Day 36

Day 36 – Arca to Santiago De Compostella
20k – 795k total

I was up at 5:30 and was on the road at 6:15am, a full two hours before sunrise today. I wanted to be in Santiago in time for the noon mass at the Cathedral of Santiago. I made it into town by 10:30, went to the post office to store by backpack till mid-afternoon and then walked around and people watched until about 11:30 when I went to the Church. The Church was very large and ornate. The mass was good and was ended with the swinging of the famous botafumeiro. Since the botafumeiro is not used in all the pilgrim masses, I feel lucky to have seen it. I videoed the swinging part of the service, be sure to check the link below for the video. The botafumeiro is basically a huge incense spreader that was used in olden days to cover the stench of unwashed pilgrims who had been on the road for weeks or months and definitely did not have the bathroom facilities that modern day pilgrims have access to help get rid of some of that stench. The botafumeiro is a 5 foot tall censer that is lit with incense, then several priests or monks control the swinging back and forth with a huge rope hung from a pulley on the rafters. As you watch it, you can imagine it being done that way for hundreds of years. A great tradition that lives into today’s time and makes the service even a little more special. Here is a link to the video of the botafumeiro.

After the service, I went to the Official Pilgrim Office and received my Compostela, a document of completion. It is printed in Latin, so I will have to brush up on the translation before I can tell you what is says, but to me, it says job well done team David.

I did see quite a few of the “regulars” that have been traveling together on and off for over four weeks. There were quite a few high fives, a lot of hugs and a ton of smiles. Yes, there is a sense of accomplishment, no matter the reason the Camino was traveled. Speaking of reasons for traveling the Camino, they were as varied as there are pilgrims. Several were there for health reasons, many for the physical challenge, some for various personal reasons and a few for religious reasons. The reason I say a few on religious reasons is that I am only talking about those that traveled the longer distances and not just the last 100k. Those were the starting reasons, the finishing reasons were entirely different, some realized it really was a religious experience, and not just a Catholic one, some found self discovery and were introduced to parts of themselves they never realized existed and finally, almost all found a community of friends that laughed, cried, had good times and shared pains together. There was a realization that when we get to the basics and strip all the trappings of our lives away, we are all equal and being equal makes it easy to like the person next to you, even if they can’t speak a lick of English and I can’t speak a lick of any other language.

I intend to write a few more posts as I decompress and try to absorb all that I have experienced on this adventure. Has this adventure changed me? Absolutely. How has it changed me? I don’t know yet, I need a little time to process. Would I do it again? Not tomorrow, but yes, I think I would. Would I suggest this experience to another? That is a tougher question due to the demands on the physical, mental and lifestyle challenges. This adventure is not for everyone, but it is rewarding for those that do accept the challenge. I think there are so many adventures in life, that we need to always let God lead us to our own adventure, maybe the Camino, maybe fishing in Montana, maybe suffering at a spa in Mexico or maybe taking grandchildren to Disnleyland!

I have been heading west every day on my feet, time to head west on a jet plane!

1 Corinthians 12:14

continue to day 37