July 17, 5:15 pm
"All aboard!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
-O. Osborne
After a slight delay on the runway in Orlando, I have arrived in Miami to catch my flight to Madrid and then on to Santiago (should be arriving around 1pm on Friday). This is actually a fantastic place to start my trip, since there is so much Spanish being spoken that I'm already getting used to not understanding what is being said around me (my teachers and family would say that I live my life this way). Yesterday I spent the day in The Villages with my extended family, Jon Marc, Mary Jo and Danny. Jon Marc (one of my closest friends) surprised me by arranging and performing a small pilgrim's service for me at Hope Lutheran (where he serves as associate pastor). It was the perfect way to start a journey such as this one, and has set a positive tone for what lies ahead of me.
The plan right now is to arrive in Santiago, take a bus into town and walk the twenty minutes or so to visit (i.e., discover by luck) the pilgrim's office near the cathedral. This is the place where I will end my Camino and collect my final sello (passport stamp) and my compostela (certificate of completing the Camino). I am wanting to visit on the first day so that I can have an idea of where it is located, get help with directions and up to date albergue (pilgrim hostel) information on the Camino Ingles, and most importantly, to hopefully find a walking stick. There are evidently many left there by pilgrims as they complete their walk, and rather than run the risk of not finding one in Ferrol, I'm hoping to find one suitable in the "share box". I have done practice walks both with and without a walking stick, and would prefer to have one with me.
After checking out the office, the plan is to walk back to the bus station and ride up to Ferrol, where I will be starting out the next day. I have a hotel reservation waiting for me there, so the rest of the day will hopefully be me visiting the visitor center and getting my first sello (important, as this will prove where I started my walk).
In practical gear news, my backpack has been fantastic and very compact. Had to go without the crocs due to space, but the backpack could almost fit under my seat, so it's been as advertised with regards to plane travel so far. As the time approaches for us to start boarding, I'm regretting my earlier decision to eat when I first landed. Airport cafe fish tacos and key lime pie are starting to create what I hope is not my first "cultural experience" on the plane.
...they just announced that we are delayed for thirty minutes while the first officer gets here from another plane that is late coming in. Even if I'm not ON the plane, "tardy" is part of the Driver travel experience.
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