Saturday 11 August 2012

End of the Road...

The last two days have been a bit of a blur; a bit like a plane crashing my arrival at St Peter's in Rome all happened very quickly and within seconds it seemed I was catapulted into a maelstrom of taxis, porters, lifts, champagne and 5 star hotel rooms - the final seconds of the adventure dashed from my lips as I suspect I always knew they would be.

After 94 days, 1,411 miles (2,271 km), 4 countries, 3 mountain chains, through snow, wind, rain, fog and shine; 2 ferry passages, 1 boat ride, 47 maps, 2 pairs of boots, a couple of sprains, a lot of blisters and buckets of sweat, I ended up in the Vatican, one of thousands and thousands of pilgrims that morning all of whom had made their own respective journeys no matter whether it was by bus, plane or, in my case, on foot - in the Church's eyes, we were all pilgrims. And that, I think, is rather wonderful.

So, to all of you who have so loyally followed me this last few weeks, who have held me in the palms of your hands, I say the most sincere thanks from the very bottom of my heart. You can have little idea how much your words of encouragement have meant to me; they kept me on the road during the difficult moments - a constant reminder that nothing in this life matters more than human kindness, family and friends.

And with that, forgive me if I take my leave and go put my feet up... well, just for a short while anyway!

Photos: Monti Mario overlooking the Vatican; St Peter's and The Testimonium of Arrival.

2 comments:

  1. Well done Major, I think you deserve a well earned gummy bear and a large glass swiftly followed by several more!!!!

    Much love
    Christian (old winkballian)

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  2. Ruling the science is the usual urgency but the religion, guilty of the great disasters of the history, the impregnable rampart appears. In her, people find the motivations to massacre each other or to die in absolute poverty, to pursue a presumed internal quality. It cannot be continued so. The Christian monotheism, born when in Europe and in Africa few million of people lived, it reveals inadequate in demography of billion of individuals. The critical dilemma are that unchangeable cults, considered as wines that more grow old more become good, that arrogate to depositaries of any philanthropic ethical, depriving the secular society to being legitimated in important moral merits. The Catholic church is the model of it. We are concrete: different from the Protestants that of “shepherds” don’t have, that Catholic one is a desperate flock! Let us talk on the happenings of our times, where the cults determine the behaviours of the people as never happened before and the urgency to adjourn the role of the mysticism, pursues us from near. Must consider the religion, before overwhelm us!

    http://www.amazon.it/Need-New-Christian-Cult-monotheism-ebook/dp/B01BVBP75Y/

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