I have been riding the sweet wave of accomplishment for a couple days now. We walked into Santiago de Compostela the morning of the 20th. When I finally approached the cathedral that I have had in the back of my mind for nearly 5 months now I was overcome with a sense of accomplishment and pride. 7 weeks of walking that was filled with blisters, being woken up throughout the night by other pilgrims in hostels, losing belongings, losing my mind here and there, taking a wrong turn and having to backtrack, sunburns, stinky clothes, and everything else that tested my motivation was suddenly a million times worth it. But at the same time time I was overcome with sadness. Sadness that 2 months had flown by so quickly, and sadness to have to say goodbye to Leonie and Mirium, who we had been laughing our way down the trail with for 10 days and had become fast friends. I think the hardest part of traveling is making friends and having to say goodbye with no certainty when you will see them again. But I suppose it’s good to spread your heart out all over the world.
Santiago is full of all kinds of travelers. Plenty of pilgrims flooded the church for mass on Sunday, and the priest read out all the different countries that people had arrived from today; the list seemed never ending. The roads of this sought-after city are rimmed with street performers, artists, and people from almost any background you could imagine. It feels surreal to be in this city that us pilgrims have had as a fantasy this whole walk. But we made it!
