Second to Last Day | Day 27

I left Ribadiso at 5:30 AM and covered 16 1/2 miles in 5 1/2 hours. It was actually a fairly significant uphill and went through a lot of forests. I saw some more very unusual flowers along the way, including a ballerina.

We are very close to arriving at Santiago. I can tell you, without a doubt, there are a lot of people on the trail that are very emotional in many ways. There is excitement, there is crying, and there are a lot of physical issues going on for some people. While I do not know where a lot of these pilgrims started the Camino, there is a lot of limping, a lot of grunting, and a lot of difficulty breathing.

I passed again, the Catholic deacon from Indianapolis. He just keeps chugging right along and seems to be covering more miles each day than we are! Today we set our sights on one village further than the normal segment goal so that we could are closer to Santiago tomorrow.

I have a lot of mixed emotions about this day. This is the last day that I’m covering a lot of miles. Yes, indeed, I cried numerous times this morning with joy, happiness, sadness, and gratitude. I guess from the outside looking in, you probably wonder how in the heck someone can walk 15 to 20 miles a day for a month?!?! I really don’t know the answer to that other than there is some deeper purpose, reason or force calling on all of us pilgrims here.

While walking today, I ran across a memorial on the side of the path that was quite moving. The woman died in her sleep after completing her second consecutive for Camino Francis.

Oh, I’ve seen these all over Galicia. They are used for drying corn. At first, I thought they were for burying relatives! 😳

Hey, I also wanna say thank you to all of you who have looked through this blog over the last month and wondered if you would like to try something like this. I’ll leave that to you, but I will say this has been an experience of a lifetime, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I have seen every kind of person, shapes and sizes, and human physical challenges represented here. Whatever the excuses were for these people before the Camino, I can tell you that they have overcome the doubt, fear and worry. They get to hold onto something that the majority of people on the planet would consider impossible. I truly urge you to consider stepping out of your comfort zone to experience something like this.

Thank you for reading over the last month. Tomorrow is going to be an extremely emotional day, I’m sure. I will probably be in the Cathedral Square in Santiago, on the ground crying uncontrollably.

I also want to thank again my business partner James, my work boss Claus, my friends and family, and most of all my three daughters. They believe in me, as I do in them.

And Steve, my 75 year old hiking partner. I’m so very grateful that you chose to come with me. We both experienced our own Camino magic each day. Buen Camino! True to the rumors, the Camino most certainly provided. I’m super proud of you!