It was a great morning. We were up early grooming the horses in the dark. I hadn’t been up at that hour grooming a horse since the last time I rode Colleen in the Vermont 100 in the early 2000’s.
And we were in the saddles on our way to Santiago before dawn, likewise my first time to mount up at that hour since the early 2000’s.
Start time for the horses in the Vermont 100 is 5:00 AM and you have 24 hours to complete the 100 miles. Last time I competed in it, Colleen and I crossed the finish line at 3:45 AM with just over an hour to spare.
It was always a glorious morning in Vermont when I rode in the 100 and it was a glorious morning in Galicia as we set out from Monte del Gozo.
I think Colleen was 7 when I rode her in our first 100 more than 20 years ago. And Lucera was 7 when I first rode her on the Ruta de Los Faros with Rafa last year.
For many years before her passing last year at the age of 27 Colleen had been my daily ride at the farm in Vermont. Lucera’s resemblance to Colleen is uncanny.
I intend to be returning to Galicia regularly over the next 20 years to ride my querida Lucera. I’m looking forward to having my picture taken with her when she’s 27 like the photo of Coco and me taken on one of last rides before her passing.
The streets of Santiago were deserted as we rode through the outskirts into the city center, so quiet and tranquil. A perfect cool and lovely early Sunday morning to be on horseback.
It took us about an hour to get to the historic center of the city. We rode into the Praza at about 8:15. Only a handful of people were milling around, peregrinos had not yet begun arriving, we practically had the square to ourselves.
A few steps before Kilómetro Zero, I jumped off and walked those last steps hugging Lucera around the neck and then stood with her at K Zero for a picture.
Sometimes, when you finish a big project or come to the end of a long journey, you can have an emotional letdown, a feeling of disappointment or anti-climax. A feeling that it had gone too quickly and you might feel sad that it’s over.
I wasn’t feeling any of that. I just felt happy and satisfied. I had walked 5 stages of the Camino, over 115 kilometers in 4 days and had ridden a wonderful horse the final 8 stages, 200 kilometers, into the Praza. It was a perfect ending to a perfect Camino. My best Camino yet. I just had such a great time.
And then, after riding the horses back to the stables at Monte del Gozo and saying farewell to my riding companions, I checked into the Hotel do Reis Católicos, my home away from home in Santiago, where my other Gallego friend named Rafa greeted me by name at the door.
First thing I did was fill the enormous bathtub with hot water and bubbles, a bit of welcomed luxury after the the Hotel Suiza in Arzua.
And then I hit the ground running, first the Pilgrims Mass at the Catedral and then to the Pilgrims office for my Compostela. This is a record year on the Camino. They are running 2% ahead of last year and expect to issue more than 300,000 Compostelas before the year is done.
I tapa hopped at all my favorite places, shopped for souvenirs (I have two granddaughters you know), ate braised rabbit for dinner, followed by churros and chocolate and listened to La Tuna on the way back to the hotel.
The next day I took the train to Madrid and checked into the ME Madrid in the Plaza Santa Ana and got a room with a view of the Teatro Español.
I hadn’t been to Madrid since Hannah and I were here after our Camino in 2018 so I had lots of ground to cover. And cover ground I did, first thing in the morning, of course, I went to La Mallorquina, Madrid’s iconic bakery in the same place in the Puerta del Sol since it’s founding in 1894, stood at the bar with the locals and had a cortado and a palmeira glaceada. Those things are delicious.
Then I walked everywhere, through the Plaza Mayor, the length of the Gran Vía to the Royal Palace, the Plaza de España, the fancy shops along Calle Seranno, the Plaza de Cibeles, Puerta de Alcalá, Parque Buen Retiró Calle and I stopped and bought violet candies at La Violeta, the kids love those things.
I had walked over 30,000 steps by the time I made my last stop shortly before 11:00 PM at Madrid’s iconic churro spot, San Ginés, which like La Mallorquina was founded in 1894.
And now it’s time to head home and prepare for my daughter Hannah’s upcoming wedding. So happy to see her marrying the handsome young male friend we met at Hannah’s birthday dinner her freshman year at SMU more than 9 years ago.
Thank you to all of you who joined me on this Camino. This blog like life itself wouldn’t mean much without friends and family to share it and I’m blessed with both.
Thank you to Rafa and Felipe for being such wonderful horsemen and hosts, for organizing a wonderful ride and for taking care of Lucera and me along the way and to Carmen and Jessica for being wonderful riding companions.
Thank you to Saint James the Elder without whom there would be no Camino de Santiago.
And thank you to my querida Lucera. What Winston Churchill said is certainly true for me, “there’s something about the outside of a horse that’s good for the inside of a man.”
Buen Camino!
Bashon Brook
the Ruta de Los Faros
