Wednesday 16 October 2013

Camped on the threshold

On Thursday 15th August an idealistic pilgrim set off from the sun soaked Haute Loire . On 16th October a weather beaten pilgrim sits 19km from Santiago . It has been a long and, at times, difficult journey . There have been times when I have wanted to give up!The soles of the sandals have lost their tread,  I have worn out socks and shorts,but I am here . I cry even to think that I have walked 1500km in all sorts of weather . This dream began 18 years ago and is now a reality . Tomorrow I will walk into the Plaza de Obradoiro and be able to say that I walked here! The pilgrimage is about reality and how we relate to it . Ultimately it is God's  reality and we have to know ourselves as part of it . Eliot has the perfect phrase: 'And the end of all of our exploring is to arrive at where we started and to know the place for the first time.' Eliot has been my constant companion during these nine weeks.
Today I was up before 7. Andy,the Anglican priest from Poole was in the bunk above me last night and we had a fascinating conversation . We talked at length about different attitudes to priesthood.  This morning Carrie from Massachusets was in the bar and we walked together.As we trudged through the rain-soaked countryside we talked about many things, At this juncture it is good to have a companion. Despite the constant rain we had a brief,and dramatic glimpse of the sun . We had a lovely conversation and were later joined by Bob from Memphis.  When we finally stopped at Pedrouzo we were only 19 km from Santiago.

3 comments:

  1. What a fantastic achievement Baz! However you know you are going to have to walk all the way back as we're enjoying your blogs far too much! Good luck with the rest of your journey and don't worry about the socks doolalay has got it covered! See you soon :)

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  2. Father Basil-
    I have so enjoyed 'travelling along with you' through your wonderful blog. Can't believe you are nearly there! Wonderful photos!
    Much love from all the Infant dept x

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  3. Basil
    We have both been on a journey and our destinations have been so different in some ways but so much the same in others. Yesterday I prayed at the tomb of Basil Hume and hoped that you would feel his presence on Friday. May God bless you.

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