As one fellow pilgram put it, ‘I’ve been away from work on ‘holidays’ and my team think I’m refreshed!’. There’s just so much to process; a different town every night, new landscapes every day, meetings, departures, renewals…moving community. It will take time.
We’ve never been to a completely new city and randomly bumped into so many people we know. And not just, ‘Hi’, but, because of the shared experience, hugs and embraces and ‘how are you?’ and ‘what next?’ and…..it’s a beautiful thing.
Over three thousand pilgrims arrived in Santiago de Compostella yesterday, more today. We head to the pilgrims office to get our final passport stamp, but although not particularly interested in a certificate, find that the two are inextricably linked. Hot tip, register on line, it’s way faster.
The certificate process is a sight to be hold. ‘Registered on line? Go right, not registered, go left’. We’re given a ticket, 687 and ushered to two parallel queues, a screen above displaying ticket numbers and a corresponding counter (one to sixteen). In less than two minutes our number comes up and off we go to desk 16 to see Roberta. I’m thumbing our passports prevaricating about where I’d like my final stamp when Roberta, after scanning our pre-registered QR codes, grabs all four, arranges them in a row like a croupier and hammers out two stamps and separate date stamps with machine gun speed and rifle accuracy. ‘Now’,says Roberta, right when we think we’re about to get ejected from a sausage factory, let me explain what this is all about.
Roberta tells us that this stamp verifies we’ve completed the Camino Frances, and this stamp confirms we are pilgrims, searchers’, she says. I like that, ‘searchers’, such an open term, full of hope and possibility. I’ve got to hand it to the Catholics for making things accessible. She asks us how we found our Camino, listens intently to our responses, explains that once it was all done by hand but the number of pilgrims makes that impossible. I reflect that, given the computer rendering, ‘Doanne’ on the certificate, automation still has a way to go but nonetheless, Roberta does a stella job making an ‘efficient” process wonderfully human.
We grab a couple of takeaway coffees and wait at the cathedral entrance to welcome Wolgang and Erni from Austria, but they message us to say they’re staying at Goza for a morning arrival tomorrow.
After dispatching a bag of Camino stuff home (silk inner sheets, blow up pillow, merino blankets etc etc), we wander over for a stroll in the gardens. Other than at Port Authur, I don’t think we’ve seen eucalyptus trees so large. It’s a beautiful park with views back to the old city and cathedral.
While Di photographs some park scenes, three men stop and gesticulate a camera. But just as I start to get up and take their photograph, one of them sits beside me, puts his arm around me and smiles as his mates photograph us. ‘Thank you, you are beautiful people’, he says, and arises and departs with his friends. Go figure?
It’s a lovely, peaceful, gentle stroll through a lush green, very old garden and we’re glad we’ve done this rather than the much coveted cathedral tours.
Later we walk up hill from the town to an oasis I spied through an arch whilst collecting the bags, Hotel Vella. It’s a delightful cluster of small tables and chairs neath a canopy of green, overlooking the city, with a softly falling fountain, pots of colourful flowers, and attentive, affable staff.
They have a Michellan star chef who’s a ceoliac and her pistachio and blueberry pastry is worth dying for. We sit and enjoy the long evening with pineapple margaritas and finally a local creme liquer, kind of like Baileys but caramel with a hint of spice and some herbs. Very nice on ice.
Heading home, Di calls it a day and I find a bar nearby to blog. Afterwards, after dark, I search for the mysterious ‘shadow’ pilgrim and the ‘zero’ stone in the centre of the cathedral square (and find them – not hard), and wander home. It’s after midnight and it feels like the place is just cranking up!
Tomorrow we catch an early train to Madrid where we stay for two nights before heading to Greece. After touring, we’re looking forward to doing nothing for awhile in Kalimnos.
