Well, that was just about as crazy and claustrophobic as Dia de Locos, San Miguel de Allende’s other mega parade.
Crazy in the sense that it was crazy good fun watching the hundreds of Catrinas, Catrins, and what has to be checked off as “other,” in the parade box, as they stepped onto the broad Ancha to the Parroquia, people on the sidelines were four and six thick as the roads narrowed — and that’s where it got claustrophobic. For me at least.
All of which is to say, I haven’t seen the dead have this much fun since Covid ended and the Dia de Muertos parade was restored.
A last gift of sunrise from the Camino, which has been so generous with sunrises these past 35 days.
This is how it peaked:
I can’t explain the white “aura” around my shoulders. It’s in a lot of pictures.
This is how it ended:
And then, this is how the next day began:
It has been a busy 24 hours.
Despite my best intentions, I left my auberge in the dark, a mere 20 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela.
The night before, I told myself that I want to savor every minute of the last day on the French Camino, in the full light of day.
Didn’t happen.
After five weeks, rising in darkness, stealing out the door like a thief in the night — well, it has just become habit.
(Unlike a thief, I tend to leave more stuff behind than I take. But that is another story.)
Besides who can sleep when you are this close to the end of the journey (or the beginning of the true journey, as some suggest).
I picked a rough morning to start in the dark. The cloud cover was at Ground Zero.
My headlamp was filled with zillions of microscopic shards, crystalline droplets of moisture. I could barely see the trail, the Camino markers, or my companions on the road.
As we have learned over and over, difficulty and sacrifice are often rewarded on the Camino.
Today, it was one, last, stunning sunrise.
Not a lake, not islands in the stream. Those are clouds in the valleys and the tops of hills we walked through in the darkness.
Here are some other scenes from life along the last 20 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela:
From Guadalajara and Campeche, part of a large contingent of Mexicans making the pilgrimage to Santiago.He performs in a highway underpass, dubbed the “last tunnel” before Santiago.Apparently a developer wants to build industrial right beside the Camino. He wouldn’t be the first. But why, eh?Tour groups and school groups were more visible today.
A few of my Camino friends and me at the cathedral in Santiago:
Debbie and Jose!
I didn’t plan out the day well and for reasons known only to my subconscious, I booked a flight to Barcelona for 6 am the following day.
I did unnecessary things, like start a load of laundry, went shopping for shoes (found none), went shopping for a sweater because I was freezing (found one).
I missed dinner with 10 Camino friends because of the laundry. How crazy is that?
Well, I am terrible at goodbyes and funerals. I avoid both when I can.
Got up at 3 am for a hired car to the airport. Some bars were still open and the partying was going strong.
“Students,” my driver explained.
Got into Barcelona at 8:30 am. Hotel wasn’t available until 2 pm, so I ditched my backpack, grabbed breakfast next door, and walked over to the Basilica Sagrada Família.
I basically swapped one circus (Santiago) for another (Sagrada).
This is Gaudi’s stunningly strange and awe -inspiring Basilica Sagrada Família. It is the tallest church in the world at 172.5 meters and it has been under construction since 1882. Major construction is done, but work could continue til 2035, I learned today.
The cranes around it are equally awe-inspiring.
The Sagrada exterior from all angles, plus nearby bocce players:
Mobs of people in tour groups, lines waiting to buy tickets, taking photos, crossing and recrossing streets for a better view, a different angle on an edifice that is all angles (and angels).
My selfies in front of large churches now come with a white aura. Makes me a little nervous.
I couldn’t help but notice that a whole block facing the church is dominated by American fast food franchises. It’s like a museum: KFC, Burger King, Taco Bell, Five Guys, Ben & Jerry’s, McDonald’s …
My favorite view of the Sagrada …
Well, if you’re going to erect a spectacle…
I finally checked into Bypillow Flamant, took a long shower, put on my first clean clothes in two days (sorry airplane passengers), crawled into bed at 3:30 pm, and just woke up at 8 pm.
Just lunch in the shadow of the Sagrada Família, with some escapees from the circus:
I’m still tired. Good night.
I’m thinking this is the last post until I return home. Camino is over. So am I.
See you on the flip side.
A quick PS: On the second-to-last-day, Taylor and I walked together and talked about our shared love for rock and jazz.
He’s from Kansas City and has some great stories about those college days.
I was a country boy in central Pennsylvania. Opportunities weren’t all that great.
Still, between my senior year in high school and my first attempt at college, this is who I got to see live: Electric Prunes, First Edition (Kenny Rogers), Steppenwolf, the Association and the Turtles, Iron Butterfly, and Judy Collins.
Years later, I did better as a rock critic for a newspaper, but each of these still conjures happy memories from those “innocent” days.
This last bit is in lieu of the fact that I didn’t see a single cow the past two days.
My friend and one-time newspaper colleague Bill Osborne writes: “You’re definitely not boring, but here’s a suggestion you might address: Why did you decide to make this trek? What did you expect or want to get out of it? Now that the end is in sight, what have you gotten out of it? What have you learned about yourself?”
This day can only unravel in reverse, because its still getting better and it is only 8:30 pm
Over in the corner, Andrew and Englishman is playing harmonica and another pilgrim is softly strumming a guitar. They are working out a gentle tune of their own making.
The scene as I walked into Las Herrerías at the end of today’s walk.
Today was different, for sure.
We walked between a very busy road and a lush, beautiful landscape of forest and streams and grazing fields. Overlaying it all was an elevated freeway.
And all of this stitched it’s way through villages in contrasting states of decay and prosperity, often side-by-side.
