Day 31 - To Valença

To Santiago de Compostela: 117 km
Walked today: 27 km
Total walked: 547 km

Foggy morning is what we found when we left the Pousada.  Since we did not have WiFi in the room we stopped for a few minutes in the terrace to peek at email and Facebook.

We walked faster than usual today.  With a lower temperature and gentler slopes it was an easier walk.  There was less asphalt but more cobblestone and the countryside is more like Galicia more evergreens but the fog persisted until 10 am or so.

We were alone for a long time.  It is great to walk in silence through the woods on the fog. It helps you meditate.  

Of course a lot of the walk was on cobblestones.  My poor feet start to hurt after a couple of kilometres.  Later I would find out that the same happens to most people.

One thing I did not realised until later is that we were walking on a Roman road and got to cross a couple of Roman bridges.

The fog gave us some pretty amazing views.

We walked alone until we got to Paco's and stopped for a drink.  There we saw Natalia, our Russian friend who speaks very little English and the communication is mostly through gestures.  A lot of fun.  Somehow she told us that she had fallen and ripped badly her pants.  Brenda offered to saw the for her but she said that the rip was way too big and the pants were garbage.  Her mission for today is to find a new pair of pants.

We also talked briefly to a Spanish Spanish couple we met yesterday and to four young and pretty French girls.

Again we walked alone.  By now the sun was up ( vary, very hot) and the Camino continued on cobblestones - our poor feet.

Again we got lucky.  At around noon we came to a small chapel that was open. We found again a perfect spot for our daily rosary.

At around one, already in Vallença,we stopped for lunch, so we arrived to our hotel, el Val Flores around 2 pm.   Following the routine we showered, washed the clothes (well, Brenda washed the clothes) and then we got in touch with our buddies to plan a meeting for dinner.

And then to check the fort of Valença.in reality all the old town is inside the walls. It is only a few blocks so as we explored, we found ou r friends over and over again. Eventually we sat down to drink some sangria.

The fort, la Fortaleza, is a very large structure and contains the old town.  The hill in which the fort is located overlooks the river Melho and the Spanish city of Tui in the other side of the river.

We visited the Igreza de Soa Sebastian, we were hoping to attend mass there this evening but there are no masses today.

While we were drinking our sangria with Annemarie and LeeRay, Antje and Rudy came to join us.  So we agreed to have an early birthday party for Brenda and Annemarie who happen to be birthday twins. Both celebrate their birthday on June 8.

We found a pretty nice restaurant with very good food.  It was a great dinner.  We had this delicious Portuguese seafood rice. Pilgrims tend to behave like teenagers after a couple of glasses of wine.  The conversation somehow seems to go always to feet and blisters.  We really had lot of laughs a lot of fun.  Brenda got a small cross in silver of Portuguese filigrana  as a birthdayese present from me and Annemarie got pilgrim presents, a shell for her backpack and tape for her feet.

And now we said goodbye to our friends. We all started our pilgrimage in Lisboa and met early in el Caminho.  For the last month we have stayed many times in the same hostels, we have shared many meals and we have walked many kilometers together. Tomorrow all four of them go forward towards Santiago de Compostela but we stay behind.  We are taking a day of rest here and from now on our journeys are going to be shorter.  There is a small chance that we may see some of them in Santiago but regardless, whether we see them again or not, we have shared many unique experiences.  We are bonded together as friends and pilgrims for good.

Tonight we pray to San Tiago, friend and apostle of Jesus, patron saint of Spain to protect and pray for all present, previous and future pilgrims and we ask him to protect all of us.