Day 37, Saturday, September 28th, 2019: Lavacolla to Santiago...we made it!!!

Sep 29

Sep 29 Day 37, Saturday, September 28th, 2019: Lavacolla to Santiago...we made it!!!

At 0730, we began our last day on the Camino Francés. Today, in a little over 6 miles, we would reach Santiago de Compostela.

Our feet were light as the sun rose over our shoulders. The aches and pains of many long and arduous days were gone. I pondered so many things as we made our final hike.

God has bestowed upon me so many wonderful blessings in my life; beginning with parents who adopted me at birth and gave me a start in life I may not have had without them, to a wonderful family of my own, to the most recent blessing of allowing me to complete this Pilgrimage to the resting place of the Apostle St James.

At 0935am, we walked into the Pilgrim Office in Santiago and received our queue ticket for our Compostela, the document that officially recognizes our completion of The Camino de Santiago. We knew this would take some time as the office had opened at 8am and they were only on number 132. Our numbers were 736 and 737, which meant we had about 4-5 hours to kill before we could get our Compostelas.

We then went and basked in the sunshine in the Plaza de Obradoiro in the shadow of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. I was in awe of all the Peregrinos sitting and lying about as they too contemplated this great achievement. Many were joyously reunited with friends while others sat silently in the sun and still others tried to get that perfect picture of the Cathedral.

After ensuring our credentials were in order, we went and found some new clothes for Terri, some lunch, and then checked into our apartment at 35 Rue Nova. We walked about the streets and shops of Santiago until it was our time to return to the Pilgrim Office and receive our Compostelas, and the certificate of distance that we travelled from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. This is a feat that less than 12.5% of all recipients of the Compostela achieve. Very few travel further than this.

And then it was officially complete. We had accomplished our goal and the feelings were so many, I was overwhelmed. The rest of the day I spent relaxing and reflecting. I waited a day to write this as I had much to consider.

Let me just say thank you, God, for all my blessings and for the opportunity to attempt this great pilgrimage in Your name. Thank you also to all who took interest in this endeavor and have followed along with your love and support. I will never take that for granted.

Thank you to my kids, all of whom were encouraging us every step of the way. Bar none, they are our greatest accomplishment and contribution to the world.

And thank you to my loving wife, of whom I am amazingly proud. Her transformation on this journey has been remarkable and I love her even more deeply for attempting this difficult and challenging endeavor. It shouldn’t surprise me, given how well we’ve done on the difficult and challenging road of life.

The last “Camino Lesson:” you can accomplish whatever you put your mind to. Small things and big, setting goals and working hard to accomplish them are the keys to success we all have within us. Don’t wait. Life is too short and time is constant and relentless. Do it now. Believe in yourself, set a goal, make a plan, and go do it. All the excuses in the world will never equal accomplishment.

Buen Camino.