Finally getting around to finishing up the last few days of the--well--not-a-pilgrimage-any-longer. But still part of the journey. It's taken me a few weeks to get here, but there you go.
On Saturday, the 31st, we slept in. I know; there's a shock. Niles and Emlyn were across the hall, Marty and I had a room overlooking the Cathedral, and the pension was wonderfully quiet. We had reserved our rooms for two nights, so there was no rush to get out. After we finally got going (grabbing a coffee and croissant for breakfast), Emlyn and I paired up to find me something to wear (we'd only had success in finding her something the day before), while Marty and Niles headed out for the guy equivalent of not-these-clothes.
It was a wandery kind of expedition; we just stepped in and out of shops and poked our heads in here and there, and occasionally went in to try things on. I did eventually find a skirt and top that bordered that line between casual enough to wear with Tevas, and hopefully preventing some of those "looks" from all the very stylish women. (OK, that really wasn't my true motivation. I just wanted to feel not gross again all for my very own self.) Plus spent a little time browsing boutiques for things like necklaces and rings and little gifts for folks back home. It was such a completely opposite feeling from the way we had spent the last 5 weeks, and I had a hard time figuring out that balance between loving it, and feeling--strange. Back to carrying about how things look, how I look. It wasn't right or wrong; it was just different. I hadn't lived in that space for a good while, and wasn't sure if I really wanted it back or not.
Still bought the necklace I found, though--a pendant with a stylized pilgrim shell on it that I really liked. I found myself really wanting to make sure I had some things that would help me remember this space. Not just the place, but the experience. I wanted to be able to, symbolically, carry the Camino with me.
After finishing up a little souvenir shopping, and running into Sarah-from-Quebec a few times (which was a delight!) we headed back to the pension. I changed into woohoo not shorts, and then decided to do the unthinkable. Niles and Emlyn were heading out again to find some gifts for friends, and Marty opted to stay in the room and journal a while, so I headed out to explore a little on my own.
OK, so that's not so unthinkable, you're thinking. No, not really. Except for the fact that I have discovered a truly amazing inability to maintain my sense of direction in any space that isn't laid out on a grid. I get lost. Really, really, really lost. Which tends to make me profoundly uncomfortable; I'm not one of those people who doesn't really care if she knows where she is or not. And oddly enough, I had discovered that there were no longer friendly little yellow arrows pointing me everywhere I wanted to go. I kept kind of hoping they'd magically appear, but I guess it doesn't really work that way.
But I decided I wanted to go out on my own, telling myself I'd just watch really carefully and note the street names and the shops and the turns and stay close enough to know where I was. I thought I was probably doing pretty well for a good while. I recognized things (not really realizing at the time that recognizing things isn't an indication that you actually know what to do from the position of the thing you recognize), and was generally enjoying myself and admiring my courage at stepping out with this whole new "hey everything will work out" Camino attitude.
Then I heard the harmonica. From across a plaza and just around a corner, the strains of "My Darlin' Clementine" floated into my awareness. There's only one person on the Camino I could possibly think of who would be playing that (and I'd already heard him playing it once), so I headed toward the sound.
Yup, it was Jorge. And Raphaela, wonder of wonders! Sitting outside a cafe, waiting for it to open for lunch. We hadn't ever found them the day before, and I had been so disappointed at not seeing them when we got to Santiago, so I was so happy to stumble across them there! I didn't call out, just walked across the plaza, sort of pointing to them. I think Raphaela saw me first, and said something to Jorge, who looked up, yelled "Oh my God!!," ran across the plaza and picked me up.
It has been a long time since anyone has picked me up. I am not what you call petite.
Not only did Jorge pick me up, he held me there, while we both laughed like fools. (I'm still very, very impressed, Jorge! Serious muscles you got there, dude.) This may have been one of the very best parts of my Camino, the joy of seeing them both again when I really thought I might not catch them. Yes, we'd been through this so many times with so many Camino friends; there were lots of other folks we either connected with or missed--and you'd think that at the end I would have been accustomed to letting it all go. But I guess I wasn't; I was so happy to have one more chance to tell them what all their help and encouragement, support and flight-planning, conversation and laughter have meant to me. (And queso con mielo, Jorge.)
We made plans to meet up for a beer later, since they were being called in to the restaurant. They told me it was one of the best in town, with reasonable prices and great food, and there was often a line to get in so we should be sure to come back and try it out. I told them I'd give them a call and we'd meet before dinner, or maybe before the concert that we'd heard was happening in the Cathedral plaza that night. Then I headed back to the pension.
Which, of course, I couldn't find. Yup, saw the stuff I recognized. Just didn't know what to do with it. And while I'd love to be impressed with my ability to, for once, overcome my direction-impairment, I had to settle with being sincerely impressed with my (new-found) ability to not go into a blind panic about it. I figured something would work out. Eventually.
It did. I stumbled across Niles and Emlyn. Both of whom know how to figure out where the heck they are, and where they're going. See? The Camino provides!
I told them I'd found Jorge and Raphaela (but couldn't tell them where!), and they mentioned that they had found Gavin and Claudia, and we were all pretty happy with having made some great connections one last time. Niles and I decided to scope out an internet cafe for blogging and updating, and Emlyn headed back to the pension. (Maybe I should have kept some of my direction genes, instead of passing them all on to the kids. Yeah, I know; it doesn't work that way. Meh--what does science know about real life?)
Hmmm, there seems to be more to talk about than when you spend the entire day just...walking. Haven't even gotten to dinner yet--and then there's the concert. But this will do for now, and more will come--I promise--before long.
Blessings and peace.
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