Santiago at Last

Finally my journey has come to an end. Santiago welcomed me and Juli at 12-00 this morning, as he has millions before us. This afternoon Pau (9 years) asked me "was it worth it?" A good question if ever there was one. Everyone has their own reason for making this journey: I ticked the box "religous and other" as i handed over my credential, and got given the compostella in recognition for my efforts of the past weeks. There is something powerful about following in the same footsteps as so many others who have walked the same path, particularly when you think of those who walked in the days before gore-tex boots and when the return journey was on foot rather than with Iberia. I think that this journey has helped me to value more all of those things which are normally taken for granted in our lives, those material and human comforts which you never really appreciate till they are gone. But most of all, I think it has helped me realize that however much you rely on your own strength, there are always times when you falter and you need to rely on the strength, advice and support of others to pull you through. A new journey starts tomorrow. Pau told me during the first days of my walking, "I hope you have the strength to get to where you want to go". Let´s hope so.