Tomorrow

It’s hard to believe after so long on the way, tomorrow I’ll arrive in Santiago. When I arrive I’ll have walked over 1600km. That’s the equivalent of walking from Melbourne to Byron Bay or Perth to Karratha. For reference for my international friends, google says Seoul to Tokyo is 1147km and Montreal to Chicago is 1352km. I’ve gone a long way.

We had rain on the way today, it was peaceful and quiet and many of my pilgrim friends chose to have some time alone to think about the journey so far, myself included. I actually didn’t take many photos today so the photo credits for today go to my friend Wouter. Thanks for sharing.

Way back when I arrived in Saint Jean Pied de Port my unofficial halfway point, another pilgrim said to me that she thought it would be sad to arrive in Santiago alone. Having walked so much of this distance alone I can’t think that there would be anything sad about arriving in Santiago be it alone or otherwise. But of course I haven’t always walked alone. I’ve walked with Annie and Karina, with Dominique, with Donald, Laurence and Andreas, with Laura and Laslo and with Jennifer. And there are many others who I’ve shared conversations and meals with over the last 75 days. And tomorrow I won’t be alone either. I’ll walk to Santiago with Katia, Antonio, Marco, Wouter and Marina and Sergio. They have carried me the the final days of my journey and I am so lucky to have met them. And of course everyone reading has walked along with me and helped me with their messages and words of encouragement. They have meant to so much.

I expect the way tomorrow will be busy. I only have 19km remaining but it’s likely to be a slow walk. My best guess is I’ll arrive in Santiago around 1pm European time. That’s quite late in Australia and NZ and for my friends throughout Asia. But I hope you’ll take a moment to think of me tomorrow when I complete my journey and wish me a final Buen Camino. I’ll let you know when I get there.