I am not often troubled by sentimentality, but now and then I go through something worth marking in memory and I succumb. Our recent completion of the El Camino de Santiago has been such an experience.
The last leg proved far tougher than the earlier sections. Admittedly this had a lot to do with two unexpected obstacles: a little toe on my right foot that only permitted walking once it had been elaborately strapped to its neighbours (a lengthy procedure which needed to be repeated several times a day); and a vicious bedbug attack! The latter was a decidedly unpleasant experience. We are not quite sure where the nasty critters first got a taste for our blood, but once they had, they were a real scourge! Intense itching from the numerous bites woke us on a nightly basis (especially from those excruciating ones on the fingers and toes) and bothered us for most of the daylight hours as well, to the point where we dubbed ourselves “itchy and scratchy” (the not unirritating theme tune from the classic simpsons cartoon-within-a-cartoon rattling around in our heads didn’t help our moods much either). It took several cycles of laundry and several doses of antihistamines and ibuprofen to get things under control, and even now we are not entirely sure there aren’t some of these hungry beasties lurking somewhere amidst our bags and belongings…
Needless to say, we weren’t very happy campers in these last few days, but the kilometre countdown as we drew closer and closer to the end did a lot to remedy this. For the last 100km (the distance that must be covered to officially qualify for the certificate proving that one has completed the pilgrimage), we were joined by a vast number of new walkers. This made for quite a change as we had grown used to quiet country rounds with the site of other humans a rather rare event. It did however make for a rather festive time and the distances seemed less daunting.
As the days passed (and with dodgy toe and bedbugs passengers finally playing nice) our excitement grew and grew. This fabled destination that had for weeks been hundreds of kilometres away, was finally just a few towns in the future.
On our final day of walking, we went through wonderfully cool eucalyptus forests and more sleepy towns but all we could think of was the end. And yet, as an avid walker, there was something about the routine of our days on the trail that I knew I was going to miss.
As we entered the outskirts of Santiago, the number of people following the route grew even more. Walking through the streets of a city again after so much time in open space was strange but as we finally entered the plaza in front of the cathedral (the majestic and famous end point of the pilgrimage), I felt elated.
Unlike many of the others walkers we met, we had not done this with any religious or spiritual purpose in mind but, having been through it, I can see how it fulfills people it that way. For me, it was at once a mental and physical challenge; a chance to be immersed in raw nature; and a means to gaining some perspective on the world and life. It is for these reasons that I succumbed to a little sentimentality and bought a t-shirt proudly displaying that I had reached Santiago.
After a much needed rest in a comfy hotel, lots of food and a little more light shopping (we are desperately trying to keep the weight of our bags down), we set off on a 19-hour bus trip bound for Algeciras with a ferry waiting at the other end to take us to Tangier on the shores of Africa and the waiting wonders of Morocco.
You’ll have to wait till next time to hear about that though. In the meanwhile, I encourage you to go out and do something you’ll feel proud enough of that you’ll want to buy the t-shirt. Hasta luego!
