Day 32-36: Santiago De Compostela

I’ve made it. I’ve arrived in the fabled city of Santiago de Compostela. I started on the French border and spent 32 days walking across Spain. I’ve met so many different characters and learned many new things. I’ve walked in discouragement and I’ve walked in excitement. The journey has often been difficult, but I would never take it back. My feet are as tough as nails now.

What a time of year to arrive in Santiago as well! To see all the festivities and beautiful Christmas decorations all over the city is something wonderful. But even better than that is the legendary once-a-year Christmas Eve Catholic mass at midnight. It’s one thing to arrive in Santiago on any regular occasion. It’s another thing to arrive on the most important day of the year for the Catholic Church.

I spent most of my last kilometers either alone or with Emmanuel. It was really easy to find albergues to sleep in because Emmanuel would always call ahead and double check. Before we went to bed, he would always ask if I was going to the same albergue as him tomorrow.

On the second to last day before Santiago, my plan was to stay with Emmanuel in an albergue 8 kilometers away from Santiago, so the next morning I could take my time and soak in the final steps to the cathedral. I would arrive on Christmas Eve and take in the festivities.

But I was met with a wonderful surprise. It would be accurate to call it a Christmas miracle. On the trail approaching Santiago, I met a wonderful and kind family from France who were visiting Santiago for the holidays. We walked together for quite some time and I shared more of my story with them and got to know them more. They have 4 kids. Their oldest son is my age. His name is Maxsance (but it’s pronounced Macsaunce). The next 3 are daughters. I connected quite well with the family. Eventually, they graciously invited me over to their home for dinner and to stay overnight! I couldn’t believe it. I accepted their offer and walked all the way to Santiago de Compostela with them. They witnessed me behold the cathedral for the first time. It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment, piled on top of the gratitude I had for meeting this amazing family.

They rented a small countryside Spanish home 30 minutes away from Santiago de Compostela by car. So after I finished taking it in, I followed them to their car and we all piled in. It was a strange feeling to be in a car and traveling 60 miles an hour after not using one for a month.

That night with the family was my best night on the Camino. It was the Camino’s Christmas present to me; to spend a cozy, warm night with a family and not alone. We even played a card game after dinner!

To top it off, before we went to bed, the mom extended an offer to me to come stay with the family in France for a few days maybe someday in the future, after I finish my pilgrimage. And Maxsance extended a seperate invitation for me to live with him for a couple weeks in his apartment at his university! I was shocked. I thought this kind of thing only happened in movies!

I’ll definitely take their offer after my time in the Canary Islands. I told Maxsance sometime around February, and he said he’s good with that! So I already have an idea of where I’m going when I get back to Spain. I have his contact when I need it.

The next morning, the father drove me back to Santiago de Compostela in the morning. I thanked him once again for his and his family’s kindness and hospitality. With that, I found myself on my own once again in Santiago.

Even now, 4 days later, I still can’t believe the kindness that family showed me. I’ll never forget it.

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After getting my bearings for a bit, I decided to go to the office and obtain my Compostela certification. But on my way, another miracle happened. I ran into Hailee! She was my very first Camino friend. I remember meeting her on the bus to St. Jean Pied de Port. Gee, it feels so long ago but just yesterday at the same time. We went and got breakfast along with another pilgrim friend she had made.

It turns out I would continue to run into Hailee several times throughout my 4 days in Santiago. More on that later.

I wanted to grab my Compostela certificate as soon as I could, so after I finished my meal I thanked them and made my way to the pilgrim office. Back then, hundreds of years ago, that certificate meant penance and forgiveness for sins one has committed. In other words, eternal life. Nowadays it’s mostly just a trophy to put on display, but very meaningful nonetheless. I’ve put in blood, sweat, and tears for that Compostela.

With the Compostela obtained, I contemplated on what to do next. There were many options, but I heard that there was a pilgrim mass at noon. I HAD to go to that. That’s what you do when you get to Santiago! I called Emmanuel and asked him where he was at. I wound up meeting him at the mass.

And boy, the interior of the Cathedral of Santiago is something to behold. The best way to describe it is to simply show the pictures.

Shoot. The pictures just don’t do it justice.

After the mass, I went to an albergue and asked how much it would be for one bed. They said 17 euros. They also said there was only one bed left before it was full. My luck streak continues on! I quickly booked 4 nights to stay.

