Oh! Thank you for sharing these posts! I am filled with joy and nostalgia!
I finished my first Camino in September, also having completed the
Camino Frances.
I remember sitting in a cafe in Sarria around 10 am (I had woken up pre-dawn to get into town early that day) completely exhausted- staring at a HUGE blister on my inner left ankle, and this group of 'pilgrims' on horses rode by.
I thought I was going crazy- minor hysteria ensued after having WALKED over 700k
(No judgement, just a different journey. I didn't even know you could do the Camino via horse until Sarria- at which point I kind of felt like a schmuck. All things being said though, I wouldn't change a single thing about my journey)
Sarria is always a culture shock. I chose to drive back to Madrid with some other pilgrims instead of taking the train, in order to catch my flight home out of MAD. We decided to take the back roads out of Santiago to mimic the walk in. We stopped off in Sarria for lunch. It was still weird. It's just a weird little town. I found myself longing for the isolated 'spiritual' journey again- Zabidalkeda and the likes...
Take deep breaths these last 100k, peregrino! Smile, give grace even where it seems undeserved, and try to stop the comic strip in your head from knocking bikers off their seats as they whizz by you down the hills. All of these final tries of patience are teaching you something- even if it is only to laugh out loud, and at yourself, often and much!
You may even one day sit where I am now, and smile in agreement with another forum participant talking about the last 100k. Buen Camino!