Where there’s a will

Today we have been gathering: some of this has related to the practicalities of getting back to a more normal life, but principally, our thoughts.

Once again we feel we must thank you all for the wonderfully supportive and amusing comments both included in the blog, and others through email and WhatsApp. Many of you have been kind enough to say you look forward to our daily updates. However, you should know that we also have been hungry every morning to read your comments. They have made us laugh and, sometimes, reflect on this strange activity. Just as we have been trying to comprehend Basque or Galician we notice a recent comment greeted us in the Doric of Aberdeenshire! We have felt the presence of your company on this Camino.

On previous Caminos we have felt a sense of closure by attending the Pilgrim Mass held at noon in the body of the Cathedral. Today was no different. We were advised by the staff in the pilgrim office to go early and so we were seated by 11am. By noon every seat was taken and all of the aisles were packed with people standing. It is clear that the Camino attracts people from all over the world, and also of many faiths and none.

Despite living in an era of mass tourism there remains, in this ritual and liturgy, some sense of a coming together to share with others the joy of completing a journey. Whether people have started as close as Sarria, on the Camino Frances, or, as a young couple whom we met the other night had told us, from their own home front door in Linz in Austria, the Camino is a personal challenge and a rare opportunity to reflect on the more important aspects of life.

Its fascination is strangely persistent and stretches back across the centuries and nations. Indeed, when we were on our way to Gernika (remember Gernika?) Linda’s twin sister, Jane, sent a photo of the tomb of Anne Bradbourn which lies in her local parish church in Ashbourne in Derbyshire. You will notice her recumbent figure is shown with a necklace of scallop shells which indicate that she almost certainly went on pilgrimage to Santiago. She died in 1483.

The reasons for attempting the Camino are as numerous as the individuals who embark upon it. It is undoubtedly demanding but, as with so many things that are hard, it is immensely rewarding. We recognise the privilege we have in being able to contemplate such a journey.

Enough of philosophising; we will leave you with a few last images from our random wandering of the streets of this exceptional city. It undoubtedly has its elements of tourist tack and false religiosity, but somehow it rises serenely above the inevitable commercialism and the abiding impression is one of celebration and joy

As Linda re-entered the Plaza de Obradoiro this evening the sun was burnishing the timeless granite slabs where generations of pilgrims have arrived and become emotional for more than a thousand years. Here there are no signs of commercialism, but only people looking upon the fantastical granite facade of the cathedral. Some are alone, others are in groups. Many are celebrating. Above all there is a sense of celebrating our shared and common humanity which transcends race, culture and language. Perhaps that’s why we’ve come again for a third time.

We will end with another thank you. There were many reasons for this Camino, but a key one has been to help Strathcarron Hospice. And you have risen magnificently to the challenge. We awoke again this morning to yet another substantial donation to the Hospice to mark our completion, and that was from a friend who has already been enormously generous. Today we also received a lovely message from Claire Kennedy at the Hospice: “we are so grateful for every penny donated and from looking at the messages on your page, you really have inspired so many people to give with your inspiring updates and news.”

I close with a final image. At a key crossroads, just inside the Puerta do Camino, a small trio were playing Galician-inspired, folk/jazz to all the passing pilgrims as they entered the old city and trudged the final half kilometre into the Plaza de Obradoiro. Many stopped and joined in with clapping and foot stamping. That symbolises for us the joy felt in a Camino completed.