Greetings From Santiago !

I arrived in Santiago this morning. I presented my credential to the official office and recieved my compostela ( which is really kind of cool). I then attended the Pilgrims mass at a noon. Afterwards, I set out with a couple of other pilgrims to find accommodation for a couple of nights.... As expected I´m happy to have attained the goal of walking the Camino de Santiago but and am also filled with mixed feelings and can´t believe its already over. I´ve walked everyday for the last 30 days and enjoyed every bit of it. Life, so simple and rich. The Camino has ever more confirmed my belief that life is´nt supposed to be so difficult. For me the Camino was/is about the Journey, not the destination. Soon, I´ll begin contemplating the next direction as I navigate the options and choices brought about by the ever constant reality of change. The Camino has certainly made an impression therefore the next chapters in my life will likely be different because of it......... When I last wrote I was in Ribadiso. That evening Frank from California caught up ! I had´nt seen him in quite awhile so it was great to see him again. I also met up with Max from Boston whom I had met a couple of days previously but briefly. Max is a 31 year old conlsultant who´s originally from Florida. In the 30 days I traveled the Camino I only met 6 other walkers from the States. I know there are bound to be others but I only met 6. That evening we told stories and shared food and drink. Another nice night on the Camino..... The next day Frank and I were the last to leave the Albergue with aprrox. 40 k to Santiago. We walked together all day and passed thru the unappealling popular albergue stops of Santa Irene and Arco do Pino. Other than some nice stands of Eucalyptus trees along the way I can´t say the the walking was all that nice as it often paralleled busy roads. We hiked on and chose to stop at the large albergue located at Monte Gozo. Monte Gozo is only 5 km from the end of the Camino. Sometimes there are advantages to arriving late at an Albergue. Monte Gozo is a complex of numerous buildings and can house as many as 800 people. They had been putting most all of the other pilgrims in a couple of buildings which were more or less filled so they opened another building. Frank and I got not only our own room but our own building as well. Not bad for 3 Euros. It was very nice, quiet, and clean. At Monte Gozo we also met up with Max and got a local reccomendation on a nearby restaurant which proved to be great. 8 Euros for 4 courses with wine included. Definitely one of the best meals I´ve had on the Camino....... Today I walked in on my own and met up with Max and Frank at the Cathedral. After mass we looked for a place and found a nice 3 bed pension in the middle of the city for 55 Euros a night. Approx 18 Euros per person and good step up from an Albergue. Max an I roamed around this afternoon running into all kinds of people we´ve met along the way. Here I am, thousands of miles from home in a city I´ve never been, running into all kinds of friends and comrades. Really gotta love the Camino community. It´s been nice to feel a part of something bigger than just being by myself..... Tomarrow will be my first real rest day in a month. I´ll just roam around and sit in cafes. Tomarrow is also my birthday and other pilgrims know, so, who knows ? There may be a birthday party somewhere.... I´ll post more thoughts and some photos tomarrow....