Day 42 - Santiago (Day 2) - Sunday 31 May 2009

Santiago

At 0830, I was out of the albuergue. It was good to “sleep-in” – six weeks of rising at 0530 +/- and daily walks of 20+ kilometers made me stronger, but I was glad to linger a bit this morning.

I walked a few miles to the bus station to get my tickets for a Monday departure. I could have taken a cab, but it didn’t occur to me. What’s a few more miles after a 500 mile walk? I should have taken a cab. I really was exhausted and my leg was aching.

Ticket in hand, I headed back to the cathedral and stopped at the pilgrim office to see who had arrived.

I attended pilgrim mass again. Robert was there. We toured the cathedral and then spent most of the day wandering around the city talking and snacking. We drank lots of café con leche and sipped good red wine and just talked. I helped him buy souvenirs for his nephews.

Robert will walk to the airport tomorrow.He walked to the airport in Amsterdam at the start of his Camino and will walk to the airport at the end.

I said my goodbyes to my friend and went back to my albergue. I was asleep before the sun set. So much for celebrating.

I felt old and tired.

Who is this person? This is not like me.