Almost There

Well, today I arrived in Azua. Not much here except hords of pilgrims! Some will reach Santiago tomorrow, others like myself will reach there on Sunday. The last couple of days travelling the Camino have been very interesting. At this point there are many more pilgrims on the road and the word I have chosen to describe the situation is "hords." Every where one looks or turns, there are pilgrims. The increase in numbers is for a couple of reasons: One, several of hte other routes have converrged into one. The other reason is that we have reached the 100k point and in order to receive the Compestela, many new pilgrims are joining the journey. There is now a feelilng of frenzy as all of these people rush their way to Santiago. I have been travelling at my regular meditative pace, but two days ago when I arrived at the out beyond city limit albergue I had chosen, the two places were full and had no more beds. My only option was to walk another two hours to the next town, arriving there a bit after 5. When I walked up to the albergue there were a number of people sitting outside. A couple of people I recognized informed me that everything in that village was full and that everything in Portomarin (the large town 2 hours away) was also full. These 2 persons had ordered a taxi to take them to Portomarin and had been informed that there was a private albergue with a few beds left, of course it would cost more than a public albergue, which is usually free or up 8 euros. They invited me to share the taxi with them to go to Portomarin and the driver contacted a private albergue that had some beds. They invited me to share a room with them and we were able to reserve three beds in a private room for 45 euros. As the taxi drove us to Portomarin, we passed scores of pilgrims who were making their way to the town not knowing that everything was full. As it turned out, the town opened up the sports center and the opverflow of pilgrims were housed there for the night. They had to sleep on the floor, which was OK for those who had a proper sleeping bag and perhaps a mat. For those like myself who have only a sleep sack, it was going to be an uncomforatable night. I continue to thank God for the couple and their invitation to share the taxi and a room. They are a father and daughter from Norway. The father, Ragnar, is 74 and wanted to travel the Camino, but his wife did not want him to go alone, so his daughter, Kari, decided to come with him. This has been the most time they have every spent together and they are enjoying it a great deal. Yesterday, I was concerned that I might face a similar situation of no bed. Again I had chosen an albergue in a small village beyond city limits, but thanks be to God, I was able to get the next to last bed. The Camino at this stage, for some, has become more otr less a competition to get a bed for the albergue fills up. The sign that no pilgrim wants to see, after a long tiring walk, is "Completo." The struggle at this stage ios not to get caught up in the frenzy. The books I read, and folks with whom I had spoken early in the journey all talked about the great numebrs of pèople who join the Caminio in the last 100k and the difficulty in securing a bed, I just didn´t think it would be this crazy. Some people are literally starting to walk at 4 or 5 in the morning in order to arrive at an albergue by 11 or 12 so that they can stand in line for a bed. You must understand, the sun does not rise until after 7! So these folks are walking in the dark, using their flashlights trying to find and follow the yellow arrows that indicate the path. Amazing!!!! A couplñe of times I was beginning to become frustrated and a little TO'd that the late comers were receiving the same consideration for a bed as those who have been walking for several weeks. But then God reminded of hte parable of the workers who all receeived that same wages, even though some of them did not start working unitl the end of the day. At that point, my rigtheous indignation cooled down. I do, however, have to keep reminding myself of that parable to keep my attitude in check! Well, I have my little albergues picked out for the next couple of days, and by the grace of God, I will have a bed for the next three nights. Since I plan to spend a rest day in Santiago, I will stay in a place Sunday night which will allow me to stay two nights. The general rule in albergues is that you are only allowed to stay one night unless you are ill and unable to walk. Until next time.