The end of the Camino - We made it to Santiago (Praise God!)

What a journey! We made it! We're here in Santiago resting after 22 days of walking and 317 miles! We experienced very few setbacks and limitations, thank God! Leigh's viral sinus infection, John's shin splints, and a few muscle aches were all. Thank you for all your prayers! We have heard from others that some had not made it here, some wept as they entered the city in pain and joy, barely making it, and some came in taxis and buses no longer being able to walk the full distance. But all have incredible stories of their journey. God is good, and we are blessed to be in Santiago, the destination for countless pilgrims since the 9th century -- pilgrims seeking God, overcoming limitations, finding community along the way, knowing pain and joy, receiving hospitality, and experiencing God in the beauty of God's creation in the Spanish countryside and villages, through the encounter with God's people of different languages, cultures, and backgrounds; in worship and solitude and personal reflection and more.

All have come for various reasons: Some for personal, for health, for religious and spiritual reasons. Some to walk the long Camino, some to bike it, and many have come doing bus tours. Pilgrims of the past came to see the remains of St. James (called Santiago, brother of John and disciple of Jesus), on which the whole Cathedral of St. James is built, and to attend the mass. What a beautiful end point for our long journey.

Leigh and I are celebrating our one-year wedding anniversary today, grateful for all of you who are so important to us, for your love and support and companionship along the journey of our lives. We are all walking a Camino together in daily life, and we walk together with one another and with God. The priest at the pilgrim worship service in the Santiago Cathedral encouraged us pilgrims coming to the end of our Camino journey to ask, What is next? What will we do now? How will we live as we continue the journey of our lives? What will we carry with us from this experience? How have we been changed? We're reflecting on that in these next weeks and months.

Here are some pictures from the last part of our journey. The church behind us is the Santiago Cathedral the day we arrived. The certificates we're holding are our "Compostelas," certifying that we have officially completed the pilgrimage. The pilgrim worship service in the Santiago Cathedral features the huge silver incense burner swung back and forth high to the ceiling at the end of worship, done for years to symbolize our prayers ascending to heaven and to sweeten the air from the stench of road-weary smelly pilgrims after hundreds of miles. (You're welcome for that image!) Finally, we took a bus to Finisterre, which for centuries was known as the end of the world because it was the furthest point west you could travel in Spain. Pilgrims on the Camino often walk from Santiago onward to the ocean at Finisterre to truly end their journey having walked as far as they could possibly go.