Leaving Santiago de Compostela

Michael Bolden
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

Oct. 4, 2012

Catedral de Santiago

It’s unbelievable that this short chapter in my life is coming to an end. I left home on 23 August not knowing if my trip would be a success, or for that matter what final form success would even take. It has surpassed my expectations.

I’ve been saying goodbye to people for the past couple of days, as friends and acquaintances and half-familiar faces take their leave of Santiago de Compostela to continue exploring or to pick up the threads of their lives. We all face the question of what re-entry to our old worlds looks like.

We have found renewal in various forms, through forgiveness at the crypt of Saint James, and in our hearts, but the great unknown is what this rebirth means outside of the miraculous bubble where we have lived for so many days. What does life look like in San Francisco, or Washington, or Rotterdam, or Paris, or Warsaw? Will the miracles of courage and sharing and openness fade in the glare of everyday living? How do we sustain what has felt so powerful here in northeastern Spain?

The answers won’t come easy, but our Caminos are not over. There is a saying that the real Camino doesn’t start until you leave Santiago. As we board planes and trains and buses, we’re still traveling our Ways. Our packs just got lighter.


Originally published at mbolden.tumblr.com.

Adventures on the Camino

A curated collection of stories and photos from my walk along the Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago in 2012. The content originally appeared on Tumblr.

Michael Bolden

Written by

Southerner. Journalist. Managing Director, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University | alumnus @knightfdn @washingtonpost @miamiherald

Adventures on the Camino

A curated collection of stories and photos from my walk along the Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago in 2012. The content originally appeared on Tumblr.

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