Almost at the End

We are now stopped at a wonderful place in the country just a short 38 kms from Santiago. This old structure used to be a hospital and it is located near a river and has a wonderful set up for the bunk beds, showers and laundry which are the essentials for the pilgrim. We are paying 3e for the night here. We walked about 26 kms today to get here and boy it seems like the final stages of a serious marathon for me at this stage of the trip.
Yesterday and today, I am sure that Alvina has put her many books into my back pack when I was not looking and my boots feel like they have been soaked in lead. Everything is so heavy and I just keep telling myself - one foot in front of the other. However, we plod along, stopping a lot now and trying to keep up with the leaders (Kirsten and Barb). Clare stays behind with Alvina and me and so we trudge along at a more slow and steady pace arriving, but later than the hares in the lead!.
The countryside has not been as super inspiring as it was a few days ago, however when I do look around, it is still wonderful country side, full of such beauty, rolling hills, women leading the cows out to pasture in the morning and of course the early morning sky a blanket of stars with the new moon ready to show itself.
We walk and walk and it seems that our life has been nothing but that forever. Alvina feels like she has found herself now with the walking and does not want to stop so she will accompany Kirsten to Finestere after we complete our rituals in Santiago. We are too short on time to even consider this and I would need a few days of rest before my feet would toloerate the conversation I am sure. For Barb, there may be a bus trip to jump into the ocean on Thursday and for Clare, not sure yet.
However, we have only 3 days left together after today and this seems impossible. We have been bonded together on this common mission for weeks and have done nothing else but plan the day, do the day and then recover from the day with a lot of wine and laughter at the end of it.
We have been lucky to get into great accomodation every night and so have enjoyed smaller rooms and less intrusion of snoring pilgrims. we are making good friends and there is a roving community of us now that meets at the stops and in the evenings. It is like nothing else on earth this Camino experience. So many people with a common goal and similar intentions of getting something greater than the ordinary out of this journey.
We will be in Santiago by Tuesday afternoon and plan to attend the noon hour mass on Wed with some of the people we have met along the way. We are hoping that they will swing the big botefumero which is the very large container that was used to spread incense over the less than fragrant pilgrims in early days. It is used infrequently now, but you can pay for it to be done if you choose. We are hoping that the groups of pilgrim tourists that are now on the path will take care of this when we get to mass on Wed. There have not been as many pilgrim tourists as I had expected since Sarria. These are groups that do the journey with e guide, a bus that waits for them in case they are too tired to walk and also has a cold lunch on board and best of all, they stay in hotels every night. They carry day packs so they are springing ahead of us now on the trail as we are slowing down with our fatique and heavier load. However, as we say, everyone does the Camino in their own way and so we much be generous and support each person who chooses their own way.
Well, once again we have the honour of being seated in a dark corner of the bar with the TV sports channel blaring above our head and the smoke from the patrons choking our lungs, It is time for wine and a rest, to read and write in the late afternoon as is our custom. We are showered and laundered and settled in for the evening now and will look forward to shorter walks in the next two days as there will be less than 20 kms per day to walk which is a sublime treat after the past few weeks.
Stay tuned...........the apostle is waiting for us in Santiago!
Maggee