We made it!
Thirteen days of walking- tired toes, aching bodies, a plethora of personalities, and lots of hard work… and we did it!
We departed our camp this morning with the intent of making this final day’s journey together. This might seem easy but with 30 pilgrims (including 24 high school girls), any time we go together we make waves. Still, we persevered and stuck together. Over hills and through the woods, we held together. A sign of unity on the trail, that many pelegrinos commented over our weeks that they delighted in seeing.
As you can imagine, knowing that we would reach Santiago today, our group’s energy was a flurry of emotions. Often we had to slow down to stick together and to keep eager souls focused on the meaning of our journey (not just the goal of finishing). This took us through groves of eucalyptus trees, up important inclines, and onward to Santiago.
Of note on the way was the pilgrim’s monument at about 11 miles into today’s journey. This is the first spot that you get a glimpse of the city and the Cathedral’s spires- even though you still have miles to go. There on the hillside St. James and the pilgrim point the way onward to Santiago!
Amazingly, after days of beautiful natural landscape, when you reach Santiago you are immersed in a urban landscape. Coming down the hillside, you lose sight of the spires you just saw and must hold on to the hope that the golden arrows that mark the Camino will guide you to your destination (haven’t they always?).
Yet a few miles into the city, you have your doubts. That is until you hear the bagpipes blaring and you turn the corner to see the back of the Cathedral. A quick duck through a tunnel that leads into the square and voila! The beauty of the Cathedral unfolds before you.
All day the girls had asked if the other chaperones and I were excited to get to Santiago. “Excited” seemed to fall short, we explained. It was more a sense of anticipation and the mystery of how each of us, with all we’ve carried and endured, would react in the moment.
Turning the final corner, I was surprised to find my eyes filled with tears. “We made it” I thought to myself. The “we” being our group, myself, and also God. We made it.
The beauty of the facade of the Cathedral is hard to capture. Intricate but not gaudy; a reflection of the fullness of this experience, crowned with saints and surrounded by pilgrims. Standing in the square, I had no words. Our students captured the moment in their own ways too. A long journey completed, pride and joy filled their being.
After some time in the square, our group headed to the pilgrim office to verify our pilgrim passports (stamped at least twice daily) and get our individual Compostelas, which certify that we have completed the Camino de Santiago.
Following this momentous bestowal, we were in desperate need of lunch (we’d gotten to the square about 2:30 and ran the very real risk of kitchens closing for siesta). After getting kicked out of one restaurant, Sr. Charlene and I were blessed by the hospitality of an Italian restaurant owner who took pity on two tired pilgrims and kept her kitchen open 20 minutes more. What a grace! Iberian ham and melon & the best tasting pizza and beer I may have ever enjoyed.
Because of our arrival time, we stayed near the Cathedral through the afternoon, so that we could be at the Pilgrim Mass at 7:30pm. Arriving at 6pm to secure seats, we got to visit the tomb of St. James and to touch his reliquary. After hours (and days) of walking a wooden pew had never felt so good.
Settling in for Mass, we took the advice of fellow pilgrims who told us to sit in the wings, just in case the Botafumeiro (giant incense thurible) was used at the Mass. This tip did not disappoint when at the end of Mass it was revealed that someone had donated to have the Botafumeiro lifted.
And so, we witnessed the beauty of this ritual and the grace of celebrating Mass together with pilgrims from all over the world. Each giving thanks and rejoicing in prayers answered, reveling in the peace of having made it and letting our prayers of Thanksgiving, petition, and supplication rise up just as surely as the smoke of the Botafumeiro swinging through the nave.
