Finito

That´s Spanish for finished. Yup, the walking is over.

After one month and three days, we walked nearly the entire width of Spain, amounting to somewhere between 850-900km. It sounds like a lot, and well, that´s because it is. We took a total of 3 rest days, one in San Sebastian, one in Burgos, and one in Leon. It´s a pretty big deal.

We wandered into cathedral square last night around 8pm after a day of about 45km of walking in the Spanish heat, through fields that smell like manure, up and down dirt and concrete roads, and around herds of cattle driven by short little old ladies with no teeth. This week´s cultural topic is:

BEING A TOURIST

It sounds funny being in a foreign country where you don´t really speak alot of the language, you don´t really know where you´re going and you don´t really have a clue about anything except that you have to somehow find a place to sleep, find food to eat and figure out what you have to see while you´re in the town. But that´s where the fun is. Basically, that´s the definition of tourism. Seeing things, doing things and getting out of your own country.

But the Camino is different. People start from all sorts of different places, coming from as close in as 110km away or as far as France, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland or even Poland...on FOOT. Some people walk 15, some walk 20, some walk 35km everyday and some take days off. Everyone takes the camino at their own pace. Some people come out for a walking vacation and some people come to find themselves and clear out their minds before going back to regular routine and normal commitments. Some do it with friends from before, some make friends on the camino, and some could make friends but don´t. Everyone has their own Camino. Everyone is there for a different reason and everyone has a different story. The only real thing everyone has in common is that everyone just follows the yellow arrows and will eventually get there. That´s the beauty of being a pilgrim on the Camino.

I came to the Camino as a tourist, looking for a unique, inexpensive way to spend time in Spain and in Europe, but I ended up with way more. On the Camino, you aren´t just a tourist, you are a pilgrim.

I´ll be the first to admit it sounds a bit silly, calling yourself a pilgrim, just because you walk for 800km, but it´s a strange feeling and the sense of accomplishment is a greater feeling than the pain that you have to endure day in and day out, with the blisters, the muscle cramps, or just the everyday soreness that comes from walking all day. I also endured a detox period of no beer for 10 days, which, considering how delicious and refreshing an ice cold beer can be on a hot summer afternoon, made it pretty pretty difficult. But it´s over now. And it feels good.

The closer in we came to Santiago, the more prearranged church and youth groups came, and competition for beds was fierce and we came to somewhat resent the newbie pilgrims. They seemed like bloody tourists who were out walking for the week. But afterall, when we got into Santiago, we didn´t care anymore. In the grand scheme of things, it´s kind of nice that they could have the opportunity to join in something as big as the Camino.

For most people, it´s the end, but for me, sadly, it´s the halfway point, but when you walk for 33 days, you get to thinking. I can´t say I´ve actually figured anything out for sure, but thinking all day sure can be nice. In the last five weeks I´ve seen the best of myself and I´ve seen the worst, and it has been one of the coolest experiences I could have possibly had as part of my great big Europe trip.

I don´t really know how to end this thought, because I´m still kind of trying to grasp the concept that tomorrow I´m not going to have to get up at 6am and start walking. It´s a bit sad, yet at the same time relieving. I am no longer a pilgrim; I´m a tourist.