All of the way my Savior leads me
And He cheers each winding path I tread
Gives me strength for every trial
And He feeds me with the living bread
And though my weary steps may falter
And my soul a-thirst may be
Gushing from a rock before me
Though a spirit joy I see
As we approached the distant cathedral, I found myself singing these words penned by Fanny Crosby and later adapted by Rich Mullins. After 41 days and 510 1/2 miles of walking, we had reached our goal, and about 1:00 this afternoon we stepped into the cathedral square at Santiago de Compostela. All of us felt a strange mixture of feelings: grateful to God for our wonderful journey, delighted that relief would soon be coming to our sore feet, shoulders and tired muscles, but also a sense of sadness that it was over.
What a blessing it was to run into several of our pilgrim friends that we hadn’t seen for a few days as we arrived at the cathedral. Dinner with them will come later today. Right now, we are resting in our last albergue and getting ready to go stand in line with the other 1,000 pilgrims who have arrived today to get our credentials certified that we did indeed do this.
A Spanish piper welcoming pilgrims. (A very different sound from the Scottish highlands pipes that I heard during my last sabbatical.)
Some photos highlighting the Galician beauty from our past few days.
One more animal to add to our list of sightings.
The monastery at Sobrado. The community dates back to 952, and the cathedral itself, which has become overgrown with flora from disuse, dates to the 17th century. Lots of fun to explore its beauty!
Our journey mapped https://share.garmin.com/DavidDillon500Miles
Like I said in Thomas’ facebook post ….INCREDIBLE! Really Incredible. And I’m not just talking about the pics ( which have been wonderful, by the way ).
Ms. Crosby’s lyrics take on new meaning in the context of a pilgrim’s arrival …they choked me up.
Enjoy the friends, enjoy the food, enjoy the sense of completion, enjoy the restful sleep,and — enjoy your first day of life after the long walk!
We have enjoyed the rest and will continue to do so as we head for Paris early tomorrow morning. See you when we get back!
The Camino. Always on The Way, we are.
Yodaish wisdom for life 🙂
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Congratulations! I’m so proud of you three for completing the journey and look forward to hearing the stories. Enjoy celebrating!
Thanks! Xoxo
Congratulations on this huge accomplishment! So happy for you! Lynda & Jon
Many thanks for your prayers and encouraging support!