First Day Off The Camino First Full Day In Santiago de Compostela Monday, October 29, 2018

Who is that dapper well dressed older man about town who appears to be posing in the doorway of a laundromat.

It can’t be your humble correspondent. The older gentleman in this picture is too well dressed. But on closer inspection it is your humble correspondent at the laundromat in clean non Camino clothes, not his rain jacket and rain pants, doing his laundry. What gives?

Well, on September 17th, the day before I started my walk, I shipped a suitcase of clean clothes that I was not going to lug around in my backpack, from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. The luggage transfer service was going to store my suitcase at the Hostal La Salle. This morning I decided to stroll over to the hostal and pick up my suitcase and the treasured clean non Camino clothes in my suitcase. I asked the host at my alburgue, The Last Stamp, for directions. She pulled out a map, scribbled all over it and in one long Spanish sentence, that ended in vali, Spanish for OK, gave me five minutes of directions. Of course I responded by giving her a chipper vali and a heartfelt gracias. I had no idea what she said and I had no idea where the Hostal La Salle was located, but I had a map and if I could find someone who could give me directions in a language that I can understand, preferably English, I should be able to find the Hostal La Salle and retrieve my prize. I decided to head north, why I don’t know, and quickly got completely, totally and utterly lost. I tried to call my daughter Sara to help me with Google Maps, but she wouldn’t pick up the phone. I went to the Pilgrim Office and they looked at my map and sent me on a wild goose chase to the southern end of town. Still no Hostal La Salle. I then went back to the center of town where I asked the person selling tickets to the Cathedral Museum for directions. She sent me on another wild goose chase to the western part of town. Finally, I called the Hostal La Salle and got directions. You are asking yourself: “Why didn’t he do that in the first place?” Who knows? You might also be asking yourself: ” Why isn’t he using Google Maps.” Well, I’ll tell you. In the first place, I don’t know how to use Google Maps. In the second place, I don’t believe that a map on your phone is as accurate as a paper map in your hand. I believe that the old ways are the best ways. And I strongly believe that the best way to get from point A to point B in a foreign city is to wander around with a paper map in your hand asking for directions in a language, English, that most people in the foreign city you are visiting do not understand and then getting directions in a language you do not understand.

After I got directions from the helpful hostess at the Hostal La Salle, I got close but still could not find it. I finally went into a pharmacy and begged the pharmacist to sell me some pot to ease my anxiety over never being able to find the hostal that was storing my suitcase or, for that matter, being able to get back to my alburgue. The pharmacist said no dice on the pot but did walk me down the block and deposited me at the front door of the Hostal La Salle. We had to spend 30 minutes looking through four luggage storage rooms before we finally found my bag. Oh happy day! I almost cried when I was reunited with my suitcase and my clean non Camino clothes.

I then got directions back to my alburgue. It turns out that the Hostal La Salle was just around the corner from my alburgue. It took me an hour and a half to walk from my alburgue to the Hostal La Salle and five minutes to walk from the Hostal La Salle to my alburgue. No one ever said it would be easy traveling in a foreign country.

After I worked up an appetite wandering all over Santiago trying to retrieve my suitcase it was time for lunch. I was tired of pulpo and decided to eat outside the Spanish box and inside the bento box at a local sushi 🍣 place. It was very good and a nice break from grilled octopus 🐙.

I think this is a notice of an event for the Alzheimer’s Association in Santiago.

Last night I went out for a celebratory dinner with four Camino friends, Marco from Italy, Nuncia from Italy, Andrea from Sweden and Francisco from Brazil. It was raining ☔️ and it was Sunday so a lot of the bars, cafes and restaurants were either closed or too far away to walk to in the rain. We found a little bar/cafe close to the Cathedral Square and had a bite to eat and a drink to celebrate our arrival in Santiago. We did not celebrate the end of our respective Caminos because the Camino should not be a journey to an end but should be a series of lessons learned that can and should be used throughout the rest of your life. I know that I have learned a lot about myself and people in general while walking on the Way. Now, I need to use what I have learned and hopefully be a better person as I continue to travel to the end of my journey here on earth. Or I can continue to be a dick and hope for the best.

I hope everyone had a great Monday.

Good evening from Santiago de Compostela, Spain.