marksabout

At the end of the world (as it was when Earth was flat…) Finisterre, there are a lot of green lizards sunbaking. BUT, even more fascinating, at the end of the world there is a fairly large rock which someone has spent a lot of time carving the word ´PANDO´ into. Clearly someone was waiting for me. And! The last town I stayed in before arriving in Santiago was called San Marcos. Coincidence? I don´t think so! Has the Camino changed me? It´s definitely made me a little more humble 😉

So I arrived. But only to Santiago on foot. The arrival was a bit strange, really. Santiago is fairly big so there´s a bit of a trudge through urban sprawl before you arrive in a huge plaza adjacent to the magnificent goal, the Cathedral. And it really is amazing. Huge. Anyways, a photo might better describe it… I was excepting a bit more of a welcome party, but instead of any such thing, the trickle of pilgrims got lost in the many busloads of people who had come to absolve their sins by walking through some arches and kissing a sarcophagus. One can only do this during a Annus Sanctus, which 2010 happens to be. I can tell you that I too waited two hours for a moment with the remains one of Jesus´ best mates, and I am now free of sin. Well not now, but I was then… For a moment. The walk should be penance as well. But I don´t see the fairness in a 70 year old doing the Camino for the first time get´s all THEIR sins forgiven – I suppose I´m in credit? But I digress, I was awarded the Compostella and had a moment of pride before heading to mass. Man that went ON. And on and… I was close to fainting. And the seats in the cathedral appear to be reserved for people who have come to Santiago on a day trip. BY BUS!

Then it was time to fiesta. Santiago might have a pretty important cathedral in the Catholic realm, but the place is teaming with bars that stay open til 8am. And they are full. Any night of the week. A group of us who had started the Camino alone had decided to finish it as a group, and so we had pretty big party even before the party. After a days rest, when the time came to pack my things and set off for another three days to Finisterre, I had severe anxiety pangs in my tummy, and played with the idea of perhaps maybe catching the bus. Truth be told, I still don´t have complete feeling in the toes on my right foot, 6 days on… When I broke the news to the other Babylonians (everyone was ESL and there was no common first language) I was supposed to be walking with, there was an obvious sense of relief and four of us decided to hire a car and cut the three day walking journey into a more manageable hour. We stayed in Finisterre for 2 nights, met another crew, ended up making a bonfire on the beach (both nights) and enjoying the sunset over the Atlantic. I also had a swim (during the day).

[I can’t change the orientation of some of the pics. Grrrr!!!]

I´m in Madrid now, and should probably go and enjoy it. So far, it´s AWESOME. Love it. So, Just quickly, if you asked for a shell, I combed the beach in Finisterre, and have one for you. In fact the process was somewhat addictive and I have quite a few extra.