22.6 The last post

The odyssey is finally over. Due to a domestic emergency, I had to cut short the last stay in Lisbon and fly home tonight. That completes a circuit of 2350k around the Iberian Peninsula. So: train from Málaga to Madrid, train from Madrid to Leon, 2 Camino's finishing, at Santiago, bus to Porto, bus to Lisbon and plane from Lisbon to Málaga. 28 days on the trot. I'm tired and ready for home. A little depressed as well and to be honest, fed up with both of those emotions.

What have I learnt? Bereavement and love for someone never ends. Last year, I thought it was time to realise that I needed to let my darling Siobhan go. That hasn't happened, because my love will never die. A song has been reverberating around my head:

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don't be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

And all along, I believed I would find you

Time has brought your heart to me

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

Love never dies even if someone does. The photo is of my friend John and me watching the sunset on the bridge at Porto, the significance is that true friendship (for nearly 50 years) never dies either.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the blog. I need to finish the book about last year and then I'll start writing a follow-up about this year. To finish on a serious note, this years Camino was dedicated to Cudeca, the hospice who took such great care of Siobhan for the last 3 weeks of her life. Please contribute anything you can and the link is:

https://www.cudeca.org/iniciativas-solidarias/en/evento/reto-del-camino-en-memoria-de-siobhan

Many thanks

Steve