The Last Days--Friday

Last day with everyone! As I mentioned earlier, I've been writing train letters for everyone - final messages for everybody, and a drawing I thought they would like or that was a staple of the Camino for them. It was fun cause I was able to write and give my train letters to people while on the train! I was glad to see that everyone seemed to really like them, and they were all showing each other their personalized pictures that I had drawn. I never know when I do stuff like this if people are going to care or enjoy it, so it was really nice that they all seemed to really appreciate the thought and time I had put into the train letters. I mean I've been working on those every night for probably the last week. I even wrote them for the professors, which means I ended up doing 17 total (I combined two of the couples so I had fewer to plan and draw) );

We took the train to Madrid so that we could fly out from there Saturday morning. Let me tell you, I have been taking the cooler northern weather for GRANTED cause holy SMOKES it is hot in Madrid.

We got to our hotel around 3:30 and everyone wanted to go get lunch obviously. There is a huge park behind the Prado and all the main square stuff, so we decided everyone could go get their own food from wherever and meet there in an hour. Whoever got there first would just share their location in WhatsApp and we could meet there. Between the heat, the hunger and the long walk to the park, I was in a MOOD by the time we sat down. But I have to admit, the long walk to the park was definitely worth it. It's sprawling, but in the shade of the trees, the temperature is very manageable. Plus, after we ate, we could go around and explore. We saw this giant glass building called "The Ice Castle." I fed some turtles and ducks, and then Fiona, Emilee and I just chilled on the grass in the park.

That's when it really started to hit me. Going back home, going to Utah, not having things like the park, or the fresh gelato, or walking for hours everyday. It has been hard, but the Camino has been really good to kind of re-center me in life. I try to keep myself pretty busy all the time, and when I have free-time, I am watching TV or out with friends or playing video games, and I'm very rarely just sitting and doing something quietly. But while I've been on this trip, I haven't filled every free second with my phone or tv, I've spent more time outside, or playing games, or just chatting. I've appreciated the opportunities and times to just sit in silence, or talk about whatever. And I really have loved all of the nature. I mean, the kind of green that you can not only see and touch, but that you can smell in the air, whether crisp and cool or hot and humid. The kind of green you can feel on your skin and hear in the birdsong. I'm gonna miss that green when I go back to Utah. I'm gonna miss the life of Europe, even though sometimes it is too slow for my taste.

I mean, after lunch, we took a nap, and then around 9 p.m. we went to this place called the Temple Debod to watch the sunset. The billboards, the restaurants, the theaters and hotels, and as we got to the quieter areas, the monuments and statues, the plazas and parks, they are just alive. This Spaniards might hide during siesta, but the past couple days we have seen how they live life. The way they enjoy what life has to offer. What their community has to offer.  They take full advantage of it. We got to this hillside to watch the sunset, and there were so many people- going for walks, sitting watching the city, taking pictures of each other in the orange glow as the sun settled on the horizon, I mean it was just so alive, and so together, even if everyone was there doing their own thing. 

I had brought snacks of course, so we feasted on Kinder Chocolat and Haribo as we saw the sun go down behind the trees. And we just enjoyed the evening, surrounded by strangers but all there together to enjoy the evening.

When we got back to the hotel, I had bought some hats that everyone signed, so we told the Profes to come down to the lobby, and it ended up being a perfect place to say goodbye. There were lots of hugs, lots of words shared, it was a good final ending. There hasn't been much fanfare since we got to Santiago, and this final meeting felt like a good bookend to everything. A few of us started playing games around 11:30, but pretty soon it was just Isaac, Tim and I playing a last few final rounds of cards. With the balcony open and the sounds of the city drifting in, it was a great way to end the trip.