Incredibly, the next day Nanci managed to do all the magic for the Compostela on her phone before we went down to the office. There was some confusion outside, pilgrims saying they couldn’t get the new online registration system to work, but Nanci showed her QR code and immediately got whisked through – and ten minutes later she was back out with her scroll! She still wasn’t feeling right, but she came for a coffee with me in the sunshine. She also wanted to see the mass and the botafumeiro if she could, and went to the cathedral to line up, but sadly the queue was just too long. So we did a little souvenir shopping and tried the Japanese restaurant for lunch before she went back to her room to rest. There was obviously something wrong, though we didn’t know what or how to fix it, we just had to hope that it would get better soon.
So I didn’t see much of Nanci on our last two days, apart from knocking on the door to see how she was and bring her food and drink. As we didn’t know what was wrong, we also didn’t know if it was contagious, and if it was, I didn’t want it and she didn’t want to pass it on. We were very glad we had separate rooms for this last stage of the trip!
I kept myself busy: I went to Ivar’s luggage storage to pick up the box Nanci shipped to Santiago from Coimbra ages ago, I took a walk to the Decathlon in the city centre just because I could, I walked around just touristing – I clocked up a full 15 km mainly inside the old city walls! I visited the usual places and some I’d never been to before; I spent some time at the Obradoiro square just pilgrim watching. I even looked for – and found! – noughts-and-crosses ‘boards’ carved into the stone seats at the edges of the Obradoiro square, after telling Wendy about them. I met pilgrims, obviously; I took photos of solo walkers in front of the cathedral, had little chats here and there, shared my table for a cup of coffee. In spite of everything, it was nice to be able to spend some time in Santiago just aimlessly enjoying the city.
Nanci slept and rested, ate what she could and kept hydrated, but didn’t get any better. She had googled her symptoms and had a few suspicions, but instead of trying to get a doctor’s appointment in Spain she was hoping to make her return flight and get checked out when she got home. As if by (camino) magic the airline offered her a good price for an upgrade to a lie-down pod, which would make the journey much more comfortable. She had to get a very early flight to Madrid to catch it, so on our last day she knocked on my door before dawn to say goodbye, without so much as a hug in case she was contagious, and then she was gone.
She kept me updated on the journey – I walked to the bus station while she waited for the Beast to arrive on the carousel in Madrid; I boarded an ALSA while she ran for her lie-down flight; I enjoyed my window seat while she sent me photos of the pillows and blankets in her little pod; I drank lukewarm bottled water while she sent me photos of the menu on the flight, which she hardly managed to enjoy; I spent hours at Porto airport while she slept her way across the Atlantic.
OK, so the end of the journey was a massive anti-climax – no triumphant return to Santiago, no extravagant lunch at the seafood bar at the market, no photos of late evenings with other pilgrims, no botafumeiro, no slow walks in the Alameda park looking back at the cathedral. But we had four amazing weeks before that, and there and then all that mattered was to make Nanci better, or at least comfortable. And now that she has recovered, we still have the memories – and the photos! – of a wonderful, sunny, magical coastal camino.
It seems Nanci had picked up the cryptosporidium parasite somewhere along the way, maybe from a dip in contaminated seawater, or a cute animal, or something she ate or drank. We’ll never know exactly when or how she contracted it, but with treatment and time she did get over it. Without wishing to alarm anyone, keep in mind that these things can happen and be prepared to change your plans, itinerary or return journey accordingly. Never travel without travel insurance – you never know what form of assistance you might need! – and always pack extra prescription meds in case you can’t go home as planned. Don’t try to ignore illness or injury, and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Spanish farmacias and health service are world class, all will be well!
Take care and buen camino!
Somewhere Slowly 