Before I speak to Keith’s impending Santiago arrival, I’ll give a quick update on his latest day’s hike. Today he travelled from A Rúa to Lavacolla. He said that this day was probably one of his favorites because the weather was nice and while there was one big hill it was not too bad. “It was pleasant and I took my time.”

He had a beer with the French guy that he’s been bumping into off and on throughout the trip and his girlfriend at a bar. He also met a guy from California who asked him what part of Washington he was from and when Keith told him he said that he’d worked for Weyerhaeuser in the 60s in Longview! He said he set chokers. Keith thought, “Wow, I’m probably the only person on this continent that knows what that means!” Keith stopped to take a picture for two Spanish couples by a Santiago monument and when he was handing the camera back to the woman his finger got ensnarled in the lanyard and she dropped the camera, but it was ok.

It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and he’s going to have to give it up and figure out how to use his rain gear for his shoes. I know he’s disappointed since he got so close without having to use them. The other challenge he had today was trying to figure out how to use the shower. He just couldn’t get it to work so he gave it up and took “a damned bath.”

After he checked into his hotel today and got settled in, he wandered down to the village to see if he could get his credencial stamped at the church, but it was closed. So he watched people walking by, thinking that he might recognize someone, but didn’t see anyone he knew. After a while two Spanish guys (one of them spoke English) took their packs off and sat down next to Keith on the stone wall. They offered him an orange and after the orange they gave me a handiwipe. He said that was a nice moment. He said on the first half of the trip there was not much talk about him being on the Camino solo, but the second half of the trip he’s asked often if he is traveling alone. They seem to be trying to include him by offering him snacks and conversation. He thinks that is really cool.

Tomorrow is the day that Keith will arrive in Santiago de Compostela. The process is that he will go to the Pilgrim’s Office and they will review his credencial’s stamps to ensure he has fulfilled the minimum requirement of walking the last 100 km and gathering a minimum of two stamps a day. They will then provide him with his compostela. The next day there will be a Pilgrim’s mass at the cathedral at 12 noon and Keith’s name and home country will be announced during the mass as recognition of his accomplishment. Later on that night (Tuesday) he will fly from Santiago to Madrid in preparation for his long trip home on Wednesday. I sure am looking forward to him coming home and he seems to be excited about it, too.