The Way of the Stars: Journeys on the Camino de Santiago

9. Disappearance

 disappearance We must be still and still moving Into another intensity. t. s. eliot, “east coker,” in four quartets The tolling of bells awakened me. Voices and laughter drifted up from the street and through the window of my room. Somewhere in the distance I heard the plaintive wail of bagpipes. It was dark. I lay on the bed, trying to fathom the fact that I’d actually walked—okay, mostly walked—the Camino de Santiago. I had reached the city a couple of hours earlier, after walking for about forty kilometers—the longest stretch of my pilgrimage. I wobbled with fatigue. Wandering the labyrinth of cobblestone streets, I eventually stumbled into Rúa do Vilar where by coincidence, or so it seemed, the woman who owned the hospedaje where I was now napping found me leaning uncertainly and half-asleep against the tall green doors of her pensión. “Perdón, señor,” she said, snapping me out of my weariness. I heard her ask if I was looking for a room. “Sí, señora. ¿Una habitación con una ducha caliente?” “Aquí, aquí.” The doors I’d been leaning against turned out to be the entrance for the Hospedaje Santa Cruz. María, who runs the pensión, also owned a small grocery shop farther up the street. For years, as I later learned, she has kept an eye out for weary pilgrims. I followed her up two flights of stairs to the room, wondering if it was coincidence or serendipity that had brought me to her door. Or perhaps it was God taking care of SIBLEY, The Way of the Stars.indd 125 SIBLEY, The Way of the Stars.indd 125 7/25/12 9:19 AM 7/25/12 9:19 AM  the way of the stars fools and pilgrims.The room was clean and dry. It had a big bed, a large wardrobe, and a small battered desk against one wall. A tall window with shutters overlooked the street. There was a shower down the hall. I took the room for about twenty dollars a night. When María left I dropped my pack on the floor and sat on the bed, just to get the weight off my feet. I made the mistake of leaning back against the pillows and stretching my legs out on the bed. The next thing I knew I was awake and hearing the sound of bells and bagpipes. I glanced at my watch. It was nearly 9 p.m. I thought about taking off my still-damp clothes and wet boots and crawling under the covers, but my stomach was growling. Besides, my arrival in Santiago demanded some sort of celebration. I wanted a nice meal, a bottle of cold white wine, and—to toast the completion of my pilgrimage—a large single malt Scotch. I didn’t completely abandon my pilgrim discipline.I hung up my wet clothes, cleaned my boots, and poured the remains of my water bottle on my much-loved Hillmaster and wiped it clean, offering it a thankyou blessing for having fended off aggressive dogs, dispersed chickens from my path, and kept me upright on more than a few slippery slopes. Then I had my shower and put on dry clothes, grabbed my rain jacket and the satchel containing my notebooks and journal and guidebook, and headed for the door. I left the walking stick in the corner with my pack. Without knowing where I’d end up, I walked along Rúa do Vilar to the Praza das Platerías, the Square of Silversmiths, with its fountain of four horse heads, and across the Praza da Quintana. Climbing a set of wide stone steps that bisected the square took me past the Café Literarios , its tables crowded with students from the university, and into the Praza da Inmaculada.Then, passing through an arched tunnel and into the enormous Praza do Obradoiro, I found the cathedral, its western facade and twin baroque towers illuminated by spotlights. It was truly stunning. I remembered reading that Gabriel García Márquez,the Colombian novelist, had once described the Praza do Obradoiro as “the most beautiful square” in the world.¹ I wasn’t going to quarrel with that judgment. I stared at the massive, elaborately sculptured facade of the cathedral with its twin towers climbing into the sky and the wide double staircase SIBLEY, The Way of the Stars.indd 126 SIBLEY, The Way of the...