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Thoughts after the Camino

  So, back home. Back to Beeston with its Beekeeper seat statue. Mass this morning with people I know; and unlike the slight chaos of the multi-background Masses along the way, everyone stands, sits and kneels at the same times. A quick shop for the stuff I need to tide me over to a proper shop during the week. Drinks with family rather than with Camino friends. I said in my last post from Santiago that I was a little sad that it was coming to an end. But I don't think it is an end. I think I'll be walking the Camino again - probably a different route, but it's still the Camino. (And if I do next time I'll take a Bluetooth keyboard. Phone ones really don't encourage longer text!) On the Camino one finds togetherness. The life of the Albergue; living alongside, sometimes uncomfortably alongside, other people in their humanity. Walking with people - feeling together the fatigue and the blisters, and the lifted spirits and the joys. Talking to people, someti...
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Back Home

Just a quick post, so you all know I'm home safely.  Definitely hairier, but I'll break out the trimmer before bed!
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Santiago (4)

Today could have been very difficult. It would have been - should have been - our 44th wedding anniversary. I hadn't much to fill the day. But it sufficed, and in wandering round Santiago, taking some of the backstreets to see where they went, and in a few bits of shopping for souvenirs (all the souvenir shops have nearly the same stuff, but not quite!), time passed.   And I still had a stone destined for Santiago - not the one that's coming home. There's a surprisingly quiet garden opposite the exit from the Cathedral. Everyone passing is either coming into the square at the end of their Camino, or hurrying out of it, and the garden is overlooked - I'd overlooked it until today. There's a statue of Pope St John Paul II there, the Pope in whose time we married, and all our children were born. So he can look after that stone for me. Time for a coffee or two, and for lunch. And then for trying to pack; fitting the walking s...
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Santiago (3) - a tour in Galicia

I'd booked a half day tour of Fistera and Muxia, but then had a phone call from the organiser saying that as few people had booked the half day I'd been transferred to a full-day version (at the same price).  This meant getting on the move a little earlier, but it was well worth it.   The tour started at 9 on the other side of the centre of Santiago.  Arrived, registered just after a lady who had had to leave the queue to get phone signal to retrieve her ticket.  I kept her place for her, and then found mine wouldn't reload either - but it turned out not to matter as they had the list of people and didn't check the tickets anyway. Everyone else was in twos or fours - so I ended up talking to her (she was Mantina, from Prague, and had walked the Camino Portuguese from Porto) while we waited for the coach and we stayed together for the day.  Which was really nice. The tour covered the ria at Noia (a ria is the Galician equivalent of a fjord), Muro...
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Santiago (2)

Yesterday's post was brief, and with good reason - not only was arriving a little overwhelming, but there didn't seem to be much time in the rest of the day! So, rewind a little.  The hostel in O Pedrouso was a good one, with beds with curtains and well laid out.   We found food just across the road, and Ben had his first pilgrim menu. Yesterday morning we started with just 19km to go.  The route was quite busy, and initially quite dark as we were fairly early.   The sun came up and chased away the early mistiness, and we walked on through a fairly hilly, wooded section, finding breakfast at a cafe called 'km15', which was actually 16km from Santiago.  This featured a ridiculously large pain au chocolat - which seems to be normal around here. We shared it! The next stage took us round the airport perimeter and then up and down a few more hills, overall rising steadily until Santiago appeared below us, the Cathedral t...
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SANTIAGO!!

Wow.  We have arrived. And by way of a total surprise, Mary - who basically told me to come on the Camino - and her fiancé, Simon, were there to greet us  Most of the afternoon has involved drinks with them and one or two other people I've met along the Way.   And we're planning drinks and food this evening. I'm going to add more in tomorrow's post.  For today, that's all I can say.
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O Pedrouso

An Albergue with a pool, but it's rather too chilly to use! 19km left.   That's pretty unbelievable. A really good meal yesterday with Ben.   After checking in and a rest we went back about half a kilometre and down quite a steep hill to the restaurant, and decided to order a bottle of wine to drink before and during the meal.   It was a bit early to eat, and we understood the waitress to say that the kitchen didn't open until 6. So shortly before that we decided what to eat, then found that we'd misunderstood - the kitchen was closed from 6 to 7.   More wine was consumed - and we moved inside as it was getting cooler. When we did get food, though, it was very good, and plentiful - a plate of cold meats, grilled octopus, and scallops.  The climb back up the hill felt justified. Today we were off out into an initially dull morning at about 8, and found breakfast half an hour or so later in Arzua - Ben went f...
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