October 27, 2001
Santiago (sunny)

Last night we had a celebratory dinner and it was not until I stood up at the end of the meal that I realized I was very drunk. This morning I figured out why. First, J brought each of us two scotch on the rocks before we reached our table. Next, we split a bottle of wine with dinner. Then we started talking to a couple from Mexico at another table and they joined us and we shared another bottle of wine. A lot of wine for someone who is a light drinker.

This morning I wake up early and feeling fine. B, J, and I had decided to try the free breakfast that is offered to pilgrims by the Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos. When I knock on J's door it takes him a minute to answer and when he does he has a, "Why are you bothering me so early?", look on his face. No, he does not want to go to breakfast. B and I go alone and wait with the other pilgrims at the hotel parking garage for an employee to take us to the main entrance of the hotel and then to the kitchen. As we wait, huddled together, I feel like a drug addict waiting for the methadone clinic to open so I can get my fix.

The kitchen employees are very kind to us and bring a pot of coffee, plain rolls, sweet rolls, milk, sugar, plates and cups that we help carry down to the employees dining room on the floor below. We eat our simple breakfast there. They also serve a pilgrim lunch and dinner but since the hotel only takes ten pilgrims at each meal, I am sure you have to get to the garage early. Since I don't think a free meal is worth standing around for a couple of hours for, I decided not to try.

After breakfast B and I head to the post office to pick up the stuff B and T had mailed ahead. We run into J who is coming back from the post office after picking up the things he has mailed to Santiago. We tell him where we are going and then plan to meet after and go to the Pilgrim Office and get our final stamp and our compostelas. The compstela is the Cathedral's certificate of pilgrimage.

When we get to the Pilgrim Office we see the Spanish woman and her mother and we all give one another big hugs, smiles, and congratulations. M from Canada, another pilgrim we have run into on our walk, is there too and we give her a big hug, smile, and congratulations. Then AE and AG walk in and again, big hugs, smiles, and congratulations. I am delighted to see all these people, something I did not expect to happen. Walking the Camino makes you war buddies and we are the survivors, the ones who made it to the end. We all understand what it takes to get here and revel in each others accomplishment.

When it is my turn I walk up to the counter and hand my passport over to the young man sitting behind the counter. He examines it thoroughly and then stamps it. The next step is the compostela. When they fill out the compstela they translate you first name into Latin and write that name down along with your last name. They have a list of first names in a paperbound book that they use to search for name translations. First the young man looks on a list that is made up of about 25 pages. He doesn't find my name there so he goes to another book that has hundreds of pages. I do not think he will find a Latin form of my name and I try to tell him he won't because my name is a word in another old language, but I don't think he understands English. He keeps looking in his book and then closes it with the air of someone who has found what he is looking for and starts writing on the blank compstela in front of him. When he finishes he hands me my passport and the completed compostela. I thank him and step away from the counter and over to the other side of the room. On the compostela is written my full name, no translation into Latin, just my first and last name as I spell them. I laugh. Well, I was right, there is no Latin translation of my first name but I am touched by the diligence of the young man.

B knows about a English bookstore so after we finish at the Pilgrim Office we decide to go there. When we get there I notice a sporting goods store across the street and after the bookstore we walk over to it to see if I can get a pair of sandals. I find a pair I like and tell the salesperson that I would like to try them on. She asks me what size I wear but I am not sure what the European size would be but then remember my boots have the European size listed on the label sown on the tongue. I squat down and look under the tongue and see the boots are a size 37. She brings a pair of sandals that size but when I put them on they do not fit. She goes and gets a size 38 and they fit perfectly. Ah, crap, now I see, my feet have swelled up and are a half size larger. They have been hurting because I have been wearing boots that are now half a size to small. I thought the pain was because of the pounding my feet had been taking every day. I am naive.

Funny, even though my feet hurt, when B asks me if I want to walk to the Mall with her I say yes. I can't seem to not walk. I need to walk. Besides, wearing the sandals makes walking a lot easier. When we get to the Mall we go to the McDonalds and the place is packed. As we wait I read the menu (written in Spanish) and decide what I want to eat. When I reach the counter I am going to order in Spanish but instead I hear myself say, "A hamburger, fries, and a Coke." Then after a second I add, "Por favor." The woman looks at me for a moment and then smiles and punches in my order. Standing in a American fast food restaurant and ordering American fast food in any language but English seems absurd.

Tonight B decides to buy some food and eat dinner in her room (I think she is running low on money) instead of going out to dinner with J and me. But before I meet J for dinner I have an hour so I go sit on the ground in the Plaza del Obradoiro and look at the Cathedral. It is dark and the Cathedral is illuminated by large searchlights that reflect into the sky and turn it to a dark cerulean blue color that glows. The church is like an over decorated six layer wedding cake and at first I try to examine every detail but soon I am overwhelmed by the number of things to look at so I just let my eyes roam over the building face. I sit there staring at the church and letting the crowds of people swarm around me. I am at peace sitting here and wish this moment could last forever.