Finding treasure on the Camino de Santiago

10th June 2022

“It always seems impossible until it is done!” Nelson Mandela

Day 30 – Larceveau to St Jean Pied de Port

21.8kms; 34 356 steps; 6h17m

Total: 753kms walked

Total: 1 165 776 steps taken

Hours walked: 197

Today we walked the last 22 kilometers of our epic Le-Puy-en-Velay Camino. Many French people take years to complete it in stages every year. We have walked it in 30 days with five rest days in between (so 35 days). It’s been one hell of a ride or should I say Walk. Spectacular views, amazing people, delightful food, perfect wine and lots of aches and pains and burning feet. And is it even possible that we’re finally going to get to the very place we started the first Camino in 2016.

Again a lovely walk with ups and downs and views to simply sing about! You know “The hills are alive ……!” We dragged our heels today, both walking quite slowly (unplanned, unspoken). Both internalizing that when we get to St Jean it’s the end of a Big dream and a big chapter of our trip. A glorious walk, albeit hot.

As we got closer to St Jean we got slower. Reflecting on what we’d done for the last few weeks. We had forgotten for a moment that this is the end of the journey for many and we were about to complete the Le Puy route to St Jean en route to Santiago. Walking up to the Porte (old wall gate) I could feel the tears swell in my eyes. A happy sad moment. I said to Jennie “We need pics of us going through that gate!” We took pics of one another and the walked through. I tree my sticks down and said to Jennie. Let’s do the dance of Joy! We danced around in a circle. We were both a bit stunned and asked a tourist to take a picture. Then just stood there and took it all in. We remembered being there to start six years ago! The excitement and anticipation and the anxiety and here we were at the end of an epic journey. We were both a little speechless. And on Sunday we take on the Pyrenees. The first time we were new and younger and naive. This time we have 753 kms on our tired feet.

Camino gifts

– The gift of achievement. The gift of the journey, the gift of all the people we’ve met.

– the gift of my body cooperating with my plan

-the gift of seeing “old” Camino friends at the end in St Jean

– the gift of being able to carry on on Sunday albeit for only 75kms

Nothing is impossible. Put you kind to it and watch the butterflies and listen to the love and encouragement around you and you can fly! Wow! What a day! What an achievement! What a joy!