We slept in on our first day off from walking. It's always a strange transition from pilgrimage to tourist. For a month straight we were simply walking and then, quite suddenly really, we were done. We gathered our belongings, packing up our items without haste or fear for too much noise for the first time in over a month, and boarded a bus bound for Santiago. Two of us promptly became car sick with the winding coastal roads and the strange sensation of moving faster than, well, walking speed.
Santiago was bustling as usual with new crops of pilgrims arriving. You tend to move along in a herd while walking the Camino, bumping into familiar faces along the way. Today gave us a sense of the longer trail, of how there were groups ahead and behind. Once we reached the city center, me and Sahra sat with the bags, enjoyed a coffee and waited for the girls to pick out gifts they had sighted the last time we were here. Particularly sweet was Emily wandering back over to us to present Sahra a gift of a Camino style "buff" like the one she had been wearing on the trip. I, too, was a recipient of nice t-shirt. The others followed and soon we caught glimpses of all the little gifts many of you families and friends out there will receive. You won't be disappointed!
A quick bus ride brought to the Santiago airport where we spent a little extra time strategically packing so as to avoid the 10kg carry-on wait limit. We got through, but barely. Hopefully, the other places we fly simply won't really check, but you never know. The flight to Rome is only a couple of hours, but we arrive after midnight. Because of this, and because of the high costs of lodging in the city, we elected to just take a nap at the airport for a few hours until the early buses and trains can take us to the city-center. It should be an interesting night!
Here is the schedule for the next few days.
July 31-Aug 2 Rome
Aug 2-4 Venice
Aug 5-7 Munich
Aug 7-8 Copenhagen
Aug 8-9 New York
Aug 9 Portland and Home!
Thanks for reading!
James
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