Rick's thoughts at the end of the camino

This has been a wonderful trip.  Like many new things, it was full of exciting experiences as well as the unexpected.  It was a good, long walk with the change of perspective that comes with reaching a goal.  Was it what I expected?  Not exactly, but as I said before, I tried to approach this without expectations.  I certainly wasn't a tabla rasa, as my perceptions had been colored by books written by others who had walked the French Camino with the hardship, suffering and penitence.  We didn't have that.  We didn't have to put up with the snoring of others in the alberge (communal pilgrim lodging), the hotels we had were excellent and often sited in the most amazing places (fortresses, monasteries etc).  The food was excellent and plenty.  One would think with the amount of walking that we did, we would lose significant weight.  Well, we may have lost some, but not the amount I would have expected because of the excellent food and generous proportions.  No penitence, although there was certainly time for reflection.  I loved the conversation with each person in our small group and I loved learning about northern Portugal and Galicia (northwest Spain).  We were lead by guides with intimate knowledge of the area and the other members of the tour brought interesting viewpoints on many different issues.  Would I do it again?  No, but only because this was a trip to share with Jo.  Will I take other hiking trips to interesting places?  Yes, because this one has been so rewarding, physically, mentally and spiritually