A Peregrina's Progress: The Last 100 km

"Can there really be that many more people?" Lauren asked me as we stomped along towards Sarria and the beginning of the last 100 km, the necessary distance to receive the Compostela certificate.

"I don't know, dude," I said, glancing skeptically at the horizon. Actually I had my suspicions and they were soon confirmed .

There actually were that many more people. Like 10x as many. Some of them being driven between locations on tour busses to receive stamps and given the option to walk or not with teeny tiny packs, huge groups, and no understanding of what this means to the rest of us. You know, the actual pilgrims. Who are entering these last 100 km with another 600 or 700 already under our belts and the tan lines to prove it.

So what does this mean for the practical modern pilgrim?

Mostly it means an end to the tranquility. Imagine you've been cruising down a fairly empty interstate, cruise control set at 75, easy breezy, just going along and then suddenly pow! You hit a huge crowd of cars. Not stopped exactly. Just not going as fast as you'd like to go and, in fact, have been going for a long time. Suddenly you have to disengage cruise control and weave around these other cars. It takes a lot more thought and energy than just cruising, right? It's frustrating. It makes it hard to notice the beautiful Galician scenary including sun dappled, shady forest paths and mists. Eucalyptus and little clear rivers. Like walking through a fairy tale world suddenly populated by every loud, irritating person you usually find cutting you in line at a ride in Disney World.

Tourist pilgrim with Dolce and Gabanna designer backpack purse

How fast can a person walk without actually running?

Let me show you sometime.

Monday we didn't have a guaranteed (reserved) bed in Portomarín, our stop. Which made the Camino a race. For 18 km we walked with one break, moving so fast we made it there at 11:10 and we're still 35th in line. It was very stressful and physically taxing, and we're only lucky that we've been conditioning for this for 4 weeks already. But Camino shouldn't be about running to your destination for fear of sleeping on the street. Miraculously (seriously,God's hands were all over this), Lauren and I have a guaranteed spot every night since, which gives us some degree of peace amidst this tourist-y chaos we've stumbled into right here at the end.

In two days, I will walk in Santiago. It is a baffling thought. We are so close!!! Are we ready? Yes! The idea of our victory at the end of this adventure is keeping us moving, and we are so excited to think of laying down our poles and knowing that we did it! And, honestly, so grateful for every step :)

The 100 km post mark! (Right at the end of a huge hill so I was red and sweaty and winded haha)