Starting to notice "The Lasts"

As my great adventure begins to come to a close, I'm taking notice of some last things.

This is my last long walking day...26k.  It was a day of many hills, and the dreaded feeling as you start a downhill walk that there will be an uphill closely following. At least the milestones and way-markers keep track of the distances and give a bit of incentive to keep going.  I started at 51.5 km and my Albergue is at 25.5 km (from Santiago).  The kilometre is no longer so elastic as it once appeared!

It is also my last night in an Albergue. These have, for the most part, being acceptable places to spend the night. You're normally so tired but all you want to do is shower, rinse out your clothes, rest, drink, eat, and then sleep for the night. I will not miss the people getting up two hours before dawn with misplaced enthusiasm can it's time to start walking.

I will also miss "Buen Camino" which comes from both pilgrims and locals. It is a form of acknowledgement and blessing and distinguishes the peregrino from another person on the street where the greeting would more likely be "Hola!" or "Buenas Dias!"

But there are also firsts – today I met the youngest pilgrim I have met on the Camino so far:  a16-year-old girl named Lucy was walking the Camino with her mother. They were from Australia and she was taking a year off school where she had to write on the Camino as a form of homeschooling.

And there is the music – I have never listened to as much music as I have over the last several weeks.  Almost everything I have cited as a piece of music at the end of the day is on my iPhone. Music has been a consolation, an incentive, and sometimes even something to keep the beat as I walk!  I have given considerable thought as to what these last three pieces of music will be. They are pieces that have remained in my mind even after I have turned off my phone, and truly captured my sense of pilgrimage and accomplishment.

Today's Music:  Missa Gaia (Paul Winter and Paul Halley), especially For the Beauty of the Earth set to an evocative arrangement of Adoro Te.

Today's Paces:  39,171 (!)

Tomorrows Prayer Intentions:  all the people with whom I have shared this walk