Tuesday, May 29, 2012

End of the Camino

More confetti for a great achievement:  Brother # 1 walked into Santiago just before Pentecost weekend, just a bit over a month from when he started out from St Jean-Pied-de-Port, somewhat over 800 km (500 miles), which seems to me pretty good going.  Here he is in front of the cathedral.


He looks leaner and fitter than I remember seeing him. He said the woman who stamped his compostella that he was only the second person over 70 that day to have completed the whole route from St Jean.  

A few days earlier he wrote -

The Camino is ones life in 35 days. From the pain of birth, which is the journey up to Rouncesvalles, one's middle life is the journey across the meseta ... the mountains where you reach great heights, the coming off those mountains with the end of the journey in sight. And you don't want it to end. All the people you meet and love and hate in your life are encapsulated in the people you meet on the Camino. How to re-adjust when its over?

He's now back in England and flies home to Australia next week.  We spoke on the phone last night, I have a feeling we'll talk quite a lot about it.  I'm tremendously proud of him.



10 comments:

Jean said...

Wow, well done him! I love what he said about it.

Dale said...

:-) That's wonderful.

Zhoen said...

Huzzah!

marly youmans said...

That's grand! I have a friend writing a book about the journey...

Sheila said...

Bravo, Brother #1! I bet he does have stories to tell.

Avus said...

Very well done, brother one! I do not think it is something I will ever now do, and yet there is a little bit of envy for his experience

Lucy said...

Thanks all, I'm sure he'll read this and appreciate your congratulations.

Anonymous said...

Well done! :)

tristan said...

it was very good going ... the spanish websites suggest taking forty days

zephyr said...

Sorry for these belated greetings...

Well done, Lucy's Brother!!
and
Happy French-Life Anniversary, Lucy and Tom!!