Epilogue - Camino de Santiago (May 11 to June 12, 2018)

Like Bugs Bunny used to say, "bidah, bidah, that's all folks" ....

except for tieing up some loose ends and the Grand Finale!

It has been requested that I retell the story of the rosaries, which have played prominently in my experience on the Camino.

Last night I stayed in a wonderful hotel (thank you Alicia) with lousy Wifi, so that I could rest and reflect. One of the items on my reflection list is the bag of rosaries I carried over 485 miles. Rosaries are Catholic prayer beads, used to pray to Mother Mary. They are made up primarily of groups of ten beads (a decade) with a single large bead separating each decade. There are other beads thrown in also but, basically, it's a counting device.

My late wife, Betty, was a very kind and giving soul. She was a life long volunteer in numerous charitable groups and non-profits. She also worked with several different groups at our church. One of those groups was the Rosary Makers of Holy Apostles Catholic Church in Meridian, Idaho.

When Betty passed away in 2014 I found she had amassed a number of rosaries. I had hoped to someday walk the Camino and this seemed like an opportunity for me to allow Betty's work, and therefore her spirit, to spread around the world. I gathered about a dozen rosaries in a plastic bag and headed to Spain, knowing only that the opportunity to pass out these prayer beads would, somehow, somewhere, present itself.

They say that every pilgrim has a story. I found any number of compelling stories along The Way, and in turn was open to strangers about this very private part of my story. It seemed to resonate with people, occasionally moving people to tears, or hugs, or both.

I do not know where all of the rosaries will end up, perhaps that's the way it should be. Shouldn't, after all, kindness and love be boundless?

One of the rosaries was placed on the statue of the Madonna and child, high in the Pyrenees.

Four of them were left at the Monastery in Roncevalles where a volunteer suggested they go on a table where items could be left or taken, based on need.

One was given to Marie from Australia, a now unemployed teacher who taught Religious Education until she decided to travel the world before settling anywhere.

A mother from Ireland, traveling with her post-teenage daughter and a niece, said they had been hiking the Camino for ten years, during which time they had stopped going to church but still prayed the rosary each day. Before I even unpacked the beads, the daughter had convinced her mother that she should have it so she could pray each morning.

One went to Graham, a college student from South Dakota, who liked to pray the rosary but had not brought one with him.

One went to a couple from New York City who were taking it to friends living in Beirut, Lebanon.

More recently one was given to Father Stephan from Frankfurt, Germany, who walked the Camino barefoot so he could feel the earth. He was praying on it that same day and had a parishioner who could use it.

One went to Alfred, who lived near Hamburg, Germany but was to give it as a gift from the Camino to a friend who was entering the convent to become a nun.

And there was one special rosary that was left, with a note and 18 cents, atop Cruz de Ferro, as a gift from Alicia and I.

That leaves me with one special rosary, and I believe I know the perfect place for it.

Doing this blog has been an amazing experience in and of itself. Like family, some times it's a source of great joy, at other times it's like your kid got caught shoplifting. But it's always been intended with love, to share, to explore thoughts, to entertain. I took a sneak peak the other night at my "statistics", courtesy of Google (and maybe the NSA?). I've had over 4500 page views, one in eight from outside the U.S! That's insane!

Then, to put the finishing touch on the whole experience, I went to the noon mass at the Cathedral and, at the end, they "flew" the Botafumeiro! It's a giant incense burner said to have originally been used to fumagate the medieval Perigrinos after months without a bath. Nowadays it soars over the heads of the amazed masses when someone donates enough money to pay the eight man staff who, like skilled puppeteers, add just the right touch to the harness. It is used to keep out the Galician jumping slugs.

I have video, but will have to post it separately as I can only add stills from a mobile device.

Thank you for your comments, they have encouraged and inspired me each day.

Buen Camino!

Bonus materials:

Alicia thought I was kidding when I told her there was a KFC right around the corner, not only serving Pepsi, but, unheard of in Spain, free refills!

How's this for a coffee pot!

Yes, that was a bag pipe you heard as I entered the plaza yesterday!

This guy floated on air, making many ignore him as a statue, until he suddenly turned and said, "Buen Camino"!

Unfortunately, I don't read Spanish, so I didn't know I went "in" the exit, thereby not seeing the sign that said "NO PHOTO". This is looking from behind St. James on the main alter, looking at the Botafumeiro.

The Botafumeiro "flies"!