We walked into the small town of Amenal and were greeted by Andrew, waving to us over a beer and sitting with two women from London on a brief Camino on break from work. It was a bit like a bad movie…swarthy middle-aged (handsome) man heartily greeting his “women” trudging in from the fields! It was actually wonderful, but comical in the moment.
The hotel we were staying at is literally THE only hotel in Amenal, and from what we could tell the only other choice was an albergue. Not a lot of people who have been on the Camino stop in Amenal – they either stop short of it or push on through to Santiago as it is just about 14km from Amenal to the Cathedral. We chose Amenal because Andrew could get there easily to meet us. He flew to Santiago and then walked ‘backward’ to Amenal. He kind of walked off the plane and onto the Camino. We heard that peregrinos tried to turn him around but to no avail!
The hotel was very lovely, looked fairly new, and had all the basic amenities tired pilgrims need – hot water, soft and clean beds and fluffy blankets, wifi (yes), a laundry room, a bar with a sunny terrazza and a built in restaurant so we could eat and get to sleep without going too far.
Walking the last leg of our Camino was bittersweet. My physical being was ready to rest, but emotionally and spiritually I really didn’t want it to be over just yet. The time I spent with Ruth was so precious and affirming on so many levels, and the time to reflect and live moment to moment felt like a true gift. I learned one key thing about myself – I am capable of much more emotional and physical tenacity than I ever believed. And I will leave it at that.
The relatively short walking day admittedly felt longer than usual – both Ruth and I had the “let’s get there already” feeling as we trudged up the final hill overlooking Santiago, and the meandering through the city to the Cathedral seemed to take forever…my backpack felt like it got heavier!
When we finally got to the grand stone plaza in front of the Cathedral we both dropped our backpacks, used them as pillows, and took a brief sun snooze! It was awesome.
We reunited with many of the peregrinos we’d met on the Way and it was a bit of a rowdy congratulations all around. Getting our compostelas was easy and very cool – all that walking and hubbub for a certificate of authentic blisters. Seriously, it was very rewarding in the end, but the journey itself meant much more than the piece of evidence we go home with.
Ruth got to hang out with a large group of young people in the evening, and Andrew and I met up with our lady friends from Barcelona. One woman is originally from Galicia and her sister joined us. She lives in Vigo, and told us that one day a year the entire (small) fishing village empties out of its women and children! They all board boats and head to a nearby island for food and frolic, leaving the hombres in town to their own devices. Way cool, I’d say.
We are staying in a hotel in Santiago that has been renovated from a 19th century tannery. Unbeliveably quaint (pictures to follow) and serene, with a lovely flowering courtyard and antique furniture. Maria, the caretaker, and her husband have basically adopted us – I sort of feel my reasonable mastery of Spanish is appreciated as they speak no English. They have helped us arrange taxis, figure out how to get to Finesterre, made sure we had cozy sleeping blankets. Mom and Pop. All goodness.
Living La Vida Loca 