"How did you like it?"

I watched the sun set over the ocean at Finisterre with a bunch of pilgrims who I didn't really know--a collection of Germans who I had met briefly a few days before. A guy from Amsterdam who I remembered having seen once about 3 weeks previously. Quite a lot of people I had never seen before. It was perfect. It was just like every other day of the Camino--the most important and the most mundane of moments can be shared with strangers. So we gathered on the rocks and lit fires and drank alcohol and talked about feet and traded stories and laughed.

It was an oddly private experience, though. This quiet celebration was meaningful for the pilgrims, but there were some tourists scattered around. To them, it was just a pretty sunset in a pretty place. Nothing special.

One girl told us she was in Santiago for a wedding and was just checking out the sights. The pilgrims were idly chatting with her. She asked about the Camino and the logistics and such. Then she asked one German pilgrim, a guy who I had only briefly met, "How is it? How did you like it?"

I was curious how he would respond. It's a lot to sum up, to process. I knew I would have to answer this question soon, and it seems impossibly huge to explain to someone how grand the experience is. What in the world would he say? What in the world would I say?

As he answered her, he looked at me, right in the eye, and said, "It's one of the best experiences of my life."

I love those efficient Germans.

That's my answer, too. It's one of the best experiences of my life.