September 24, 2011

What I didn´t mention in yesterday´s blog was that I didn´t so much enter Portomarin as limp in. An old problem has arisen. When I took off my boots yesterday one of my ankles had swollen quite a bit. Very painful to walk on. So, today is now a rest day in Portomarin. I iced the ankle last night and kept it elevated. Much better today, but still would benefit from a little more rest. Just grin and bear it :-)

I think I´m now planning on entering Santiago de Compostela on the morning of Friday September 30. I´ll stop for the night at Monte Gozo, about 5 km outside of Santiago. The rationale for stopping when I´m practically there relates to the Pilgrim´s Office. When you enter Santiago, all peregrinos register with the Pilgrim´s Office to receive their compostela. This also ensures that you are mentionned in the next day´s pilgrim´s mass (I think it´s next day) that takes place in the Cathedral. By mid-morning, the lineup at the Pilgrim´s Office can be long enough to cause almost an hour´s wait.

Reflections:

I had thought that I would end this blog once I´m back home with some thoughts and reflections on the Camino. But, since I now have some time on my hands, here are some initial thoughts to be honed and finetuned later.

1. Physical Training & Preparation.... No matter how much you train, it will likly never be enough. The variety of terrain through which you must go is amazing. Outside of the young people, almost no one completes the Camino without some damage, albeit temporary. It becomes a fact of life in the albergues to see people treating their feet and walking around with bandages on them. Foot problems, and their treatment, are a staple of conversation on the Camino. Your training should not only include distance but also elevation. Be prepared to walk up and down incessantly.

2. Mental Preparation.... This is the tricky one. Because people will always walk at their own pace, unless you travel in a close group and consciously stay together you will almost always spend some part of the day walking alone. To put it bluntly, large parts of the Camino are rather uninteresting. The Meseta is magical when first encountered, but after a few days the heat and flat plains do get to you. Walking through Galician farmland is fascinating, but after a while the farm smells and cow dung on the trail do begin to lose their magical quality. Couple this with a general tiredness which all seem to feel as the Camino progresses, and it takes a mental toughness to keep going. Walking alone the mind will wander and you will find yourself questionning this trek. It can be hard to keep going when it is so easy just to call it a day and cab it to the next town.

The Camino is an interesting thing. At times it seems almost alive. You don´t take on the Camino. You don´t try and beat the Camino, or conquer it. You have to treat it with respect or it will wallop you down. After walking for four weeks, these are the kind of conversations that peregrinos have at the end of the day. You´re not going crazy, you´re just beginning to understand the Camino.