And Then They Walked - Again!

Day Twenty Two - (Camino del San Salvador Completo, Camino Primitivo Completo), Day One Camino Finisterre/Muxia, Santiago to Negreira

“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”

― Lewis Carroll

Today I walked out of Santiago with three people, two of them individuals that have become dear friends over the course of a year - and who I met walking my second Camino Frances last year. We fell into step just as easily as we did this same time last September.

Myself, Mark, Tom and Petra

The walk to Finisterre is a new one for them. Last year I walked to Muxia, and then Finisterre, but we’re doing it in reverse, so I’ll walk through Lago and Cee this time, a fresh path for me. I’m so excited to be covering new ground with them. We’ve spent the last year touching base through zoom calls and WhatsApp, so our conversations continue from where we last left off. “How are the children doing?” “Your pictures of Thailand are incredible!” “What was young Monty’s weight on his last puppy visit to the vet?” This is yet another gift of the Camino - our lives become laced together as we tick off the miles across this beautiful country. And so today, a German, a Brit, and two Americans set out from Santiago on a walk to the sea. As we step out on what feels like a continuation of our previous adventure, we are already speaking of what next year’s walk might be. And I know the new friends who have become so dear to me on my walk this year will be ready to join me again as well. To walk across a country is an accomplishment, but to walk across a country with people you now call “friend” is a joy.