Day 21: Muxia To Santiago

I just started sipping my cafe con leche at 6:30AM when the bus for Santiago pulled up. I slowly finished it while the other peregrinos loaded their mochilas (backpacks) and paid their fares. I watched the stars through the bus window remembering all the beautiful mornings they accompanied my walking. I recalled the start of each morning of this journey. Wow. What a blessed gift of time! I’m living in the denouement, trying to relish the afterglow of the Camino.  I returned to the plaza by the cathedral after checking in to my albergue. Steve, who had arrived the day before, found me sitting in a cafe journaling before the 12Noon Pilgrim Mass. We decided to attend the Mass. We ended up sitting in silence for 90 minutes before the Mass started. Thinking, Praying, Being. The organ heralded in the process of priests - at least 16 of them - most concelebrants because they had walked the last 100KM of the Camino Frances with their groups from like Poland, Germany, Peru, USA, Argentina, India (I cant remember all of the places now). During the homily, a priest talked about our Mochila de Vida (backpack of life), about which I hope to write another blog at a later time. As the Mass ended I prepared to hear the benediction, yet the priest started saying something else I didn’t catch. Then, the botafumerio lowered from the ceiling, they dropped coals and incense in, and then 10 men began the process of swinging it through the cathedral with the large rope and pulley system. Beautiful, Amazing, and a wonderful scent as we received the benediction, listened to the organ’s postlude, and exited. Steve and I spent a few more minutes talking and walking around the city. We said goodbye after a quick snack, and then I set out to find a few gifts for the kids. In the evening I wrote a few more entries at various Tapas bars throughout the city. I slept contentedly. Alleluia. Until next time, Buen Camino!