(Sorry for the delay. Technological issues prevented this from going up sooner. - John)
June 16 2010
The 15th was a rather light walking day...just 14 kilometers. It seemed to fly by. It was our last day on the trail and we really had to book it to Santiago, so that we could get there by 12:00 p.m. for pilgrim's mass. The day seemed normal until Debbie, our guide, told us just outside the city that our descent into the city would be silent until we were in the central square of Santiago! Well of course, at first, we didn't take this idea very seriously. However, once we started walking we realized that it was actually pretty cool to have our own individual experience.
Once we had walked about 3 kilometers, Debbie silently signaled for us to all hold hands. Well, we have to admit that made us feel a tidge uncomfortable. It was as if we had journeyed back in time to our elementary school days where we all had to walk single file, holding hands. As we walked through an alleyway, we got some interesting looks, especially from another teenage group passing the other way. It seemed pretty ridiculous at the time, but now looking back it was pretty cool because we were all coming together to share a group experience.
When we finally reached the square where the cathedral in Santiago was located, the sight was spectacular. The church steeples towered above our heads, and it was considerably different than the rural churches we had been used to on the trail. We didn't take much time before going into the church for mass. We arrived a little after 11 a.m. and the service started at 12 p.m. Every seat in the huge church was already filled with someone else's aching body, and so we all stood or sat on the stone cold floor for about an hour before anything happened. My personal thinking was that if I could walk 20 miles in a day, then I could bare to stand; and so I gave up my small seat on a base of a pillar to an elderly lady, who probably would not have been able to walk half that.
The whole service was foreign to us, so we mostly just observed and some of us tired pilgrims slept. A really cool thing about the service was that John got to participate in it as a priest. Then it was time for the swinging incense burner. It was remarkable! It swung 60 feet in the air and no one was asleep for that!
Afterwards, we got our certificates of completion, and had some free time to explore Santiago. We got to tour around local shops, restaurants, and the church. Because it was a holy year, the doors on the back of the nave were open. They only open about every 11 years. It is said that once you walk through the doors all your sins will be forgiven! A custom for pilgrims is to hug the statue of Saint James. It was a large and ornamented statue that was centered behind the altar. Each one of us had our moment with Saint James. Some of us even snuck in a small kiss. Then we journeyed under the church to his tomb where we could pray. It was the most holy sequence of events we had experienced. It was truly moving.
Once we all had our time at Santiago, we got on our bus and went to the train station. We had to part ways with Jose, our beloved bus driver. We loaded him up with gifts and boarded the train. It was the most claustrophobic experience of our lives. The room was just big enough to fit 2 bunk beds and a tiny sink. However, with help from an Advil PM, it was easy to snooze until our wake-up buzzer interrupted our slumbering. We quickly packed up and got off the train, boarded a bus, and got on a plane. Customs was not too bad except for Antonio and Moma. The people there had never seen such a cool passport! We got to Newark, stuffed our faces with as much American food as possible, and boarded the flight that we are on now.
This whole trip will live in every single one of our hearts. We all have different experiences and moments that will live in our memory forever. God was always with us on this trip and will be with us forever.
-George, Moma, and Antonio
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