Well it felt strange to be staying 19km from our final destination. But that’s the way it is, there was no way we could have done more than 28 k’s and a day at this stage. The accommodation was okay but it wasn’t anything special. As I said yesterday we went up the road for a lovely lunch and then I came back to rest my feet at the accomodation. I decided that I couldn’t handle walking out for dinner again which was probably 500m or more up the road. So I stayed back at the accomodation had a rest and then organised my stuff for the final day of walking.
There are definitely mixed emotions about finishing tomorrow, my feet are crying out for a break but my head and heart want to go on with Ray to Fisterra. I wanted to do it but I have to admit that I have reached the point where the pain is telling me it is time to stop. We agreed that we would get up at 5:00am and start walking at 5:30am to get to Santiago early and be in time for the 12:00pm pilgrims mass. And to be able to do our credentials and get our certificates. We rose at 5:00am and there were already others up getting ready to head out. We packed our stuff and got ready for the last walk together.
Then we headed outside I shared a Celtic prayer that Yona had sent me and then prayed for our day. I thanked God for the journey for his faithfulness and provision for each of us. I acknowledged all the richness of our time together on the Camino. But also the challenges the pain and the injuries. I asked that God would strengthen us for this last stage and allow us to celebrate the completion of a massive journey. Then we headed off. Looking at the map it was actually faster for us to back track slightly rejoin the route as the town we stayed at was a bypass. So when we got there it was pitch black walking through forest. We had our head torches on and the slowly came up on some other pilgrims. There was a sense of excitement and anticipation to reach the end. Bryce and I were at the front of a group for a while but it is horrible having people waking right behind you. So we stopped to let them pass and for Ray and Rory to catch up.
While we didn’t want to muck around we decided that there was no point at going at break neck speed either as we had plenty of time. Watching the km’s click down on the signs was slightly surreal. As we back tracked it was 20kms then 19, 18,17,15 and then before you knew it we were at 10km. Hard to believe after a month of walking that we were suddenly 10kms from our destination. I thought there would be more walking through industrial areas as we approached the city. But we stopped for a coffee at about the 5km mark and it was still very fringe. We had a coffee and some food and the headed off again. 5 turned into 4km and then we could see the top of the cathedral. We started walking through city streets and the anticipation was building.
We had rented an apartment near the cathedral for two nights and Rory and Bryce were keen to drop their gear off there. Thankfully they were happy for us to do that. I took some things out of my pack to lighten the load and then we walked the last couple of kms to the cathedral. It felt weird there were pilgrims all over the place and others heading in the same direction as us.
There was a woman playing the Spanish Bagpipes in an arch way we walked past her and turned a corner and suddenly we were there. I got emotional we were in the courtyard of the Santiago Cathedral Ray and I went and touched the building and I yelled out yes! Then we took some photos in the square. After a few mins I noticed Lia from Nelson and she was by herself so I yelled out and called her over and we took some more pictures together lots of hugs and tears. Then we got together and prayed, I invited Lia to join us and I gave thanks for the journey. After we finished praying we were heading to the offical office to get our credentials verified and get our certificates.
As we walked off Lia said to me the other day when I hurt my ankle and you prayed for it stopped hurting about 5mins later. I said to her well our God does heal and he does care about you Lia. She came with us to the office. We said we were a group of 5 including Lia and so we had registered online and headed through past the queues downstairs. We meet with a guy on staff and he asked for our forms and credentials and said that in a few minutes they would call us to come forward and get our certificates. And sure enough they called us and then presented us with a mileage certificate and then a Latin certificate saying we had completed the Francés Camino. Such a strange feeling but also a feeling of huge satisfaction. I purchased a couple of souvenirs and then we were told leave you packs in the lockers and go up to cue for the pilgrims mass at 12:00pm. So we did and there weren’t many seats left so we found some spots to squeeze in it was packed. The service was mostly in Spanish but there was some English. The Highlight was the Botafumeiro which we had been told they weren’t using today but hey they did. It is a massive metal case that they put burning intense in and then 5 priests swing it using a big rope through out the Cathedral pretty exciting stuff. Hopefully I can get the video to upload. At the end of the service we headed off to find some food and had a lovely lunch together.
Next Ray and I headed back to get our backpacks and while we did I shared the word with him. The scripture was Ephesians 3 :14-21 Ray lost his older brother at 22years old a few years back and I felt to tell Ray how much God loves him. And even though his brother died Jesus cares about him and has a plan for his life and will be faithful to him if he puts his trust in him. That Jesus loves him more than he could ever fully grasp and through him he will be able to achieve infinitely more than he could ever possibly wish for or imagine. He was quite blown away and I need to sent it to him in a message to keep mulling over. (thanks for the prayers).
It feels so weird to finish I am really proud of what we have achieved the Camino Frances is no easy walk. Here are some stats we walked for 31days straight, no buses, taxis or any other vehicle just our feet. We walked just over 779kms when you count all the extra walking at the end of each day. We climbed 13,331m in accumulated accent and then dropped 13,246m decent. That might not mean much to you but if you drive from Wellington to Auckland it is only between 6000-7000m in accumulated accent. Which explains why it seemed like we were just about always walking uphill or downhill. Spain is a beautiful country and we have been so privileged to be able to walk this journey. I think it will change my outlook on life. I am so grateful for all of those who have supported and enabled me to be here for this journey.
Now time to have a rest and give my feet a break. I am still working on a plan for the next few days. But probably fly to Barcelona for a few days and then catch a fast train to Paris and fly home on the 4th June. But I will keep posting so follow along. Bye for now.
Nga mihi
Mike
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