Casting off....

Hola! Esteban here.  My Spanish is getting better;)  The Blogmeister is off again today.

We arrived in Santiago yesterday; 38 days and 504.2 miles since leaving St. Jean Pied de Port in France. That’s a lot of walking and for me, I got to make the trip with my best friend which makes it all the more extraordinary.  I’m a lucky man.

The old section of Santiago is beautiful and the architecture of some of the buildings is breathtaking.  Outside the old section, Santiago is similar to any other city or town with modern buildings and people going about the daily business of life.  There is one notable difference: a steady stream of people with backpacks, hiking boots, walking sticks and quickened steps as they make their way to the city center.  A view of Santiago from outer space probably looks like a bunch of ants milling around with one long, pronounced line of “ants” heading in the same direction moving at breakneck speeds.

Everyone walks quicker the closer they get to the end … a little like a moth being drawn to light.  And I suspect everyone feels a bit the same way: excitement and exhilaration about finishing a physical challenge mixed with a tinge of sadness that the journey and all that it entails is over.  When you finally make it to the square facing the cathedral you see a mass of people.  Lots of smiling faces, lots of hugs, boat loads of photo-taking, and tears.  Even the most calloused or stoic would be moved by these sights and sounds.  

Should the opportunity avail itself to you, we would advocate you consider this trek or one like it. You will meet some amazing people from the world over and you will become friends. Your shared experiences, laughter, blisters, aches, pains and general toil, will bind you to them forever even though your paths may never cross again.  It is something special.

In closing I’ll end with a quote from a memorial marker I saw along the trail that generally captures my takeaway from this trip: The boat is safer anchored at the port, but that’s not the aim of boats.  Amen.

Thanks for sharing the journey.

Buen Camino.


Comments

Unknown said…
Amazing amazing! Mountains to Sea trail next?!
October 10, 2019 at 7:18 PM
Unknown said…
Amazing amazing! Mountains to Sea trail next?!
October 10, 2019 at 7:18 PM
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