Muxia to Rochester

On the Road

Muxia. Left with no travel issues. Bus on time.

Santiago. Same here. Train left on time and arrived on time in Madrid. During the train ride, I awoke to find the train stopped in Puebla de Sanabria which was my stopping point for last year's Camino Sanabres. Coincidence? Or the Camino calling me back to the quiet and solitude of the Sanabres after the hustle and bustle of the Frances.

Turning in now for tomorrow's flight back to Rochester.

Linda and I explored Madrid spontaneously and came across 

1. A coffee shop with churros on a Wednesday evening

2. The Puerta del Sol

3. A special chocolate store of fine treats

4. the San Pablo market for delicious tapa hopping.

530 am wakeup for the airport and return to Rochester. ... Good night's sleep and at airport now, waiting to leave.

Uneventful flight to Toronto with only a minor issue at Pearson Airport, altho' I did think it would cost me my flight to Rochester. But it all worked out and at 3:20 on August 10th, I landed at Rochester and closed the books on Camino 2017.

My compostelas in hand, I looked at them again in my loft with pride over my dedication to walking the Way of St James, as hundreds of thousands have done before me, and many more will follow in the years to come.

Final Thoughts

Every camino has led to personal introspection on my return to Rochester, and this camino is no different.

I remember back on how different the Frances is from the Via De La Plata - not the least of which is the numbers of pilgrims on the Frances in comparison to the Via. I never felt the ability to wrap myself up in a cocoon on the Frances, and sink deep into myself by imagining what shape and purpose that I would have as I left the protective outer shell.

On the Via, time for reflection was unavoidable. On the Frances it was not available. This is not to say that one is better or one is worse - only that both are different as night and day. It may be easier to see in the day than the night, but one is less inclined to look in the glare as opposed to staring into the shadows.

So now that I've completed the Via de La Plata, the Camino Frances (from Sahagun), the Camino Finisterre/Muxia ... what is next? I don't know yet. I have some thoughts. I've started the Camino Sanabres. If I finish that, I would end up in Santiago again and have a second chance at experiencing the magic of Plaza Obreira. Or I could go back south to Granada or Cadiz. Those are literally routes less traveled, so I would have something that I value ... an aloneness with the environment around me. Now that I have experienced the Frances and its other worldliness, perhaps it is time to return to how I started.

Makes one wonder about the circle of life from the Lion King. Is it a circle? For some I imagine it is an ellipse with great arcing curves that return one to some fundamental point. For others, it may be a square or rectangle with sharply defined life events that initiate radical change. I somehow feel that for me it is more of an irregular polygon. At some point I will discover a basic point about which all has revolved/rotated, but not yet. The world is still out there and it is still calling. The journey is not over ... in fact the adventure continues.

And so shall I.

"Shake It Out" by Florence and the Machine	Regrets collect like old friends Here to relive your darkest moments I can see no way, I can see no way And all of the ghouls come out to play And every demon wants his pound of flesh But I like to keep some things to myself I like to keep my issues strong It's always darkest before the dawn And I've been a fool and I've been blind I can never leave the past behind I can see no way, I can see no way I'm always dragging that horse around Our love is pastured such a mournful sound Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground So I like to keep my issues strong But it's always darkest before the dawn Shake it out, shake it out, And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back 'Cause I am done with my graceless heart So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart 'Cause I like to keep my issues strong It's always darkest before the dawn I tried to dance with the devil on your back And given half the chance would I take any of it back It's a final mess but it's left me so empty It's always darkest before the dawn And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat 'Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me Looking for heaven, for the devil in me Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back So shake him off, oh whoa
'Wait' by M83	Set your dreams where nobody hides Give your tears to the tide No time There's no end, there is no goodbye Disappear with night No time
'Thank U' by Alaniss Morrisette	How 'bout getting off these antibiotics How 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up How 'bout them transparent dangling carrots How 'bout that ever elusive kudo Thank you India Thank you terror Thank you disillusionment Thank you frailty Thank you consequence Thank you thank you silence How 'bout me not blaming you for everything How 'bout me enjoying the moment for once How 'bout how good it feels to finally forgive you How 'bout grieving it all one at a time The moment I let go of it was the moment I got more than I could handle The moment I jumped off of it Was the moment I touched down How 'bout no longer being masochistic How 'bout remembering your divinity How 'bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out How 'bout not equating death with stopping Thank you India Thank you providence Thank you disillusionment Thank you nothingness Thank you clarity Thank you thank you silence