Santiago

This is a very difficult blog entry to write.  How do I tell you of the many and varied emotions that one feels after having planned something for many years, spends 34 days realizing the dream and then in a few moments have it all come together?  As it had from the very beginning, the Camino presented the ending to me in unexpected ways.

We started out on Saturday morning about 20k from Santiago; a relatively easy day considering..... The morning was spectacular, light mist on the trees with sunlight streaming through as we walked past one small village after another.  There were a few more hills - of course, the final one Monte Gozo seemed to be considerably further away than the way markers indicated.  At one point we walked so far on a long straight road with no camino signs that we thought we were on the wrong road.  Finally we could see the odd modern sculpture that marked the first place that we could see the city of Santiago and the spires of the cathedral from.  Traditionally, the first person in your group to spot the spires from this hilltop and to call out "Mount Joy" becomes the King.  The spires are now almost hidden behind a stand of trees, but Robert spotted them and just as he was pointing to them the sun shone on them and we all shouted "Mount Joy" at once!

We still had about 5k to cover before we got to the Cathedral so we started out, watching the black clouds gather over the city.  Andre was carrying a litre of wine and a picnic lunch so at the first park we came to we toasted our accomplishment and enjoyed our last meal on the road.  As we finally entered the old part of the city the rain clouds were more threatening.  We thought we heard thunder as we approached the Cathedral and the rain started with a vengeance!  It rained just like it had when we left St. Jean-Pied-de-Port - absolute buckets!  The thunder on the other hand was not thunder at all, it was the noise from a huge stage set up behind the cathedral.  There was a BMX bike race with the course set up around the square and a couple of Rap artists on the stage!  It jarred my senses completely - I had expected a peaceful arrival at this special place, what we got was a shock to the system.  There could not have been a worse arrival for me, it was too much, I burst into tears.  It seemed so wrong, so sacrilegious, so surreal.   We escaped the rain through the side door of the cathedral and were overwhelmed by the grandeur.  It is too much to take in all at once so we just wandered in complete awe for a few moments before deciding that we needed to get our Compostella and find our hotels.  At last we found our way to the pilgrim office so we could receive our Compostella; the piece of paper that we walked the better part of 800k to receive.  Of course the office was upstairs; and as we waited in the queue we recognized many pilgrims we had befriended or greeted along the Way.  More tears, this time of joy and relief!

Our hotel was a converted monastery just across a small square from the cathedral.  The room was an updated cell, very pretty but also quite small.  The outer walls were a meter thick, and there was a lovely garden where the cloister would have been.  It was a perfect place to stay at the end of our pilgrimage.

The next morning we had arranged to meet Tony in front of the cathedral to attend the pilgrim's mass.  There was a bit of confusion about the time for the mass so we actually attended two, the first one being a regular mass and the second one the pilgrim's.  As usual, my expectations were different than reality.  Crowds of people continuously moved through the cathedral; tour groups, pilgrims, people confessing their sins in the booths along the side aisles.  Not a quiet reverent place at all, it was a bustling centre of activity.  As the first mass was drawing to a close there was a mad rush of pilgrims pushing their way to the prime seats for the next "show".  Out of the speakers came the most amazing woman's voice asking for silence in the cathedral.  The noise settled and all of a sudden there was the "voice of an angel" that I had heard about, the nun singing so sweetly it made me weep.  None of the annoyances mattered any more, I just wanted to hear her sing.  The peace and serenity I sought was there in her voice, the entire trip was worth it, just to sit in that incredible cathedral and hear her sing.  And finally the icing on the cake!  The botafumeiro was lifted into the air and swung through the cathedral with such drama.  More tears!

As we left the mass Megan reminded me that through out the ages there has been entertainment and activity around the cathedral and that the pilgrims have always behaved badly by pushing and shoving their way to the altar, apparently at one point the cathedral had to be re-sanctified because of pilgrims misdeeds.  So I spent some time rethinking my reaction to the Rap music and the BMX bike race; it is a modern day type of entertainment, the equivalent of a medieval travelling entertainment circus.  If you are familiar with the old movie Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead  you will understand the type of show I'm referring to.

Megan and Andre had to catch the train to Madrid so we spent our last bit of time together quickly scouring the many souvenir shops before our tearful good-byes.  We were so happy that they joined us on our journey.  Their arrival could not have been better timed as we had become a bit disheartened and having their youth and energy to encourage us was exactly what we needed.  They were fun to spend time with and we all respected each others need to have time to walk and contemplate alone at times.  Perfect travelling friends.

Sunday evening Robert and I finally toured the cathedral with the audio translator.  The building itself is a marvel and the artwork amazing.  The sense of peace that I was seeking turned out to be behind the altar where a statue of Santiago (St. James) is available for embracing.  Not being Catholic and so having limited exposure to saints I did not expect to be moved by the simple act of hugging a silver statue.  I have to say that James and I had a moment!  I was carrying a little gift for him from a young woman in Calgary who had prayed to Santiago during a difficult pregnancy promising that she would send him something if her baby had a safe arrival.  Her little girl is a healthy little 4-year old and the Saint has his gift.  My job was done.

I have accepted that our arrival in Santiago was not what I expected, but it was certainly unique.  No one can say that our Camino experience was not interesting!  In retrospect I would not change it for anything!