Dale and Arlene's Camino 2013: Rain!

The one thing we feared the most on the Camino was rain - rain produces mud - rain makes smooth rocks slippery - rain makes clothing damp and sticky - rain is not a trekker's friend. This morning - on our final day of walking the last 20 kilometers - we got rain. On the one hand - that did not make us happy - on the other - we were finally able to justify hauling rain gear with us for the entire Camino. At one point I was able to make Arlene realize how much lighter her back pack felt since we were wearing our rain jackets and pants rater than hauling them on our backs.

Although we had to cope with rain today - we made very good time and were standing at the cathedral in Santiago by 3:30 PM in the afternoon. Neither of us believes that we have actually done this - this is the most adventurous thing that we have ever attempted - just living in a foreign country as long as we have - has been an amazing experience. The adventure does not end here as we still have to visit Finestre and Muixa before we return home. When we got to the Cathedral - we were going to get our Compostelas but noticed a security sign stating we should not bring our backpacks- so we decided to check into our hotel room first - on the way - in the rain - Dale took a fall on the wet slippery rocks in Santiago and bruised his knee and hurt a finger - we are praying it is only a bruise - tomorrow will tell. After showering and cleaning up we returned to the cathedral to get our Compostelas - a procedure that took over an hour as the line was fairly long. On the Camino - we learned patience - Spain does not move quickly - the Spanish people do not move quickly - there is more to life than moving quickly - everything is to be savored and enjoyed.