Return?

[Elyn Aviva]

Nancy Frey writes about this in her book, Pilgrims' Stories. "Let down" can
certainly occur. When I first walked the Camino, I felt horribly let down
when I reached Santiago! It was 1982, a Holy Year, and we couldn't even get
into the cathedral because of all the tourist-pilgrims who filled it to
overflowing. We felt special, different, purified or something from our
alone-time walking across Spain, and suddenly we were thrust into a huge mob
of very devout Spaniards. It was a zoo.

A lot of pilgrims said, "Santiago isn't here, he's on the Camino!" and took
off for Finnisterre--before that was considered a normal continuation of the
pilgrimage. I don't know what I expected at Santiago--I'm not Christian, so
what could I POSSIBLY have thought would happen when I got there?! But I did
expect something, a sense of completion, of recognition (couldn't even find
someone to give us the Compostelana)... We left. Went to Finisterre.

Returned the next day, got our certificate, saw the cathedral. And then I
went to Madrid to meet my son and parents, and got settled into Sahagun to
live for a year. You're right: one liminal period to another...

But in 1997, I had a different experience when I got to Santiago. And in
2000, when I walked with a group that included 2 priests and a nun, and a
number of Catholics, the experience was quite different again. Their fervent
faith was palpable, their joy in arrival somehow managed to rub off on the
rest of us.

So... No expectations, as you say, is undoubtedly the best way to go!

Buen Camino,
Elyn