Day XXX: Pedrouzo -> Santiago de Compostela; 12.7mi.
Total: 491.9mi.
The four of us stopped for a beer about a mile before our final destination. I think we simultaneously wanted to drag our trek out a tiny bit longer and try and fathom what reaching the cathedral would be like. But trying to imagine that moment was as impossible as trying to fathom what walking for thirty days in a row would be like thirty days ago.
We finished our beers and picked our packs up for the last official time. A few minutes later, my friend announced that he had seen a sign that stated we had 1,000 meters to go. I quickly converted that distance in the way my brain can still comprehend thanks to four years of high school track and field. Two and a half laps, barely over what I did every single day as a warm up.
I turned every corner with more anticipation than the last until I finally saw a steeple in the distance. I temporarily forgot to breath.
Then I saw a lady taking groceries out of her car. That will be me in less than a week, I sighed before snapping back into the present.
I passed two friends. “This is happening!” one of them said. “We’re doing this!!” I responded.
It’s mostly a blur from there, but suddenly we were sitting amongst hundreds of people at the base of Cathedral Santiago de Compostela. The culmination of thirty days and 491.9 miles on foot.
Cheryl Strayed’s words popped into my head as I sat there: “I didn’t feel sad or happy. I didn’t feel proud or ashamed. I only felt that in spite of all the things I’d done wrong, in getting myself here, I’d done right.” I usually like coming up with my own words for moments like this, but those fit perfectly so I let them stay.
I don’t think the reality of finishing hit me until we were in the pilgrims office getting our certificates a few hours later.”Buen Camino .. home,” the lady told me as I walked away. My eyes teared up as I realized how much I’d miss hearing those two words.
Or maybe it still hasn’t fully hit me. I’m sure it will unfold in phases.
🛏:
Thanks, airbnb! This will be the first room we have for two nights in a row since our trip began.
thedandelionforest.com 
A meaningful accomplishment. Congratulations
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Congrats!! It seems like such a long hike thru Santiago before you actually get to the cathedral, but well worth the anticipation! The reconstruction seems to be ongoing. Staying for pilgrim mass and the giant incense burning tomorrow? My Catholic upbringing made it compelling!
What a journey . . . and great timing for transitions in your life! Thanks for sharing your unique insights! Buen Camino!
Deborah & Rich
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I am totally in awe of your accomplishment! I have looked forward with great anticipation for your blogs. I will miss those but can’t wait to hug you!! Sometimes it seems like life can be full of painful blisters, but they do eventually heal. I’ve been praying that your heart will heal even while it still hurts.
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Seeing James tomb in the Cathedral in Santiago:
James and John were two of Jesus’ twelve disciples, known as the “sons of thunder.” They were called by Jesus while mending their nets in a boat with their father Zebedee. “[T]hey straightway left the boat and their father, and followed him.” Matt. 4:21-22.
James, a Jew, believed that Jesus was the Messiah — “a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” Isaiah 9:6-7.
James was beheaded for that belief by Herod Agrippa (the first disciple martyred) about 10 years after Jesus’ death. His followers took his body to Finestere (Fisterra) — then the farthest west point known to man — the “end of the earth” (Finis Terrae), so his body could be closest to God.
James’ body is now in the Cathedral in nearby Santiago, the location of third largest Christian pilgrimage destination in the world. A pilgrimage is defined as “a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion.” Many who travel the Camino de Santiago— the Way of St. James — do just that.
Buen Camino. ❤️
Dave
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Buen Camino, Dave. ❤️
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