Day 39: Melide - Azrua (5/9/14)

Let me just take a moment to state 

for the record,

I am SO over all types of 'cured' pork -

be it jamon, chorizo or bacon...

ok maybe NOT American bacon -

but certainly the type served in Spain!

 We had a wonderful meal today with other 'long term pilgrims' 

and the conversation turned to this whole final 100K thing.

It was wonderful because it broke our isolation in thinking 

we were the only ones terribly disappointed 

in the 'carnival' atmosphere that's become established 

with so many 'slack packers' now on the trail.

 There has been much written about what a great 'equalizer' the Camino is...

and, in some ways, that's true.

When a person wears the same 2 sets of khaki or beige clothes 

repeatedly for 30+ days, 

its impossible to tell whether, 

in a pilgrims 'real' life, 

they're a doctor, judge, postal worker, 

cop, salesperson, artist etc.

But given how human beings are wired,

there are other ways of 'ranking' that does occur on the Camino -

"How much does your backpack weigh?"

 (for those not used to playing the game, the less your pack weighs the better)

How far did you walk today? 

(I was used to losing this one - since I walked so slowly - 

and the 'winning' answer was usually more than 40K a day)

But the biggest ranking game is:

Where did you start?

 Those people who walked out of their homes in Germany, France, the Ukraine, Holland etc 

and are walking to Santiago are the rock stars ... 

they're old school - just like 'true' pilgrims in the 11th and 12th centuries.

The ones who are walking back home after reaching Santiago are in a class by themselves -

a mental ward as far as I'm concerned, but hey, more power to ya!

Next up are the ones who start in LePuy, France 

(traveling 500 miles before arriving at the beginning of the Camino Frances).

Then there are those, like me, who start in St Jean - 

we get street cred for having crossed the Pyrenees;

Followed by folks who started anywhere else in Spain - 

Pamplona, Burgos, Leon etc...

and, at the bottom of the heap,

are the last 100K pilgrims.

Yup, it's totally like that...

at least in our petty minds.

I have NO doubt, 

God doesn't see it that way...

we're the only ones playing the game.

 Albergue owners don't play either.

These beds all look pretty much the same!