25 miles

We are now two days from the end of our pilgrimage.  Except that it's not really the end; the Camino is just a part of the larger pilgrimage of our lives.  It's hard to think about leaving Spain and going back to "normal life".  I sense that all of us in the group will not miss our backpacks but we are struggling with how to re-insert ourselves into our "routine" and yet to be different.  It's hard to put a finger on why, but this is important, because if we find that we've undertaken this journey, this trek, this Camino, and walked 500 miles only to return home and have everything be status quo ante, we will have failed, and it all will have been for naught.  Or will it?  I don't know, but this is what we are battling as collectively converge on Santiago.

The turigrino problem continues to worsen.  Turigrinos are those folks who are either walking and have their packs shipped, or even get on and off a bus every couple of kilometers when they get tired.  Mostly, they are oblivious to their surroundings, and often rude in cafés and on the trail.  It's good for this pilgrim to practice tolerance and graciousness and goodwill toward fellow pilgrims.  In the interest of your amusement I've included a couple of pictures of the more interesting turigrino walking outfits/contraptions.

The last couple of days were longer from a walking standpoint, 15 and 16 miles, leaving us 13 and 12 to get in to Santiago.  We are meeting as a group for the last time on the trail tonight, as I booked us all into the same albergue, and one of the things we'll discuss is if we want to push in to Santiago in one fell swoop tomorrow.  I am indifferent.  While I'd relish the idea of an extra rest day, I'm also enjoying time on the trail, difficult and distracting as it has been since Sarria.  An extra day to relax and reflect in Santiago might be nice.  We will see!