Changing perspectives from Santiago
How quickly perspectives can change! It was only a few days ago that the thought of covering 17km in a day’s walk was “not too far” – today we were checking out the airport bus timetable to cover the 10km to catch our flight on Sunday! GrandpaBear also commented that as he watched the pilgrims stagger in to the albergue at the end of a long day’s walk, his only thought was “The poor devils! They still haven’t finished! That was us on Wednesday!” We all have mixed emotions at finishing the Camino – satisfaction at having “made it”, but almost a sense of loss at the same time. We are all still processing what the Camino has been for each of us – perhaps more of that in a later post. For now, we are enjoying having the time to look around Santiago at a relaxed pace, to sample more fantastic Spanish breads and baking at new panaderia, try different Spanish wine and cheeses, watch the muñeiras dancers in the square, wander through the markets, and try and decide what our final meal in Spain ought to comprise of tomorrow! Being back in a big city, it is noticeable how different the pace of life is from what we have experienced the last three weeks walking through rural Spain. Such contrasts and changes! Soon we will be in London to soak up another wide spectrum of experiences.
Tags: 2012, postcard: Spain
rayres
Am so glad you have good weather for exploring Santiago. I had some great weather there as well, and it made for a relaxed end to the Camino. I had friends a week earlier than me who mainly had rain, and they couldn’t just wander the streets like I had, seeing people…
Blessings and hearty congratulations on completing your Camino! we were all rooting for you, and are so happy to have followed your experiences on the blog. Both PapaBear and MamaBear deserve gold medals for having raised such a worthy tribe – memories for a lifetime.
Love the look of that intriguingly shaped cheese – it’s a shame you can’t bring any home with you – it would be well eaten in London and on the canal boat by the time it was time to fly home. Never mind, Farro’s in Albany have all sorts of exotic cheeses so they might have some Spanish ones to give you a nostalgic reminder. Only cost you an arm and a leg!
Hi Lin, we managed to carry a couple of cheeses and three Santiago tarts (almond slice) and a few packets of olives with us but I am not sure if they will even last to the canalboat 🙂
Thanks for the excellent blog, and thanks for bringing back the memories. And congrats on finishing!
Rob