Today, we walked an additional 13 miles to reach the goal of this pilgrimage. We didn't complete the pilgrimage on our knees. Each of us experienced pain, elation, fatigue, boredom, emotional swings, great food, below average wine and most of everything in between.
It turns out that 500 miles (779 km) is a ways. We met others who were going farther and many who walked only the last 100km. We met Spaniards, French, Italians, Brazilians, Germans, Scandinavians, Brits, Irish, Scots, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, Koreans, Japanese, Portuguese, and Americans from all over the states. It was a comprehensive experience.We had the challenges of body, mind and spirit. In discussions, each of us has admitted to growth in each of those dimensions. We all learned that we are determined, focused people. We could keep the goals in mind on a daily, weekly and total effort basis for 37 days. And we are collectors. We were told early on that we had to collect 2 stamps per day and we were collectively dogged about that.
The result was the certificates of completion - Pieces of Paper that offer "proof" of our accomplishment. The only necessary proof is what we each experienced, but paper is not bad.
Tomorrow we rest and then it is just the long trip home.
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