We’re walking the Camino de Santiago in June 2022. Come along with us!
Day 13: Reunion
We’re together again! But still on very different trips. Hoping my symptoms subside soon and I can rejoin the world.
This morning I stayed in my room until about 11, then checked out and wandered in the direction of the cathedral to see Will and our Camino family enter the square. I never could have found it if I were looking for it, but suddenly the Hotel Montes—our home for the next two days—was right in front of me, and I was able to ditch my pack there. A good thing, too, as it is warm (hot +humid) in Santiago.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
As I saw yesterday, people were basically streaming into the square in little clusters, every minute or so. These are scenes of relief and reunion—we made it and look who’s here!
The place was crawling with school kids, who were adorable.That little red blur (think Tiger on Sundays) is Will entering the plaza. It was a relief to see him. We quickly found members of the Camino family, most clustered in the shade, posing with the cathedral as a backdrop. Here’s my sweaty dude. He made it the whole freaking way. 🙌Will and the Italians, Alessandro and Margherita. Will passing the schoolchildren. This is my Camino passport. When I got sick, Will volunteered to carry it the rest of the way. It has a stamp from every place I/he stopped along the way. Technically—I didn’t walk the last 100 km, so I don’t qualify for this. But I did walk more than 150 km before that… so I think I’m not going to feel too bad about it. This is my Compostela, or certificate of completion.The Hotel Montes, our home for the next two days. Hopefully our FitBit charger will catch up with us here. Also mad props to Will for walking back to the Mapoula Boutique to fetch my left-behind adaptor and charger. Geez, we’re starting to slack.
And a Covid update: I think the main thing that I’ve been experiencing is exhaustion. Energy is fleeting, and sapped easily by a mid-day walk. I’m trying to figure out if I still have a fever, but it’s so humid and hot that this may well be the cause of my sweat. I can walk a few blocks (masked) without needing to rest. The other thing is that I have lost my appetite. Not my taste buds—they’re still there—but the will to eat anything. Yes, even cheese! I’m currently sitting outside a pizza parlor hoping I can get takeaway and that I won’t fall asleep after the first bite.
Will went out with the Italians, but I’m still being cautious. So: I waited at a tiny pizzeria downstairs and across the street for this beauty and brought it back to eat in front of Flip or Flop, which is just as ridiculous in Spanish. I give you the arrabiata pizza, which is the most spice I’ve had since coming to Spain. 🙌
Yay! Hooray for Will’s finish and you still having your taste buds. You could use a shadowbox and frames for all your pictures and stamped papers. (The schoolchildren are adorable!) I think I can safely say your friends stateside are all grateful to the Janets for their care and concern. Sure hope you are feeling stronger tomorrow!
DeBoards in Spain 
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