Last night they told us the rain would stop and by the morning it would be dry. Sun they told us. This morning on the TV in the bar it said sun with a bit of cloud. Gerry’s weather said sun… They all lied!
It rained from the moment we left the albergue until the last 15 minutes of the day. It rained all morning… We watched the rain through the window as we ate lunch and it rained almost all afternoon.
It wasn’t the driving destructive rain that we had before, it was a drizzle… We thought it was stopping but no… it started again. The kind of rain that just seeps in everywhere. Our shoes are wet and our socks are wet and we’re trussed up in big waterproof trousers and ponchos. so you feel wet on the outside and a kind of boil-in-the-bag wet on the inside. And I have no idea what they do for fun in Colorado but both Pam and Teresa agreed they love walking in the rain… Really?
Tonight we were stopping in a very lovely motel called Casa de los Somoza in a tiny little hamlet called O Coto. By the time we stopped for the day it had stopped and there was a tiny bit of blue sky, just enough for a pair of sailors trousers. By the time we’d showered and got a drink we could sit outside and warm up in a sunny spot on the terrace.
We had a room for three with lovely beds and a mive hot shower and radiators and woodburners everywhere to dry our shoes and clothes.
Today for me was a reflective kind of day. It feels like I’ve been walking forever. It seems so long ago that I was home. I miss family and friends… I miss the band and music. I miss the garden. I don’t really yearn for stuff… Although I haven’t brushed my hair since this journey started so shampoo, conditioner, a hairbrush and hairdryer would be good.
I think that any thought of home has been pushed back, maybe because thinking of loved made me homesick. But they’re close now. 3 more days… Just 3 more days.
I have wondered what this journey has taught me. I think I am more aware of my actions… I hope I am more thoughtful, less quick to judge… I know that I value all the good that is in my life… I hope that I will never take it for granted. I hope I have buried a few demons… I hope that I’ve gained a bit more self belief.
I am also truly grateful to my two walking companions. I am wholly aware that I invited myself to their walk. I know I’m no shrinking violet… Without their companionship my walk would have been very different and it feels so very odd that in 3 more nights I will no longer be sleeping in the same room with them… And that maybe our paths will never cross again.
It’s a very strange existence on the camino… But it feels totally normal now too and I can’t imagine a life without walking.
I also saw a sign today… At a little junction coming out of a tiny hamlet… If it hadn’t been raining I would have taken a photo… Thinking of it now brings a lump to my throat… It was a simple road sign and yet it means so much… It said Santiago. We’re nearly there.
Then We Walked 
Suffering and not giving in are great virtues. And you are so right about self-belief. Just to have done it puts you in a very special position but more important than that is the spiritual experience of life on the Camino. If you have done that and got through it, it teaches you that other targets are necessary in life and that you can achieve those too.
Photos as usual sum up your trip very well. I've really “enjoyed” your ups and downs – even the expected soakings and damp and cold are a part of your experience but you will remember the people more than any of the physical trails and tribulations because the people are what really make the camino.
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Colleen, I joined you on your journey later than others and have been eagerly clicking online every day to see if you have posted. Your writing is so interesting and the photographs so graphic. Poor you about all the rain and wet clothes and wet socks and wet boots. Yuk, yuk, yuk.
Santiago is in sight. Wow!
Cathy xxx
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Bon courage! Wait till you are on that nearly last hill and see the cathedral in the distance!
Then you will be entering the city with your lovely companions. Then you will be queuing up for your certificate and you will be so indescribably thrilled.
It will all feel completely overwhelming but I bet we will feel your happiness all the way here in SW France!
Sending waves of good vibes in your direction……………
gros bisous
sweet
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I think we will all need some post Camino postings on here. We will wanr to know how you are adjusting to the real world again. Even after the 9/10 days we did I know that a single bed in a simple hotel room (no mixed dorms / no bunks) space, clean sheets, proper towels and a shower to oneself, these things were all things of great joy. Simple pleasures that we take for granted but I really appreciated those things. Also every day you will have to decide what to wear, it is no longer a case of which tee shirt smells the least and which of the two pairs of trousers to wear. Suddenly for me there were other colours for clothing not just brown and khaki.
So do keep posting for a while. Gill / CindersX
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Yes well done!!! I think I too will be disappointed in one way when you finish, I look forward to loging in every night. But I'm sure you'll have many tales to tell for many days to come so I shall look forward to my visits. As I don't know if I could ever have done what you have achived it's been so interesting to read about your experience. Thank you so much for sharing those moments with us.x
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And the sun is going to shine for your arrival! Well done! Gemonimo Jen
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oh yes Colleen, I don't know who's more excited and looking forward to completion, is it you or me? You've been gone over 2 months, that's a long time to keep walking day after day and sometimes in awful conditions. But you'll do it, I know you will. Bon courage. Gill
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