Day fifty nine, 28 June 2015,
Santiago de Compostela
SUNDAY

It was such an anti climax to be in Santiago de Compostela! In the middle of a fiesta! It was crowded with people, touristic and expensive! People came out of the pilgrims office crying when they got their certificate! I felt nothing at all! Certainly not like crying at all. Yesterday there was a big queue at this office so today we went here early, picked up our certificate and went and had a look around! The pilgrim’s mass was at 12.00 o’clock so we had some time to look around.
Pepe and Maria had to leave early today, back to Valencia.

The pilgrim’s mass was very impressive, especially the blessing of the pilgrims, with the I sense at the end! I forgot to ask for something’s! Oops! This was my change and I didn’t ask or what I wanted! This is the moment that people have told me, where a voice speaks to them and they get their gift or “boon” as Joseph Campbell called it. I didn’t hear any voices nor did I feel I received a gift! Oops! Didn’t I walk hard enough? Need I have suffered more? I am not really into suffering! But may be I should have?

Libby and I lost Reme and Anatolia when we came out of the church and after we waited for a while, we went to the artisans a market. I bought some nice smelling stuff for my back pack as all my clothes are smelling mouldy and wet. Later on that afternoon we finally found Vita, and spend the rest of the day with her. We all felt different. I had to say good bye to Reme and Natalia, and it all felt very surreal! I am not very good at the saying good bye part!

Today’s lesson: glory lies in the attempt to reach one’s goal; not in reaching it!
Today’s gift: Pilgrim’s blessing