The Way of St James !

I reached Santiago today. Yesterdays walk from Melide to Santa Irene was one of pain and joy. I covered about 31km in a total downpour that had started the night before and continued the whole day. I had seen a couple of pilgrims on the way and spoke with them, they asked where I intended stopping, and I told them Santa Irene. they looked at me as if I was mad. They were stopping in Arzua due to the bad weather. I was going on another 16km. I got to the outskirts of Ribadiso de Baixo and I could see about fifty metres or so off the track, there was a small cafe/bar with a couple of cars parked outside, the rain was heavy and I succumbed to the temptation, I walked in, and bid everyone Buenos Dias, and dumped my pack on the floor and ordered a coffee. The workmen were just about to tuck into some slices of bread with fatty bacon placed on top of each slice. I hung my poncho up to dry and went to the counter where my coffee had been placed, and there next to it was one of the work men’s bread and bacon rations kindly donated to this cold wet and tired peregrino. With the kind donation firing me up I was soon back outside in the torrential rain doing the only thing I need to do on a daily basis. Walk.  I got into Santa Irene at about 5:30pm had a cold shower, there was no where to eat other than the next village, some of the other pilgrims had booked a taxi to take them there for their dinner, I made up my mind that I would not set foot in a car until the end of my pilgrimage, but I do have needs, so after a German pilgrim offered to share his pasta and bread with me I asked the other pilgrims to send a bottle of wine back with the taxi when he came back for the second batch of pilgrims that were dining out. So after a tasty dinner prepared by my German friend we consumed the bottle of wine with a young Jewish boy who is doing the Camino as part of his extended holiday, so there we were an old German an old git from London of German Jewish decent and a young Jewish boy, enjoying one anothers company and a bottle of wine discussing our reasons for doing the Camino. This morning I got up to find that my boots had dried out nicely, but had also shrunk. Needless to say it was a painful walk into Santiago, but you know what, I wouldn't have expected anything less, because as you know LIFE IS GOOD, and we all need a little pain just to remind us how good God has made it for us.