Keith went to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela early Tuesday so he could check out the museum before the Pilgrim’s mass. He said that it was pretty cool. He didn’t see anything totally amazing, but it was pleasant and included exhibits with tapestries and medieval art and paraphernalia. He especially liked the library.

The Cathedral is a very big place, yet he still didn’t get a seat for the mass. Apparently you have to be there an hour and a half before the mass to get one and he spent that time at the museum instead. So during the mass he spent the time milling around. Others were taking audio tours and going from chapel to chapel.

A tradition for pilgrims is to hug a statue of the apostle (St. James). You go up a tiny staircase and come up behind St. James in the big old carven altar piece. Keith said that he went twice, but his was less of a hug and more of a manly embrace. (I could totally visualize him doing the double pat on the back thing.) He said that “he was big!” On his second visit he looked out and noticed they were swinging the Botafumeiro (which is a large incense burner that was originally used to fumigate the sweaty and possibly disease-ridden pilgrims), and he thought, “Ah! Cool!!” It took 8 guys to swing it.

He did see a pair of the California women at the Cathedral and thought that was cool. They all shared congratulations and hugs and that kind of thing. The women had apparently come the day before, too. He said when the first one approached him and put her arms out so she could give him a big hug he had no idea who she was because her hair was down and on the trail she always had her hair pulled back. But a second woman that he did recognize came up and then he realized who they were.

Then it was time to bid the pilgrimage farewell and start to make his way home. Keith’s flight from Santiago to Madrid was delayed while on the runway for quite a while. He said they never really found out what happened, but it got pretty uncomfortable in the cabin because there was no air turned on. When he got to Madrid he’d missed the hotel shuttle and had to take a taxi. He finally got to the hotel after 11 PM very worn out and ready to sleep. He’s now up (since it’s already Wednesday there) and preparing to go back in time (bet he wishes he had a flux capacitor) and get his tired self home. He goes from Madrid to Dulles to Denver then home. Including layovers his trip is just shy of 18 hours long and that was one of the fastest routes available.

There will be more pictures to share once he’s back and we get them off his camera and phone. I’m sure they’ll be well worth the wait.

So…while there might be a day or two break on the blog—I plan to add more photos, any interesting tidbits from the trip home, and some other closing items over the next few weeks so don’t completely give up on checking things out. We’ll also be adding info on the gear used (no reason for people to duplicate the search for good lightweight gear if they can avoid it); info on some of the key books used to research and prepare for the trip; info on how we managed to stay in touch regularly; etc.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed the adventure so far! Back again soon!!