Pilgrimage: Arriving on a pilgrimage
“Allow time for your soul to catch up.”
—Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage
There comes a moment on every pilgrimage when you see your destination ahead and you realise your journey is almost over.
There’s a sense of relief, especially if your last day has been a long, hard walk, and you are looking forward to a shower and a rest. But there’s also sadness as your pilgrimage is ending. Tomorrow you will not rise and walk into the dawn once more. Tomorrow, you will be back in the real world.
While the crossing to Lindisfarne, Holy Island, was far more than I expected and a fitting end to a pilgrimage, my arrival for the Pilgrims’ Way and the Camino were anticlimactic, even disappointing. But they are just as important to share.
There is no fanfare
I arrived at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge at the end of the Pilgrims’ Way an hour before Evensong. There was no fanfare, no choir of angels, no crowd of supporters cheering me on as I crossed the finish line on my first solo multi-day walk, my first pilgrimage. No one even gave me a second glance.
It had rained all day, and I was still wearing all my wet weather gear as I checked in. The young woman on the front desk asked where I had walked from.
“London,” I said, a note of pride in my voice.
“Oh, what time did you set off this morning?” she replied.
In these days of cars and trains, she had no sense of how many days’ walk it took to get between the cities and no idea of the six days I’d spent on foot. For a moment, I was disappointed that she didn’t appreciate the effort it had taken for me to get there, but pilgrimage is not for others to appreciate. It is only for the pilgrim to know what the journey means and how much effort it takes. I had more of a chance to reflect on the journey when I attended Evensong, as I described in chapter 2.3, but that immediate arrival experience was deflating rather than inspiring.
The moment of arrival may not be what you expect
There are truths you don’t really appreciate until you live them. These pilgrimages taught me that it really is about the journey and not the destination.
As satisfying as it is to arrive at the end of a pilgrimage, it is not the final place that changes you, but every step along the way.
Before my Camino, I spent decades imagining walking into the city of Santiago de Compostela. During the dark days of the early pandemic, the thought of carrying my pack into the Praza do Obradoiro in front of the cathedral sustained me.
But to get to that square, you have to walk through the suburbs of what is a busy Spanish city. My first glimpse of the cathedral was from a motorway underpass, and it was a shock to walk through the busy streets on the way ahead. In those final kilometres, I lost the way-markers and ended up using Google Maps to navigate the bustling shopping streets.
I had imagined an open boulevard leading to the square and the occasional pilgrim walking in quiet contemplation — but the warren of narrow streets was disorienting and packed full of tourists. I was buffeted from every direction as I strained to see the cathedral ahead.
When I finally reached the square, it was with more of a sense of relief than triumph. It was also a very hot day and my obligatory selfie in front of the cathedral was red-faced and gasping. The pain in my feet intensified, as if my body had given up on arrival, and my fatigue was bone deep.
I had imagined sitting at a cafe on that square, drinking a cold beer as I watched other pilgrims arrive with joyful footsteps. But there are no cafes on Praza do Obradoiro, and actually, I just wanted a shower and some food and a rest. I stayed in the square only minutes before walking on to my hotel, and there was a dull sense of emptiness instead of triumph in my halting, painful gait.
Allow an extra day or two at the destination
Each of my pilgrimages ended at a historic place, and I stayed an extra night or two at each one so I could experience them with fresh eyes after the end of my journey.
You might arrive late in the day as I did into Canterbury, with little time to see anything. On Lindisfarne, the tides circumscribe when sites are open on the island and once you’ve walked across, there is little time left to see anything. I did a quick walk around the ruined abbey and church before they closed for the day and was even ushered out of the bookshop as the proprietor rushed to get over the causeway before the waters covered it once more.
You might also arrive tired and in pain, as I did in Santiago de Compostela, with no energy to appreciate the place.
But you will wake the next morning with a fresh perspective and no need to pull on your pack or lace up your boots once more. That’s when you can let your accomplishment sink in and see the place of significance you have journeyed to.
After my Camino, I woke early in Santiago de Compostela and walked to the Pilgrim’s Office to get my Compostela. It was cold and windy that morning as I queued with other pilgrims, but it was worth the wait.
My Compostela certificate was proof that I had walked the requisite distance along the Camino. It was tangible evidence of effort and even though I still hobbled along with plasters on my feet, I couldn’t help but smile with pride.
I went to the Pilgrims’ Mass that morning and also visited the cathedral separately to wander around and take pictures. I indulged in churros (fried doughnut sticks) and hot chocolate for breakfast, and later, I toasted myself with a cold glass of Albariño and some local seafood. The day after I walked into that square, I finally felt I had arrived and finished my pilgrimage.
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
—Martin Buber
Questions:
• What are your expectations of arriving on the final day of your pilgrimage? Can you release those expectations and just let it be whatever it is?
• How can you “allow time for your soul to catch up,” as Phil Cousineau puts it?
Resources:
• Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred — Phil Cousineau
• My pictures from the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on the day after arrival — www.booksandtravel.page/santiago-de-compostela-cathedral/
• My pictures from Lindisfarne at the end of the Pilgrims’ Way — www.booksandtravel.page/st-cuthberts-way-lindisfarne/
• My pictures from Canterbury Cathedral — www.booksandtravel.page/canterbury-cathedral/
