Ending the Camiño was like an amplified version of the feeling I sometimes get at the end of the semester. That moment when the grades are in and the work is done and you’re kind of left wondering, what’s next?
That’s how the last several days have felt times 100 as I’ve adjusted to being finished with the walk. When your life revolves around walking 6-8 hours a day, you sink into a very simple life. You wake up, you walk, you eat, you walk, then you rest. And because you’ve just walked 6-8 hours that rest isn’t conflicted with thoughts of work that needs to be done or other concerns. It’s simply a gratitude that you’re done walking for that day and that’s really it.
It makes for a simple, rather carefree mindset because you truly have no other responsibility than walking and getting ready for the next day’s walk. And given how little stuff you have, even the preparation for the next day is pretty simple. Rinse out the socks and undies, take a shower, hang up everything to dry, and have dinner. That’s basically it.
Anyway, once the walk is done, that anchor of the daily walk is gone and reality begins to intrude. That’s exacerbated by the loss of the crew I’d been part of, the group of friends who were always there at the end of the day. And, those others who came and went to add some international flavor to our little group of Americans and one Englishman.
So, spent a day in Fisterra exploring that town and the beaches. Weather was mixed so didn’t really swim, but enjoyed the views.
Held a farewell photo shoot for the shoes that served me so well on the trek. Topo Umtraventure 2, 10 of 10 would recommend. That had a good life and treated me well across Spain, where the rain did not fall mainly on the plains, but on the coast.
Then it was back to Santiago, a 2 hour bus ride. Went to the Cathedral museum which was a bit of a disappointment after the really good Pilgrims Museum, but still had some interesting stuff.
Then a train ride to Madrid, where I was born but moved away from when I was still a baby so have no memory of. This is definitely a city I want to come back to, but maybe not in summer. I was lucky and it was only 90 when I was here but it’s going to be over 100 next week and the ‘ac’ in my hotel was woefully inadequate for those kind of temps.
Went full tourist here, visited the crypts and the cathedral and the Royal Collection museum which is really well designed to utilize the topography of the bluff on which it is located. Basically, the museum starts at the top and you go down a series of ramps that travel across time until you’re at the bottom of the bluff. Really clever architecture and museum design.
A note on the crypts, many of them had names and birthdates of people who haven’t died yet. Like family crypts where people would be buried upon their death. I know we all will die one day, but it would kind of freak me out to see my name on a stone and know that’s where my body will end up one day. I don’t need the physical reminder…
But, Madrid is a very cool city, it was a little weird to be back in a place where there’s a Starbucks and McDonalds every other block after not seeing those for a month.
Now, I’m at the Madrid airport waiting for my flight to Amsterdam Amster-DAMN as Caine would say) then home. It’s been a great trip but I’m definitely ready to be home. Once I finished the walk, the purpose of the trip was done and I was ready to get back to reality, despite the difficulty there will be in adjusting.
Flowers in Santiago
Madrid
Why can’t we build apartments over retail that look this nice, instead of the generic, terrible ones we insist on dumping on very thoroughfare out there?
A Garden of Statues without any statues, very unsatisfying…
Cathedral