The midnight mass on Christmas Eve was as crowded as they said it was going to be. Catholics believe Christ was born right at midnight on Christmas. So of course that’s when the biggest mass of the year is going to be. Every bench was filled and people stood all along the supporting pillars. And they brought out archbishop to conduct the ceremony! From everything Leo told me, they are super rare. Throughout the Camino, I would ask him what a bishop looked like. He always said “you’ll know one when you see one.” He wasn’t kidding.

It was quite the ceremony. Many musical hymns, sermons, and prayers were given. I was very glad to be there. It made the Camino feel more complete. And I also was able to see the French family again! They had mentioned going to the midnight mass. I was very happy to see them again.

The next day, at noon, was also another very important mass. Yeah, I know. There’s lots of masses. This one is the midday Christmas mass. I heard rumors that they were going to swing the giant incense burner that hung from the ceiling and douse the congregation with incense. They turned out to be true. It was an amazing sight to behold!

Santiago de Compostela was actually very busy on Christmas, to my surprise. I thought it would be like a ghost town, with everybody being home with their families. Nope! There were many bars open and they were filled with people and families. I once heard that people in Spain sleep in their homes but live in the bars. I think there’s some truth to that. I used to think that bars were just for getting drunk. It turns out I was wrong. Bars are the social hub for people in Spain. It is where you go to hang out and socialize.

Anyway, I spent some time exploring the city with Leo. There was lots to see. After a while, I got an invitation from Matteus to come to his apartment and play the championship game of chess. So I accepted and me and Leo made our way over. They had a large balcony on the top floor of the building with a great view of the city. The perfect place for a chess tournament. After yet another extremely tight game, I pulled through and took the win!

I’m glad I was invited over, because I was able to have a nice Christmas dinner with my pilgrim friends. Of course, it couldn’t hold a candle to the night with the French family. But still grateful for it nevertheless.

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Throughout my stay in Santiago, I ran into Hailee several times. I swear the Camino spirit itself had a part in bringing us together again and again. I saw her a few times in the main plaza, a few times in the street, and a couple times in the masses! When I saw her today, she was in the plaza, writing in a notebook. I almost didn’t see her. But I went over and spoke to her. I’m glad I did, because it turns out her phone had somehow gotten busted, and now she had no idea how to find transportation to Madrid. She bought a plane to fly back to Taiwan from there. It was scheduled to leave on the 30th, so she had a few days more to figure it other.

Regardless, knowing how it feels to be stressed out about travel plans, I immediately offered to help her find some way to get to Madrid. I searched online for bus tickets, and found plenty that went from Santiago to Madrid. I found one that went right to the Madrid airport on the morning of the 30th! The only issue was, she had no way to get a digital ticket. So I looked up directions and said “come on Hailee, let’s go to the bus station and get you a ticket.”

She was very grateful for the help, and I was glad to offer it! It also made me feel good knowing that I am capable of finding proper bus transportation on my own, well enough to help someone else out. There are lots of little logistics to figure out, so I’m glad I can navigate them.

It also was quite iconic, I’d say. For Hailee, her first pilgrim friend on the Camino also ended up helping her return home safely in the end. I sure am glad I met her. I won’t forget the experiences we’ve shared!

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As wonderful as my stay in Santiago has been, there have also been many moments full of stress. The source has mainly stemmed from making plans to get to the Canary Islands. So much so that I spent lots of time inside the hostel playing random video games on my phone just to have a distraction and escape the stress. There’s a whole bunch of things that could go wrong, and it gets to me. My plane leaves Barcelona on January 3rd. I have to get from the west coast all the way to the east coast, where Barcelona is located. I managed to find a bus, but it is 16 hours long and overnight. Not sure of where I’m going to sleep in Barcelona yet, neither where the bus station is and if there is one that will take me to the airport on time. Not to mention airport security, possibly delayed or even cancelled flights. And how am I going to find transportation when I land in the Canary Islands?

Hold up.

This sounds an awful lot like the state of mind I was in when I first left the U.S.

And what happened back then? I figured it out. Did I not just walk almost 800 kilometers across Spain? Surely I can figure this out. I will. I’ve got this.

Tomorrow I will be leaving for the final stage of my Camino: reaching the Atlantic Ocean. Tomorrow is also registration day for the Vipassana meditation class. Spaces are supposed to fill up within minutes, so I’m going to register online first thing tomorrow when it opens at 8:00.