Day 37 plus - Back home and Camino Glossary

I have always wondered when looking at my favorite Camino coffee mug the significance of a flying cow with wings carrying a Botafumerio (large incense burner) chasing other flying cows, but it will probably remain one of those great Camino mysteries - a sort of Camino nightmare!

While walking the Camino we started making up our own terminology.  This began last year while I was walking with my cousin Matthew, but here is an updated collection of Camino terms:

"Wifi Happiness"

The hostel or bar you are in has a good Wifi signal.

"Wifi Sadness". 

The reverse - no wifi signal.

"Guerilla Wifi"

Noting the Wifi code while in a bar, or cafe near your Albergue and entering it on your devices, so that the next morning, or when the cafe is closed, you can still send your blog, or check your emails before leaving the area.

"Camino charging discipline"

One of the basic skills of a Caminoer, to find vacant sockets anywhere and keep their mobile, iPad, camera, kindle charged up at all times.  This is despite there being another 55 Caminoers in the Albergue doing the same thing (when there are only a couple of sockets available).

"Camino Sportif"

A pilgrim who is merely interested in notching up mileage, or speed in order to complete their journey.

"Camino Hot"

A beautiful Camino Pilgrim.

"Slutty tan"

What South Korean pilgrims try to avoid by wrapping up well, when walking the Camino.

"Camino Tan"

A tanned face and neck, tanned arms ending at the T-shirt sleeves, tanned hands, other than white strap marks where walking pole straps are used, tanned calves to the knee, but completely white feet and ankle sock marks.

"Pilgrim Menu"

A three part menu costing 9€ to 11€, consisting of a plate of spaghetti Bolognese (called Macaroni),  chicken and chips (called Poyo) and "Flan" (which is in fact Creme Caramel) and half a bottle of red wine.

Unless you are Eila, when the menu is

Mixed Salad followed by Lentils and Fruit for pudding with water!

"Albergue Anxiety"

The anxiety caused by thinking that there will be nowhere to sleep that night as everywhere will be full.

"Lentil Sadness"

Lentils are not on the Pilgrim Menu.

"Camino Coffee Housing"

Spending too long having coffee and just not getting on with the days journey, thereby leading to increased "Albergue Anxiety".

"Camino Luxury"

This is basically anything that will improve dormitory life.  A power socket by your bed.  A bottom bunk in a semi filled dormitory allowing you to use the top bunk for organising all your stuff. An empty dormitory.  Not sleeping in a dormitory at all, but renting your own room, thereby having clean sheets, a towel and toiletries meaning that you don't even have to unpack you own pack!

"Short day"

Walking under 20 km per day.

"Long day"

Walking more than 30 km in a day.

"Brierley day"

Walking the same mileage as a stage in the Brierley Camino Guidebook.  You can walk from the halfway point on one Brierley map section to a point halfway through the map section for the next day.

"Brierley Panel"

Eila would be continually depressed by looking at the front of the Brierley Camino Guidebook where all the maps were miniaturised and arranged in a grid of columns 3 deep.  She called three daily maps a Brierley Panel!

"Peleton"

A huge group of pilgrims usually found after Sarria during the last 100 km into Santiago.  They are usually engaged in unpilgrim like activities, ie constantly on their mobile phones, or playing their music for the benefit of others around them.

"Day tripper/Day packer/Sarria poofda"

Persons walking the Camino having started at Sarria, but come out with expressions like "Where is that very long stretch without a break for about 4.5 km?!"  - Wet, or what!

"Helicopter Pilgrim"

A Caminoer, who always seems to be ahead of you when you reach your destination, despite the fact that you passed them during the day.  You suspect them of using other forms of transport, unless you are guilty of frequent Camino Coffee Housing.

"Camino Jumping"

A Caminoer, who has injured themselves, or needs to catch up with a flight schedule in order to reach Santiago by a set date, might use other transport to miss one, or more days walking.

And now slightly irreverently......

"Camino wife (husband)"

A couple who met on the Camino and seem to be together 99.5% of the time.  Unlikely to be an engaged, or recently married, but seem to be exceptionally close (eg holding hands at a table for two).

"Camino Sex"

Extremely unlikely as there is no privacy on the Camino.  If it did happen, the couple involved would have to become like Jude Law and Rachel Weisz in "Enemy at the Gates", a film about Russian snipers in St Petersburg during the Second World War.  They stayed in a kind of Sniper's Albergue, when not sniping, and had sniper sex while lying amongst the other sleeping snipers.  Extremely risky if you value your privacy, but if you are a sniper and just holding hands at table doesn't cut it....?!

Buen Camino!

Day 37 - Santiago de Compostela - Home

Day 37 - Wednesday, 28th May, 2014 - 0 km

[Eila outside 'The last Stamp' Albergue - Santiago]

[Santiago rain]

Santiago is a permanent party city as yet another group of pilgrims traipse in to the square in front of the cathedral to stand slightly dazed that their two weeks, or two months, or more has finally come to a close.  Those who are Pilgrims, who have walked a distance, feel that they have become a part of the history of the city.  The tourists who wander around visiting Santiago buy their Santiago pilgrim sticks and shells, but as you wander around with your back pack on, your clothes that are probably a bit smelly, your weathered tan and in my case 'bed bug' scars, you do feel a bit like the real deal, a cut above your average tourist!  

[Queues outside the Pilgrim Office issuing Compostelas]

We went to the Pilgrim office to collect our Compostela, our certificate issued by the church to recognise our endeavour.  The queues had been too long the previous day.  There was an old Australian volunteer marshalling the queue as pilgrims lined up to be seen.  He was meant to be there for the smoother running of the operation, but as he started to chat to each pilgrim at the head of the queue he tended to frustrate the speed of the operation, but no one seemed particularly bothered.

Eila had bumped into Jo and Beth, the two ladies we had started with, who were from Australia; we had agreed to meet for coffee immediately afterwards and compare notes.  We had set off from St.Jean and Orisson at the same time and this was us, just over five weeks later, having arrived in Santiago only a day apart.

[Jo and Beth from Australia at the end of their Camino]

[The coast of France from Ryanair]

Michael accompanied us to the bus stop for the airport.  He was staying on to continue to Muxia and Finisterre over the next week.  Eila and I returned home to catch the end of half term and children coming home briefly from 'gap years travel' and university, husbands and wives.

I don't think I found walking the Camino any easier a second time, although not having surprises like another hill, or how the day would end, uphill or down, made it quite predictable.  The Way had been much more crowded and whether that was the warmer Spring or increased publicity, I don't know.  We had walked as a 'three' for the whole journey baring the first week.  We had each helped each other through blisters, problematic tendons, heat exhaustion, bed bugs and sore ribs (from a fall).  Eila, who had found Alburgue dormitory life a bit of a trial surprised me in the latter stages by walking into a questionable dormitory and saying "well this is really quite nice", you could have knocked me over with a feather.

My brother Richard, who faithfully followed our progress through the North of Spain, followed my and Eila's RyanAir flight home with his aircraft 'App' on his iPad and matched it with my son Ruaraidh and wife's progress on the shipping 'App' AIS as they sailed out of Guernsey and noted that we flew directly above them in the Channel Islands.

Meanwhile Michael has continued to Finnisterre on his own and I hope that experience goes well.  Jeff, who we had walked with is also making for Finisterre separately.

Will I walk the Camino again?  Who knows!

Buen Camino.

[A welcome home meal with my brother Richard and cousin Matthew for a Camino debrief, in Balham London]