To continue: My South African friend, Mary Goodenough, who walked all but around ten kilometers of the Camino, with a pack heavier than mine, never a hiker before -a 62-year-old woman of grit, to say the least - she said, when she got to Santiago, that she never, ever would have made it if she hadn't been "carried along" by others, her Camino friends and the support of friends at home.
I think that's true of others, for sure of me. The support of family and friends at home and people I've come to love here has kept me going, and makes me want to finish the walk. That is definitely part of the culture and blessing if the Camino. Of course, also, you meet people you want to see again, to have dinner with, to get to know better and that keeps those legs and poles swinging.
In my case, it kept them swinging in constant pain a little too long so that I'm now having to rest for days to see IF I can continue. The good news is that today is the first day in weeks with no ibuprofen at all and I can walk, not without some pain, but I feel that with two more days rest, I'll be able at least to walk some of the way back to Santiago.
I would like to be there by November first, All Saints Day, as the monks will surely swing the botufumeiro at that moon pilgrim's mass. This is a very large silver incense burner that takes four strong monks to swing from ropes on a pulley high in the crossing. I watched them last week and it is very trickly, the timing and the strength if the monks quite awe inspiring. In medieval times, it was used to fumigate the peregrinos, who arrived in Santiago diseased and stinking to high heaven. (Where did that expression come from? Wow, never asked that question before...)
Anyway, that'll all for now.
Love to all,
Mary
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI just re-obtained your BlogSpot address from Elizabeth so can now see where you are in your adventure. Looks like you take well to 'pilgrimage' with some grumbling from your legs and feet at having been enlisted for more sacrifice than other body parts! Fun to see all the pictures. Hope you will be of good heart and strong body to see this long effort to conclusion. Much love Cathie
Thank you for your All Saints' Day call this afternoon, Mary! Your voice came through very clearly when you said my name, but then the rest was garbled into a watery series of stops and starts. I am left imagining you very content this evening in a lovely and probably drizzly Santiago de Compostela while I recall your happy voice. The clock says about 1PM for me and about 8PM for you. I guess Santiago's streets are sparkling in the rain this evening, and the beautiful, sturdy Romanesque cathedral sits under its rather formidable, over-the-top (literally and figuratively) Gothic covering with its botafumeiro's incense lingering within. You, I hope, are warm and cozy, perhaps digesting a wonderful Spanish meal, resting your body, and glowing with the supportive love we all feel for you.
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