Karen’s thank you and goodbye written two days before we are to arrive in Santiago de Compostela, the end of our long road.  I’ve lost track of the day and the date but I do know this:

Johanna:  You did a masterful job arranging for 20 or more people for 50 nights.  Did I say 50 nights?  Wow!  Despite your single minded focus on the DOGGIES which left us HUMANS a little wet, tired, hungry and cross sometimes, we all survived, thrived, learned and had an unforgetable experience.

Patrick: I will never again link the word UNDULATING with soft easy things.  You were a tough leader, sometimes mystical in your communications, but again:
we all survived, thrived, learned and had an unforgetable experience.

Dietmar:  I will not forgive you for failing to save me some soup today even though my missing lunch was entirely my fault because I walked too fast.  But yesterday when I was last, the sight of you in your van patiently waiting at the top of a wet hillside to feed me a plateful of broccoli and mushroom pasta was heart stopping.  I never imagined that I would be fueled across Spain by a fine German electricían turned chef for the voyage.  Kartoffles today! kartoffles tomorrow! kartoffles forever!

And thank you Austrian Andrea for fabulous home cooked meals.  More: Jackie’s English breakfast (now I know the origins of that fine Southern dish: fried white bread), Annie’s bread pudding.  Emel’s outstanding garlic butter (and laugh)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Mike for the explication of the Battle of Salamanca and the example you set for devotion and love in your relationship with Cabra.

Thank you Silvia for reminding me that life just gets better and better as we grow stronger and wiser. 24 was fun but 58 is funner.  Really!

Gurnesey David, I tried to get you to eat your fruits and vegetables and failed.  Does that mean that vegetables play no part in the fact that the oldest member of our group was also the steadiest, calmest, kindest, least injury prone (except for the unfortunate incident with the pan de Cea in which your were nearly decapitated by a piece of bread).  I thank you for the many oranges and tomahtos you sent my way.

Narcisso, Moreno, Grillo: I suspect there is a lady in every port for each one of you but still it was flattering to have Narcisso´s occassional attention in poetic Spanish.  I have received the appreciation of a man who walked across Spain and Italy to meet the pope!  Okay!  Buen camino.  May we all learn to take life at your sane pace.

Thank you all the kind hearted people in literally hundreds of tiny villages who, when seeing us straggle through their streets with our dogs called out buen camino.
Many of you told me about other buen caminos that I am inspired to make some day. Beäte: her home place the Westerwald, Deutchland.  Ingrid: the Lykian Way across Turkey. Lincolnshire Mike: the sea to sea trail across England.
Jacqui, Jacqui red hat:  Magic fingers Jacqui, without exaggeration the most talented masseuse/ reiki master/ reflexologist ON THE PLANET.  And this is due to your ability to receive and tranfer energy.  Harness the Jacquies and fewer windmills need blight the landscape.  Unfortunately there is only one of you with your magic control over the weather and magic maleta full of useful things.  You shared everything, inspiring all of us to maintain the right attitude on this sometimes difficult voyage.

AND FINALLY:
Mi perrita, Perrie: You never took a day off, never got sick, never tired.  Your stamina was an inspiration to me on the entire Camino.  You taught me that walking with a companion can be a wonderful thing. If I could take you home I would, but you know the story; we´ve discussed it.
In between the serious stuff you and I sang a lot of songs; Me and My Shadow was a favorite in Andalucia, Follow the Yellow Brick Road worked all the time, but our favorite song was:
We may be ragged and funny
We´re in or we´re out of the money
But we´re strolling along
Singing a song
Side by side
I know that you will find a family that will appreciate your grace, loving heart, loyalty, and quiet good sense.  Many days when you and I were again the last to arrive in another new village I would have been lost without your keen sense of smell which inevitably got us to the place that was to be our home for that night.  But our late arrival was not always my fault for lingering again at one more beautiful overlook or taking too many photos of that most perfect vaca, oveja, horreo, crusero, big scary dog behind a fence, iglesia etc. NO! you did a lot of the lingering, sniffing your way across Espania.  I hope I was as patient with you as you were with me.  I will never forget you.