Thursday,
May 31, 2012
I find it funny to wake up and find Lisa hidden underneath a
mountain of blankets. There have been
times I’ve looked really hard as I could not tell if she was in there, or had
gotten up early and left. But, as I
begin to stir she pokes her head out and I’m assured she is still there. We shower, dress and are on the road along
with many other pilgrims. We walk a
narrow road that we share with cars carrying folks off to their
destinations. Some wave as they pass,
others stare straight ahead deep in thoughts of their own. We come upon a campground called Camping San
Marcos with a small café. We stop for
some coffee along with a tostada watching pilgrims filing by. We use the facilities before heading down
the path.
We reach the top of Monte del Gozo which was once just a
green hill and chapel. But, because of
the Pope’s visit in 1989 the top was leveled and a “Albergue” which can hold
3000 people army barrack like, there is a rather interesting sculpture which
seem not to have a name but commemorates the Pope’s visit as well as St.
Francis of Assisi’s and World Youth day.
From here we look down into Santiago de Compostela and see the spires of
the cathedral. I light a candle for us
in the chapel before we had down to town.
We come to the Albergue Santo Santiago secure our beds then it is off to
the Cathedral de Compostela de Santiago.
We are disappointed that there is a barrier about the pillar which holds
the statue of St. James. There are five deep
indentations on the pillar where over the century’s pilgrims hands have touched
at the end of their journey.
We go to the pilgrim office to get our certificate of
completion. We are hoping that the
couple who picked up Lisa’s credential has dropped it off here. Lisa is again disappointed that they have not
and she will not get her certificate of completion. I feel guilty that I have mine in hand and
quickly put it away so as not to be a reminder.
We wander around town running into many of those lives have touched
us. Once more we run into Joseph and we
are not like old friends joyous to see each other. We have dinner together then again wander the
town making plans for tomorrow. We go to
the bus station where I purchase a ticket to return to Leon and my bike. Wander around the neighborhood then back to
the Albergue.
Down the street on the corner is a café in the Hotel San
Lazare where we stop in to have some wine.
There are a lot of locals there and the owner knows them all by
name. It is fun to watch as she banters
with the locals. Soon several of the
gents there begin to sing Spanish songs for our entertainment as well as their
own. We are having a great time an then
realize that we’ll soon be locked out of our Albergue. This will soon be our local watering hole
since it is close to the Albergue. The
owner is friendly enough but we never learn her name and I wonder if the locals
know it? We have purchased tickets to
take a bus to Finisterre tomorrow. Lisa
tells me she is thinking about staying there and hiking back to Compostela
before she heads home. I was hoping we
would attend mass together then head out.
Seems that’s not to be.
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