What a lovely surprise to get another blog posting from Mark and a great summary of what can only be an undescribable experience.
Posted: 12 Oct 2008 03:01 PM CDT
Sunday Night
Well, I am back in the real world. Was it ever strange to get in a taxi and head to the airport in Santiago. I felt like I was flying and hadn´t left the ground yet. I flew to Madrid and checked into a hotel. I have a 3:30 a.m. wakeup call and then shuttle to the airport.
It´s hard to describe Saturday night, but will do the best I can. I have been fortunate to attend some wonderful events and parties over the course of my life and nothing compares to the experience last night. Imagine 17 people around a dinner table...from Germany, Spain, Ireland, England, Japan, Korea, France, Australia, Italy, Canada, Brazil and of course, me from the United States. Now, add the fact that each one has just completed a 500 mile walk and most-likely the greatest, if not one of the top 2 or 3 accomplishments in their life. The laughing, the singing, the hugging, the cheering, the toasting, and the roasting never seemed to stop. The youngest was Miyu from Japan at 22 and the oldest was Lucas, 72 from Italy who had just walked the Camino for the fifth time. He did not have an ounce of fat on him, could not speak a word of English and his singing almost stopped the world for a moment it was so beautiful. When they pointed at me to sing, all I could think of was..."For he´s a jolly good fellow...", and I dedicated the moment to him. The table went wild. Later that night he gave me a big bear hug and I could not understand a word he said. But, I understood how he felt. Then after three hours, around midnight we headed down a cobblestone street and met up with about 15 more Pilgrims and the celebration went until about 3:00 a.m. this morning.
I slept until 10 and then headed for the Cathedral. There were two men I hadn´t seen yet for sometime and time was running out. I had dinner with an older man from Berlin on day two and then saw him in Leon on/about day 22. His name was Willie, about 62, and he had given me some interesting perspectives on the Wall and leaders Carter, Reagan and Gorbachev. I desperately hoped to see him and get his picture. I was walking down the street and there he was coming towards me. I couldn´t believe it. I got his picture and we went for coffee. Then after the Mass and people seemed to be disappearing I sat on the steps in the square and hoped to see Inki from Korea. I hadn´t seen him for about 8 or 9 days. We started on day one together and he had stopped me in the street in St. Jean´s Pied de Port and asked me for directions. Like I knew? We were both scared out of our minds. A couple of weeks later he shared with me how depressed he was at the beginning and how hard it was. I didn´t have a picture of him or his contact information. Not two minutes after I had about given up on seeing him, there he was. It was a wonderful reunion and he pulled out a special Korean bookmark he had saved for me thinking we would see each other again. His picture is the probably the one I will value most. He has a good heart, a gentle spirit and I learned a lot from him, even though we never spoke that much.
I packed up what little belongings I had, enjoyed a meal with another angel, Pilar from Madrid. We shared a Galician feast of caldo galega, pulpo and paella. Pilar and I took a taxi to the airport and I bid her good-bye from the airport in Madrid. This Pilgrim´s on his way home, Compostela in hand, and ready for the next adventure, most-likely in South America...Brazil, Chile, or Argentina.
I will continue to share thoughts, ideas and photos over the next thirty days, including the only thing that really matters, when the time is right. Ultreia!
Mark LeBlanc http://www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com
I envy Mark the fact that he has been able to tackle this in one go. Teresa and I do not have the time to do this, this time so we shall do it bit by bit and will love the experience but Mark's way is indeed the most challenging.
When we were walking last week, we met Gregor, a young German who was on the trail. He had started in his home town of Stuttgard and walked through Switzerland and now France. He was hoping to finish in Santiago in December. I think of him often and wonder where he now is. When we talked to him, he was stiull camping and there were some cold nights when we were away. God speed Gregor.
Totally inspiring!
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