The last thing I wanted to do in Santiago was to see the inner courtyard of the Parador, so we decided to have our morning coffee there, to gain access. As mentioned the previous blog entry, the Parador Hotel was the most recent incarnation the oldest pilgrim's hospital in Spain.
In the end, we could get in without buying anything, so I took a peek at the courtyard and the art exhibition in it, before searching out a cheaper café. I was not sure Cathleen bothered to go into the courtyard, as she disappeared from behind me as I stepped in. The art exhibition consisted of paintings by a woman named Kari Gale, of memorable moments on her Camino. Each painting was marked with a date, and some held a few words as well. The dates of the exhibition wereJuly 1-21, the exact dates of my Camino.
We ended up at a café on the street near the Cathedral where all the pilgrims come into town from the Frances. It was nice to watch their happy faces. One group pushed a youth in a modified wheelchair, their faces all covered in blue war paint. They let out a whoop as they saw the Cathedral. My mind went back to the story the woman who was refused entry at the albergue for "not carrying her own bag."
Cathleen said, "Sophie's going to walk around that corner. I'll give her until 11:11 am." We both agreed it would be a perfect ending to our trip. We finished our coffees, and at 11:05 am heard a yell. It was a delighted Sophie.
Her phone had completely broken. She had only made it to Monte de Gozo the night before (about 5km out of Santiago), and was dejected that she would miss us and couldn't contact us. Her bank issues were still unresolved. She had been living off the 50€ I had given her for almost two weeks, sleeping in albergues and her mini-tent, cooking on her camp stove.
She was going to set out at 7am that morning, but had encountered a man sleeping out behind the albergue, like her, but he simply on a bench. He was trying to return home after a job in Santiago didn't pan out. He had no pack, no tent, no money, and 1000 miles to go. She sat with him and bought him a coffee. She told him to walk the Camino backwards to Oviedo, because it would be easier and safer than walking on the roads, plus, there might be some help from other pilgrims along the way. Several other pilgrims pooled together a little money and some food and water for him. After all that, she left later than she expected, but in perfect timing to meet us.
We sat and chatted until she had to run to catch mass. We made plans to meet after mass. Cathleen and I did a little shopping, bought food for our train trip, and picked up our packs from the hotel storage. I got a nice photo of the church right across from our hotel, Igrexa de Compañía.
On our meanderings, we were passed by a large group of pilgrims carrying a full-sized cross and singing their way to the Cathedral.
It started to drizzle rain, and everyone ran into the covered market. It stopped less than five minutes later. Lol.
I passed a store window displaying the familiar blue and gold tiles with the Camino shell and the arrow. All of a sudden the message hit home: go to the sea. I burst into tears.
We went to wait for Sophie at a café outside the Cathedral, and ordered beers any paella-- the first paella we'd seen in Spain.
The building on the other side of the square was the Igrexa de San Paio de Antealtares. We could see thr hammer hitting the church bell as it rang 1pm.
Soon Sophie arrived and we had an hour together. When it was time to go, we took this photo in front of the Cathedral.
Then we promptly all burst into tears. We hugged over and over. I told Sophie how I originally didn't want a "Camino family," but I ended up with one anyway, a tiny but good one.
Even if in the end, we each arrived in Santiago a different day (Cat the 20th, me the 21st, Sophie the 22nd), we were all there together in the end. Then we all agreed that it was not The End, but rather another beginning, as the journey continued on, as did we, changed and strengthened by our experiences both separate and together.
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