< Norte Day 31 < Norte Index >
Being in a vehicle after a month of only foot travel feels like warp speed. Following a night at the Last Stamp albergue in Santiago, I walked the short distance to Praza de Galicia to catch a bus to the airport. Early and first in line when the bus arrived, I happily snagged a front seat and set my pack beside me. From the door, as other passengers entered and paid their fares, I heard my name being called. I looked up and out to the sidewalk where Stephan stood waving at me. We chatted for the few moments we had and through passersby. He had finished well ahead of me, having walked the Primitivo, and walked on to Fisterre (Finisterre in Spanish, or Land’s End in English) before returning by bus to Santiago. He would be catching a bus to the airport later but had some last-minute shopping to do. We said our goodbyes.
It felt like our bus made it to the airport in record time and that several speed laws were broken that morning. But we arrived safe and I’m quite sure my off-kilter sense of velocity provided an abnormal experience.
After a short flight to Madrid, I stayed in an airport hotel for my last night in Spain. I would, the next day, take a plane to London and catch another to San Francisco.
After determining I didn’t have the time or the energy to make a quick tour of Madrid, I ate in the restaurant at the Hotel Nuevo Boston and caught a few hours of sleep. As I lounged around, I pondered the previous five weeks in Spain.
I have always enjoyed my time in that country. I have always liked the Camino experience. In 2015, I walked the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, with a friend. I learned about the Camino, to love the experience of The Way, the country, the Spanish people, and its history. In 2016, I trekked the Via de la Plata from Seville. I learned a lot about myself and made some new friends, many I still have regular contact with. In 2019, I hiked the Camino del Norte from Irún, near the border with France. Each time I have walked a different Camino route, I have walked a little slower and taken in more of the experience and met more wonderful people from all over the world. Traveling abroad defeats our ignorance, crushes our fears, and makes us happier.
Some people run a marathon and that’s it; been there done that, never to run one again. But I have yet to meet anyone who has walked one of the Camino de Santiago paths and not gone back or who doesn’t want to go back to Spain to complete another. They say it gets in your blood. I believe that to be true.