins along the road then goes into the woodlands weaving its way along the cow paths.  Such a fun surprise to be greeted by some being herded bu a man and his dog.  As he passes he jokingly holds how his hand for money for the video being taken then laughs at the spoof.

It isn’t long before we come upon the town of Samos and the large monastery that dwarfs it.

It feels like time has stood still here.

We have coffee and pastries before the tour begins at 10:30.  Afterwards I move on quickly towards Sarria where I will meet up with Pauline, Kim and Sue.

The forest paths are enchanting and this cat in his forest bed seems to sum up the contentment I feel in my soul.  The water flows over the rio Sarria and my cup of gratitude equally is rich and full.

I reach  the pension in Sarria where I spend the night and pause for a cold drink before taking a well anticipated shower.  Out the cafe window I see the pilgrim with his donkey walk by.  The Camino is full of surprise and gifts.