Joy joy joy
Our day began with yoga in a beautiful, large ball room strung with small lights and facing a window through which we could observe the breaking of day. Our bodies, especially our now sore legs and feet, prepared for this final day or our walk with a gentle stretch. After the cold practice of the prior day, the warm room with twinkle lights on the ceiling was welcome!
Breakfast was a new variation on our standard morning meals, with meat, fruit, cheese, coffee, tea, cake, and a new addition of eggs on toast. Soon, we were on our way - farewell to another beautiful country estate!
On the bus back to the spot on the path where we had ended yesterday, Nancy and Hugh each read a poem highlighting the day’s theme - Joy! We were invited to consider choosing joy today, even in the difficult times. Soon we were back on the road savoring our steps, chatting with each other and several other pilgrims. It was a beautiful morning! We were even more off stage today, so many of us connected with some of the long walkers. Interestingly, we ran into some who had walked some of the other Camino’s. We walk the Camino Frances, but met some who were finishing Del Norte and Primativo.
About 9 miles into the walk, we gathered for lunch on the Mount of Joy, the place where one can first see the spires of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella. Imagine the joy of the early pilgrims, who set off on faith, without benefit of photographs, in finding that their pilgrimage destination was right on the horizon. Our final on-the-path lunch prepared by Jose included spinach cashew salad, bread, quince, cheese, chorizo, and a medley of fresh vegetables. We shared our lunch with a fellow pilgrim with whom several of us had spoken that morning who had traveled from England following the Camino del Norte before merging with our Camino Frances earlier in the week.
After lunch, we walked together the final 5 kilometers (we are finally thinking in kilometers instead of translating to miles) into Santiago. We transitioned from countryside to city, from mostly dirt paths to fully paved streets. We crossed from the newer part of the city into the narrower older city surrounding the Cathedral, finally entering into the large plaza in front of the cathedral - we had arrived!!
After lots of hugs and plenty of time for photos in front of the Cathedral, we checked the back of the Cathedral and found that there was no line at the holy door, so we all were able to walk through the door right into the cathedral and straight down to the relics of St. James. We checked in to the accommodations right across from the Cathedral at San Martin Pina, the former Benedictine monastery of Santiago. We settled in for a short time before meeting, and by the time the meeting was over Hugh had arrived with our Compostelae, the official certificates that indicate we completed the pilgrimage - seeing how they had translated our names into Latin was fun!
We all had dinner on our own and many of us turned in around the beautiful sunset, exhausted and happy!
Consider how you can bring joy into your day - no matter what the external circumstance.
Copyright 2022 Nancy and Hugh Murray
Nancy C Murray is a practitioner of shamanic energy medicine, Reiki master joy professor and spiritual leader. She leads public and private yoga classes and healing sessions, transformational courses, and also retreats and spiritual journeys.
