The Burdens of Possession

Sorry I have not written in a little while.  The last few days have been very demanding.  We leave early in the morning, find someplace for coffee, a few hours later find a place for lunch, and by 7 or 8 we find our hotel.  Then we eat something and fall into bed.

Today was different.  We only had to walk about 18km, mostly with a gently downhill slope.  So we arrived at the hotel at around 2pm and have time to catch up on correspondence.  Duran has his microblog where about 4000 people follow him.  They respond to his postings with queries (they are a bit incredulous) and he answers as many as he can.  On his iPhone.

Today was certainly easier, but not as nice as the prior days.  We are now in the suburbs of Santiago.  There is a higher population, more modern buildings and not quite as charming as the last two days.  On our journey today we shared the road with about a dozen horseback riders.  We were a little jealous and didn't like all the horse poop in the road, but I think it would be an interesting way to experience the camino.

The past two days have been something of a museum for me.  There are services that will transport your backpack to the next stop, but Duran insisted that we not use the service.  In spite of my difficulties I now agree with him.  Just a brief word about "my difficulties".  We agreed early on that the camino would be difficult and would bring us discomforts in many form.  We additionally agreed not to talk about those discomforts: the camino would be a no whining zone.

So I won't tell you what hurt, but I will tell you what didn't hurt.  I think my ears.  My ears did not hurt at all.  In addition, I have had no blisters.

All the pilgrims and soldiers who have walked the camino over the past centuries had to carry the possession that were essential to them.  Everyone had a different view on what was essential, but the burden is part of the experience.

Under the burden of our possessions, I saw and smelled and felt many of the same things that pilgrims have over the centuries: the same kinds of trees and grasses, the same warm sun and cool breeze, the same sound of wind through the trees.  I felt the glow of human kindness that is sometimes more concealed (but never extinguished) in a more cynical and sanitized world.

So the burdens are part of the experience.  Well, it’s a more accurate historical experience.  If we wanted to be pure about it, we would probably stay outside or in the hostels and not the pensions--which are pretty nice.  We are semi-pure.

Today we walked for a while with a man named Gerd from Germany.  He was only walking about 10km per day because he was suffering with some kind of heart disease.  However, his entire journey was 2100 km (much of it by bicycle) and he started in March from Germany.  He was a very, very good guy.

Most of the people we met don't speak English but we still converse a little and maybe share some fruit.  On the whole, it has been a very convivial group of pilgrims.  Everyone has a different experience, a different story, a different approach to the camino.  All are valid.

Tomorrow we will enter the city of Santiago and visit the cathedral to present our passport.  In Lugo, we received our Pilgrim's Passport, which we have had stamped at dozens of locations along the way.  In Santiago I will present the passport and receive my certificate of completion (which I present at Purgatory when the time comes).

Tomorrow's walk will be very easy and we should enter the city by 2pm and we will stay for a couple of days.  I'll write more then.