an end and a beginning

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged us on this journey!

Sarah and I arrived at Santiago this afternoon after a surprisingly easy 16.5 miles (419 total miles so far). To say that it was overwhelming would be an understatement...so I am just posting this Leonard Cohen quote which I saw on a door behind the cathedral. We tried to get our Compostela but arrived too late, tried to get to the mass but arrived too late. We slipped in by a side door and found ourselves underneath the altar in front of a silver casket containing the remains of St James, then out again into the city full of more people than we have seen in one place for weeks.

This may disappointing, but it's just how things turned out, and tomorrow is another day with more chances. A really, really nice thing DID happen, though..very soon after we arrived, Sarah spotted Birgitte and Konny who we had met briefly on 12th September in Azinhaga. We were overjoyed to meet them again! (See extra). We went for a drink together and talked about our pilgrimage experiences :-) It's so strange how life goes, sometimes...

"You can add up the parts
But you won't have the sum

You can strike up the march,
There is no drum

Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee.


Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."