This is how the day started:

This is how it peaked:

This is how it ended:

And then, this is how the next day began:

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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.

Here are some other scenes from life along the last 20 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela:

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A few of my Camino friends and me at the cathedral in Santiago:

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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.

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The Sagrada exterior from all angles, plus nearby bocce players:

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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).

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 …

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.

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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.