The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
- Psalm of David
Today was the final day of my Camino, and I'm delighted to say that I made it into Santiago and reached the end of my walk! I felt like doing some cartwheels, but that would have required extra energy... so no cartwheels for me. It was cold again, and it rained during about half of my hike.
For the walk today, I covered 19.8 km, 12.3 miles, and 27,109 steps. During the 27 days that it took me to complete the Camino, I walked 776.2 km, 482.3 miles, and took 1,104,513 steps on the trail!!
When I got about 3 km out, I could see the city of Santiago in the distance. I began to get emotional, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude came over me. I felt so blessed to have been able to do this. After I got into the city, I located La Oficina de Peregrino, and got in line to receive my Compostela. A compostela is a certificate you receive for finishing the walk. The attendant goes through the stamps in your credencial to verify that you were in each of the towns listed. Stamps are generally provided by the businesses you might stop in along the "Way" such as bars, alburgues, hotels, pensions, restaurants, etc... I waited in line for about 2 hours to get my credencial evaluated, and then I was handed my compostela. It was well worth the wait!!
My feet were in such bad shape back around Day 13 or 14, that I wasn't really sure if I would be able to continue. I started looking at train and bus options one night in Carrion de los Condes, when I was having trouble walking from the bed to the toilet after one particularly hard day. I was in so much pain and doubtful that I could go on. I had to accept it. I prayed that evening and asked God to intervene if I was meant to complete my journey. I sought out a pharmacist that evening regarding the proper way to use the compeed blister strips, but I went to bed that night thinking there was a strong possibility that my Camino was over.
The next day there was some major improvement, so I kept marching on. Ultimately, this leads me to the last "baggage" or piece of stone that I released during my final day of the Camino. That 3rd and last stone represented a lack of self-care for me. In my life, that often means limited exercise, little sleep, and not eating the right things. I made a commitment to take better care of myself, and place my health and self-care much higher on my list of priorities.
I will continue to blog over the next days while I'm in Italy with some post Camino reflections/observations.
I've included some pics below of the last Camino stage, and also my compostela. I also took a photo of my trusted Fila tennis shoes. They are finally starting to come apart, but they held up fine on the rough terrain. These shoes lasted me more than a million steps since I began walking nearly 4 weeks ago!
Lights out.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
- Psalm of David
Today was the final day of my Camino, and I'm delighted to say that I made it into Santiago and reached the end of my walk! I felt like doing some cartwheels, but that would have required extra energy... so no cartwheels for me. It was cold again, and it rained during about half of my hike.
For the walk today, I covered 19.8 km, 12.3 miles, and 27,109 steps. During the 27 days that it took me to complete the Camino, I walked 776.2 km, 482.3 miles, and took 1,104,513 steps on the trail!!
When I got about 3 km out, I could see the city of Santiago in the distance. I began to get emotional, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude came over me. I felt so blessed to have been able to do this. After I got into the city, I located La Oficina de Peregrino, and got in line to receive my Compostela. A compostela is a certificate you receive for finishing the walk. The attendant goes through the stamps in your credencial to verify that you were in each of the towns listed. Stamps are generally provided by the businesses you might stop in along the "Way" such as bars, alburgues, hotels, pensions, restaurants, etc... I waited in line for about 2 hours to get my credencial evaluated, and then I was handed my compostela. It was well worth the wait!!
My feet were in such bad shape back around Day 13 or 14, that I wasn't really sure if I would be able to continue. I started looking at train and bus options one night in Carrion de los Condes, when I was having trouble walking from the bed to the toilet after one particularly hard day. I was in so much pain and doubtful that I could go on. I had to accept it. I prayed that evening and asked God to intervene if I was meant to complete my journey. I sought out a pharmacist that evening regarding the proper way to use the compeed blister strips, but I went to bed that night thinking there was a strong possibility that my Camino was over.
The next day there was some major improvement, so I kept marching on. Ultimately, this leads me to the last "baggage" or piece of stone that I released during my final day of the Camino. That 3rd and last stone represented a lack of self-care for me. In my life, that often means limited exercise, little sleep, and not eating the right things. I made a commitment to take better care of myself, and place my health and self-care much higher on my list of priorities.
I will continue to blog over the next days while I'm in Italy with some post Camino reflections/observations.
I've included some pics below of the last Camino stage, and also my compostela. I also took a photo of my trusted Fila tennis shoes. They are finally starting to come apart, but they held up fine on the rough terrain. These shoes lasted me more than a million steps since I began walking nearly 4 weeks ago!
Lights out.
6 comments:
Yay! Congratulations on reaching Santiago and receiving your compostela Eric. Happy to read of your 3rd stone and what it represents.
What an amazing accomplishment. Your family is so proud of you. We have enjoyed all the thoughts and feelings that you shared along this pilgrimage. You are special human being. I look forward to connecting with you when you return. I love you. Uncle Richard
When you get home and your energy is renewed, I want to see you do some cartwheels ... ha ha! I don't need to tell you that one of the most fulfilling things we can experience is persevering to the end and making a dream come true. What a thrill! You did it! If your mother could still do cartwheels, well, I would do a couple because I am so happy for you! Hey everybody, this is my son! Can you tell how proud I am?
To celebrate your completing the Camino, we watched "The Way" with Martin Sheen last night. It was fun to see some of what you saw on your journey, assuming that the movie was filmed along the Camino. Thinking of you.
congratulation. nice to hearing thAT'S news
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