Triacastillia

Tonight I stayed at a very comfortable albergue in a biggish village after a tiring walk down from the mountains. There are now mileposts measuring the distance to Santiago, and the one here reads 130km, which means that I will probably pass the 100km mark sometime tomorrow.
It is now 6.20am and I had to get up, but I am in the top bunk tonight, so there is no point in climbing back, so I have come down to the internet PC here until the others in the room wake up.
The talk among the pilgrims has started to turn to what they will feel like when this is all over. We have all made many acquaintances on the Camino, some good, some passing, but none bad in my experience. It occurred to me that of the 7 other people staying in my room tonight, I have met 5 of them several times over the past 4 weeks.

We may stay in touch, but we will probably never see each other again after next week. The experience of the Camino with the practical details of foot maintenance, eating, washing etc, as well as the scenery and experiences which change every day and sometimes every hour, will stop for me around next Wednesday.

It occurred to me that this is a reflection of life. Things happen to us, and we meet people that are important to us, but then they fade into the memory. I suppose the way you look at this depends on whether you see the Camino as a tourist trip or a pilgrimage. If you see it from the point of view of religious faith, then experiences and people never fade away in reality, it and they have everlasting importance. Tomorrow is All Saints´ Day which, as I understand it, expresses that hope that ¨we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses¨ and life is everlasting. When we are at our best, we can see charity every day, but faith and hope are the real challenge.