I made it!

Deep feelings of gratitude

Okay, let’s start with the obligatory finish line photo!

I didn’t see any of my friends in the square, so a stranger took this photo.

I had a pretty easy walk into Santiago, but was pushing it a little bit because I wanted to get there in time to try to connect with some friends and also line up for entry into the pilgrim mass at the cathedral. I had heard that the line would wrap around the church, and it did. I managed to get there about 20 minutes before the service started.

I deliberately chose to walk alone today, as I wanted a last opportunity on the trail to think about the reasons that I wanted to walk the Camino. Interestingly, my mind wandered more to things that had happened over the last five weeks and to a sense of relief that I can discontinue my Camino daily prep routine. I’ve written frequently about the food challenges, the temperature in my room, researching the next stage and prepping my food and gear each night for the next morning. Because I brought very little in the way of clothing, I washed my clothes by hand most days and I’m really eager not to do that again as it’s more time consuming than you might think. So these are some of the things that I was happy that I won’t need to do anymore. Kind of strange musings at the end of nearly 500 miles of walking, but each time I tried to move my mind back to the purposes of my trip, it just felt forced. Maybe I’ve done enough real thinking and reflecting for the time being.

Before sharing about my arrival in the cathedral square, here are some photos from the final walk.

I can’t imagine ever getting tired of the smell of these eucalyptus trees

There was fair amount of asphalt today, but fortunately, there were some sections like this with softer areas to walk on. My feet were grateful.

My first glimpse of the cathedral towers came only minutes before my arrival

I didn’t know what to expect upon entering the square but it was a bit anticlimactic. I wasn’t sure if I would feel emotional, jubilant or what, but I just remember thinking “OK, I made it.” There were quite a number of school children and random tourists in the square. I didn’t see a lot of pilgrims and certainly none that I knew which really surprised me. We didn’t make any formal plans about meeting up, but I think we all assumed that we would just naturally see each other over the course of an hour or so.

The cathedral is quite an imposing building and the square around it is also quite impressive.

Soon after arriving, I made my way to the cathedral entrance queue and ran into Harry and his wife, who flew in from Virginia yesterday. The line was pretty long, but it moved quickly. I ended up on the side toward the back since all of the seats were filled. The mass was conducted entirely in Spanish, and I admit to not really focusing on it because I was really tired, but it was clearly geared toward pilgrims and the journey and challenges that we faced along the way.

Many of the people were probably there to see if the silver botafumeira (incense burner) would be hoisted and swung across the church. Unless it’s a religious holiday, it’s hit or miss as to whether you see it in motion. I’ve heard stories about people who have been to the cathedral over a dozen times and only saw it once or not at all.

I had read about the ritual of swinging the botafumeira, which began many hundreds of years ago because the smell of the arriving pilgrims was so unpleasant! In some photos, I saw that there was a team of men dressed in burgundy robes who managed the pulley system, so towards the end of the mass when I saw similarly clad men walking across the church, I got excited that they might be getting in position for the big event. I had prepared myself not to see this since it seemed unlikely, but just as so many things went right over the last five weeks, I was in the right place at the right time again today. Seeing this spectacle was actually more moving than reaching the finish line.

I recorded a video of the ritual which begins with gentle swings from left to right and grows to a very high and wide arc before it is allowed to return to a resting position on its own. Unfortunately, the file is too big for this blog, but here is a photo of the botafumeira that I shot on the way out. It doesn’t look that big, but it is over 4 feet tall.

There were clouds of smoke and a strong smell of incense as the botafumeira swung

I had lunch and dinner with friends today and also checked into a studio apartment that I am renting tonight and tomorrow night. It’s a significant upgrade over the accommodations I have been staying in over the last five weeks and I’m eager to sleep well tonight. I cancelled my 5:30 AM alarm this morning and will let myself sleep as long as I want tomorrow.

Overall, I’m feeling a deep sense of gratitude for having such an amazing opportunity, for my body allowing me to put it through so many days of walking, and for the incredible support from family and friends. I really enjoyed writing this blog, as it has helped me reflect on the experiences of each day. The fact that people have followed along and cheered me from afar has been such a gift.

I plan a few more posts about various aspects of the trip and what my first post-Camino walking day is like. I will leave Santiago on Sunday morning for Porto, Portugal, where I will spend three full days before coming back to the U.S. on May 6.

Thanks for joining me on this journey!

Here’s today’s one minute video with extra photos.