Creating a camino family. And then moving back to our home families.

When trying to explain about camino families I started with building, then tried developing, then I went with creating. But none of these words really work. You almost trip into a camino family. You land at certain places. Meet certain people and meet them again and then either connect or not. Connecting doesn’t mean you didn’t like them or that there was a problem but more that you walk different distances and different paces. It’s another way of tripping into grace

I asked several pilgrims what it felt like to come into Santiago de Compostela today…most first time camino walkers and a couple of second or third timers. Almost everyone said fulfillment more than accomplishment. Emotional was a word that kept coming up.

For me it was a culmination of emotions like I expected. Fulfillment, joy, exhaustion, energy, peace, restlessness, love. After arriving in Santiago de Compostela for the fifth time my emotions were just as high and maybe higher. It doesn’t diminish from time to time but heightens.

I will keep reflecting and sharing in the days and weeks ahead. I hope your days are fulfilled. Buen Camino.

We chose the worst place to sleep. It was right on a highway so there was traffic noise all night plus loud people walking by. At one point I thought it was pilgrims walking through the night but decided it had to be locals. Dinner was just so so.

But hey that’s life on the camino, as a matter of fact that’s life. You get the good with the bad. And when the bad happens you look for ways to turn it into a gift or opportunity. Sometimes finding the gift or opportunity takes longer but being open to that is the first step.

Today we will arrive in Santiago de Compostela. I look forward to seeing Santiago de Compostela again and am interested in what emotions arise. Until then we will be back on the way for 16 kms. I’ll post again later. Buen Camino.

We got to talk to some friends from the states and my daughter Lindsay in the Netherlands last night on a zoom call. It was so nice catching up with everyone.

Today we have flight back to the Netherlands. I hope everything runs smoothly. We already know the train ride from Amsterdam to Goes is going to be complicated changing trains in Rotterdam than a bus from Rozendaal to Goes and another bus to Terneuzen.

We woke to a foggy morning here in Porto. Our taxi driver was at the wrong location but still got us to the airport on time. We had 20 minutes until check in so we had time for a coffee and a croissant. And of course our plane was late so we had more time. I made Noël stand in the long line to check our luggage. It was ridiculously slow. Made our train. Now…

More reflections: there’s a strange feeling ending vacation/camino. I can remember taking vacations and feeling like I needed another week to recover. I don’t feel that way with Caminos. I feel energized and want to get out and walk and explore.

Another strange feeling is saying goodbyes. Our friend Ronni from Germany perhaps said this best. With his permission I share this quote:

Good morning to all of you,
while I’m waiting for my flight at the airport, so many memories run through my mind. I would like to say THANK YOU to all of you!
Thank you for allowing me, to be part of this great camino family. Thank you for the great tips. Thank you for the good conversations. Thank you for laughing together and the kind hugs! I know, this camino will change things in my life, you all contributed to it. I hope we will stay in touch here. Stay safe and healthy and come home safely. Ronni, the ” typical german guy…”

I’m excited to see my daughter Lindsay and son-in-law Mitchell and our grandpups!! And to share more exciting news in the near future. Buen Camino!!

Today we will get to spend some time exploring Santiago and I hope get into the cathedral. All services were packed yesterday.

We had such a lovely dinner with our camino family. We talked and laughed, several different languages being spoken. The meal was Italian and everyone left satisfied and full.

I had told them earlier about the mysterious pilgrim shadow in the corner of the cathedral. So after dinner we traipsed over to the cathedral and gazed at this amazing site.

I wanted to take Noël to my favorite little cafe and helaas it is closed on Monday. We have one more day to try. But we still had a nice breakfast.

The cathedral was cloaked in fog this morning but I wasn’t able to capture it.

My legs are restless this morning. By this time in the morning we would have walked at least 8-12 kms/5-8,5 miles.

Well we got new tattoos today to celebrate all of our caminos and long distance hikes!! Embracing my friend and fellow pilgrim Larry Crane’s idea of getting a star for each camino (Compostela means field of stars) we now have stars around our St James Cross and Shell tattoo. We also each got Tolkien’s saying “not all who wander are lost.” But we got it in the elvish language Sindarin. I think that is correct but if you know differently please feel free to correct me.

We hope to connect with some other pilgrim family that arrived in Santiago de Compostela today. And tomorrow morning before we head back to Porto tomorrow afternoon for a few days.

I hope you have an amazing day. Buen Camino!!