O Pedrouso to Santiago de Compostela. Distance 20.1 km (12.5 mi /13.5 ) to go NOTHING !!!!!!!!!

How many times has this happened to you? You go out and hike 485 miles, lay down to take a nap, and a doctor's office calls, waking you up, to talk about a bill?

So today was the big finale! I got an early start (earlier than the sun!)

This proved to be problematic however as once I hit the suburbs I had difficulty finding the trail markings (difficulto un pocito). It turned out that wasn't the only difficulty I experienced however. I had another one of those menu mishaps for breakfast.

I walked for about an hour, then when I was ready for a break, I stopped at a small restaurante. The waitress, when asked if she habla'd Ingles, said "un pocito" which is Spanish for I have no idea what we will be discussing. I started out asking for an omelette. A puzzled look on her face told me more information was needed. (This surprised me as I believe omelettes have been listed as such on several menus). I supplemented my request saying "egg". She seemed to understand now.

She asked if I wanted bacon (which, if you accent the second syllable, becomes Spanish), to which I replied, "no, just cheese". Again with the puzzled look on her face, she shrugged (which in Spanish means, "silly gringo"), yelled to the kitchen and began making my coffee Americano, muy grande, which in Spanish comes in a very small cup. So here's what I had for breakfast:

I walked with a gentleman this morning from Spain (around Madrid). I don't recall his name but I do recall his story as it is one similar to what many of us have experienced. As a teen in high school he promised himself he would walk the Camino. When he graduated he quickly found employment and, as they say, life happened. Now, twenty years later, he walks very slowly, with a pronounced limp due to a bad knee, because he now has a one year old son who someday will ask him if he ever walked the Camino.

I expected to walk for about 4 1/2 hours today, a distance of just over 11 miles. It's funny how after the first 450 miles, every extra mile seems bigger. Eventually, after walking an ancient path through some neighborhoods with Cable TV satellite dishes on their roofs, we came to a beautiful park, Capillade San Marcos, where there is a monument to the visit of Juan Pablo II. No, not the Indianapolis 500 champion, but Pope John Paul II. The high ground used to be the first glimpse of Santiago de Compostela. According to my book, the first medieval pilgrim to spot the towers of the Cathedral was crowned King for the Day. They gave a cry of Monte do Gozo (Mount of Joy).

Anyway, this is where we find a large monument erected to commemorate the Popes visit in 1989 for World Youth Day (an event that two of our kids attended just about three years later).

It was also here that three Korean women that I had passed and repassed several times over the previous weeks, saw me and had to have a picture taken with me. I don't know if they thought I was Dumbledorf, or the original pilgrim model or what, but it was funny to be recognized. Two of them grabbed me, one on each arm, while the third tried repeatedly to take a picture

I say funny because, when I got my phone back and looked at the pictures I had one of the ground, one of the lady who took the picture, and one where you could only see the tops of everyone's head as we huddled around the phone to look at how a picture was to be taken.

This was also the last place I saw Alfred from two nights previous, still thanking me for the rosary with a quick hug, while he stayed to meet up with a group of Camino friends to walk the final 5 km together.

Once we entered the city time sped up while coming to a crawl. Things were moving around us everywhere; people, cars, trucks, lights flashing, horns honking, yet it seemed to take forever to move forward. Each hill seemed to promise a glimpse of the Cathedral, yet time and time again, delivered only disappointment.

However, of course, the Cathedral did come into view. I was not ready somehow for the fact that we approached the Cathedral from behind. 

I expected the Camino to dump us, Hollywood-style, into a large plaza with a quick and easy establishing shot, setting the location while exposing the grandeur. This unsettled me even more as I had promised to try to "stream" the grand entry on FaceBook, and I could not tell when it was to come into frame!

The front of the Basilica at Santiago, viewed from Praza de Obrioro

A narrow walkway alongside the church led me, by ear, to a bagpipe player, standing in a short tunnel, as if the Pied Piper himself was beckoning us to the front of the Cathedral; to the Praza Obradoiro, the large plaza in front of the Cathedral.

Again, the distraction of trying to figure out how to stream FB played into my reaction. I was not overly emotional; it nearly seemed anti-climactic. I had walked 485 miles (officially 799 kilometers), reached the end, now needed to collect the prize and sit down for a couple days. 

They told me my Compostela (certificate) could be had at the Peregrino Office. "Just go down this street to the white building."

It was very similar to my High School graduation. I did the studying, I got the grades, when I walked across the stage in the BMHS gym to get my diploma, I expected somehow that life had turned a page. Yet the next morning, I woke up and went to work at my Dad's gas station and absolutely nothing had changed.

Similarly, the changes had already occurred. I was now allowed to choose my life's path. What would I do? Would it be the same for the rest of my life, or would I plot the uncommon course, explore, enjoy, look through fresh eyes at each opportunity?

This really is the question that drives me, always has and, hopefully, always will. Do I do the easy things to get by, or do I choose to explore the unusual, or explore the normal in unnormal ways?

When I turned 21 I made up a program to enliven my life. I called it LIVE - Life Is Very Exciting. It was a bucket list for someone who had just begun to plot his course in life. I made a list of things I wanted to do during my life. Many items were added to the list over the years, and many have been checked off. I have only one thing left on that list (not to say that many more can't be added). Ironically, it is the one thing that Betty did as well as anyone, and Alicia shares this enduring trait.

I want to bring one more smile to one more face for one more day. 

I have shared Betty with the world now, as best I could. I think she'd be pleased. Next on the list is Alicia, with her left elbow bent, hand on her chest, holding me tight to her heart in every way. The adventure begins soon my dear, and it will be life changing. I'm coming home.