Letting Go and Moving Forward
Today, we all woke up early once more so that we could have plenty of time on the shore. We had our last yoga class together, like yesterday down in the horse stalls, where we explored the theme of transformation.
We met in front of the hotel and walked down to the bus depot nearby (buses are not allowed in the old part of the city of Santiago de Compostela.) Although we were early, the bus was waiting for us, and we hopped on. We had a nice drive, many of us sleeping, out to the coast.
Our first stop was the Dolmen de Axeitos. Jose met us there, and we were all so happy to see him. Jose explained that the Dolmen was older than Stonehenge, created 6000 years ago as a burial chamber. We were able to touch it and enter it.
After the Dolmen, we drove to the small fishing village of Corrubedo. Jose took us on a 2 mile walk, passing through a beach filled with sea glass, which he explained was the result of the sea returning the remnants of an old garbage dump. The sea making beauty out of trash. We walked out to the site of an old lighthouse, which Jose explained was the beginning of a new Camino, which is called the original way. It traces the path that St Jame’s relics went from the sea up to Compostela. Four stages along the water and the last stage on land. It seemed like it might be fun to walk some time.
From there, our bus took us to the beach, Playa del Vilar. We had been to this beach many times and it had always been deserted but this time it looked like there was some kind of surf school in session, with what seemed to be a lot of surf students in the water. And, to add to the local interest, we were all surprised to see a fully naked older man getting out of the water.
We did find a nice quiet corner and set up our final ceremony. It was a sweet way to say goodbye, and we even had some “singing” very poorly let by a rusty choir singer! The heart was there, nonetheless. Because of some wind, the beach was a bit chilly, so only 6 of us plunged ourselves into an unusually warm ocean. A few even swam for quite a while. We then napped and rested on the beach until it was time for our last picnic with Jose.
Jose had pulled together another yummy feast, this time even featuring honey from his own bees. What a treat.
Finally, it was time to say “goodbye.” All of us have decided that we need to take another trip with Jose, so hopefully we will find one with his company On Foot in Spain.
After a quiet bus ride back to the city, most of us napping, we arrived back at the hotel and have spent the afternoon shopping, organizing our luggage, eating at various restaurants and saying goodbye to each other.
It has been an fun trip with a great and kind group of pilgrims. We all look forward to seeing what the fruits of this Camino will be!
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.
