Mio el Camino de Santiago de Compostela -20

Day 20 Santiago de Compostela --> Home


Time to go.


Early in the morning I visited the cathedral which was a few steps away from the hostel to say a little prayer, give my thanks and bid goodbye. At the cathedral front ground, I took some more pictures for the last time. Then I walked around to buy some souvenir items. But when I was in the store, I was staring at the items for sale and yet I felt no urge to buy anything. Not for my friends, not for my family, not even for me. I thought I was here not for a vacation. This was a journey, not a trip. The memory was far more than enough.


I wished I could attend the noon mass but my flight was at 1:00pm that I had to get to the airport before 12:00 noon. I was supposed to stay here for two full days. I was thinking, what if I continued the last leg of my itinerary as scheduled? But then again, there was no point thinking about what I could have done and then feel sorry about it.


So there I was, standing in front of the hostel waiting for a taxi. I looked at my luggage, my packaged bicycle, and I looked around. I was suddenly saddened by the notion of leaving. I thought, did an episode of my life just end? Was there something I missed? Was there anything I learned? It felt unfortunate that I could have had one more day here if I didn't get sick a couple of days ago. I felt like I didn't want to leave. I was about to feel really down when the taxi came. My luggage was hurled into the trunk and I slipped into the passenger seat. I was sure I'm going to miss this place.


As we drove away from Santiago de Compostela to the airport, it felt so comfortable. It was a sunny morning. I saw the bright road signs and remembered, just until yesterday, how much I depended on them on my way to Santiago de Compostela. I thought that although it felt comfortable in that running taxi, it was traversing the very same road where I experienced so many hardships on my bicycle. I got teary again. It would have been embarrassing had the driver noticed. But in case he'd have the curiosity or the audacity to ask, I've already made up an excuse that it was just the sun hurting my eyes.


I had my breakfast at the airport before boarding the plane. When the plane was taxiing, I saw the end tip of the runway. I know that beyond that runway, just right beneath those big runway guide lights, was the path peregrinos take to get to Santiago de Compostela. I bade my last farewell as the plane lifted off.


I'm going home.
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Mio el Camino de Santiago de Compostela -19

Day 19 Arzua --> Santiago de Compostela


I felt somehow invigorated this morning after a full night's rest. My stomach was still upset though.


I left the hostel as early as I could after eating a sandwich with hot tea for breakfast at the bar below. Even though I was pedaling in a hurry, from the corner of my eyes, I still managed to find a fruit stand off the road. So at last I bought my dream banana and ate two pieces at once. Surely enough, soon after, my stomach started to settle down.


There was no fog this morning so the sun got hot early after a couple of hours and it immediately slowed me down. I took the walk path today and it was tough for a bicycle. I thought that it would have taken me more time than the additional three hours I calculated yesterday had I decided to complete it as I originally scheduled. Now I realized it would have been too dark to see the path. But on the bright side, today I was able to see not only the way but also the surrounding beautiful sights in broad daylight.


It was no doubt Santiago de Compostela was getting nearer. I encountered the most pilgrims today. Having spent long days on the road, it had become easy for me to spot a pilgrim by just looking at their backpacks and the way they walked. I could also somehow estimate how far they have walked for their pilgrimage.


I reached the city of Santiago de Compostela. I was hoping to catch the 12noon mass for the pilgrims but I didn't arrive on time. As I entered the cathedral grounds, I began to slow down. Not because I got tired, but because I realized I had reached my goal and I was trying to take it all in. I stooped down from my bicycle and I walked, pushing the bicycle, towards the main facade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. I was thinking that a couple of weeks ago I was in Lourdes, France, worrying if I'd make this journey. Now, I made it. I stood there with my bicycle in front of the cathedral for a while, speechless, savoring every moment that I could. There were actually many other pilgrims and tourists around but it seemed it was only me, my bicycle and the towering cathedral that existed at that moment.


I went to the nearby pilgrim's office to claim my Compostela, the certificate that shows you completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Inside, I saw some pretentious pilgrim high school students. I may sound rude but the girls were wearing make up and the guys wore the latest brand sneakers sparkling clean. Almost all of them with headphones in their ears probably listening from their mp3 players. I saw some of them earlier today on my way, with their cute stylish backpacks. I couldn't see in their eyes any hint of sacrifice they have done or hardship encountered if ever they took the real Camino. Again, I reminded myself that I was there for my pilgrimage, my own Camino de Santiago.


I showed my credencial to the lady at the counter. The credencial served as evidence that you passed by a certain route covering at least a hundred kilometers walking, or two hundred kilometers by bicycle, horse or pony. I was asked some questions like where I started. After a while, I was given my Compostela with my name written in Latin. I thought I was being cool and composed. I thought I won't be emotional but as soon as I got hold of the Compostela, tears started welling up. I had to pretend looking for something around the office in order to hide my emotions. I almost cried. The hardships I encountered along the way suddenly flashed before my eyes. The aching knee from pushing too hard at the beginning of my journey, the aching ankle that followed, getting sick just before the end of the road, the snow and freezing cold mountains, the strong winds that kept pushing me back, the rain that left me and my bicycle covered in mud, the scorching heat that almost knocked me down. All these against my faith and determination.


I went back to the cathedral. I tried to pray inside but my mind felt nothing. I couldn't think of anything. My mind was in repose. I guess it was emotional fatigue or maybe I was experiencing a true and real emotional and spiritual serenity. There I was, just sitting...


After what felt like a moment of eternity, I left the church. I went out to look for something to eat. With my stomach back to normal now, I suddenly felt so starved. So I had a very fulfilling seafood lunch at 2:30 in the afternoon. After that, I walked around the old, maze-like narrow streets of Santiago de Compostela.


I went back to the cathedral in time for the opening of the doors that went up behind the altar where the statue of St. James was. I visited first the burial place of the apostle under the altar. Then, in line, I went up to touch the back of the shoulder of the statue of St. James. I have prepared a list of prayer, more like a speech actually, for this very moment since the beginning of my journey. Now that the moment's actually here, “thanks” was all I could whisper.

Now I could finally go to the hostel. I stayed at Casa Felisa, which was hard to find. The signage was small, which was understandable in order not to ruin the historical atmosphere of the place. But the building numbers were the same for every block and there were no street names. I checked in and I was given a room on the 4th floor. Narrow stairs, no elevator.

I carried my bicycle up and cleaned it in the communal shower room leaving grease marks all over the place. I cleaned it after to the best that I could but there were still some grease left behind. I felt sorry but there was no other place to wash down my bicycle. The hostel's backyard was a restaurant, a lively restaurant actually.

I took a nap after drying off my bicycle. I woke up in time to attend the 7:30pm mass. It was still bright outside. During the mass, even though there was no impressive gigantic incense swinging like in the 12noon mass, there was still the incense burning like it would be in a mass celebration of special occasions. The mass was in Spanish and I heard the priest say "peregrinos" so I assumed that the mass was also intended for the pilgrims.

It was almost dark when the mass ended. I couldn't go around the city anymore. It's okay, I thought. I felt too exhausted anyway. Back in the hostel, I began to disassemble my bicycle and had it ready for transport. I went to sleep without eating dinner.

Sometime in the middle of the night I heard voices outside saying the illuminated view of the cathedral was awesome. I smiled and continued my sleep.

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