Day 50 - Flying home to Mississauga

The flight was 2 days ago.  A very long day.  We left our hotel in Lisboa at 8 am and arrived to our home at midnight Lisboa time.  I am still  jet lagged and trying to get back to the real world.

We spent 50 days living out of our backpacks.  No worries about bills or social commitments or regular house chores.  Just walk and reflect.  It was easy to find time for our rosary, we had no distractions, no TV, no newspaper, no mail, no phone calls.

Yesterday I woke up full of energy, I figured I need to keep walking,  I said 15 km a day is a must.  We did it but then we had to ge to the bank, we had to get birthday cards, we had to go to the supermarket to get some food (there was nothing at home) and the magic was gone.

The pilgrimage was another great experience.  From the spiritual side, we visited Fatima, one of the three great Marian sites, together with Guadalupe in Mexico and Lourdes in France, these are the places to talk to Our Lady Mary.  The one thing that I came out with from Fatima with was the request from Our Lady that we pray a daily rosary.  Sounds like 20 minutes of prayer should be very easy but in reality there are too many distractions.  I was very happy that we had the privilege of visiting the Convent of the Doroteas in Tui where sister Lucia lived. Lucia was one of the shepherd children who talked to Our Lady in Fatima.  We attended mass with the sisters of the convent.  It was a real privilege.

One thing that was different in this Camino was the social life.  Last year in el Camino Frances we were early in the year and we made good friends with some  pilgrims but these year we met a lot more people and we had closer relationships with some of them.  When we spent the last week in Sevilla and we sat in some cafe to have a drink of to eat something I kept looking up expecting to see one of our pilgrim friends arrive and then I would realize that we were not in the Camino anymore.  No more pilgrims.  I miss my friends.  In fact we are planning a trip to the United States where I expect that we will have a chance to see some of them, I miss my European friends too but it would be a lot more difficult to go and see them.

Yesterday when we went out for our walk, I have to admit that every once in a while I caught my eyes wondering around rocks and trees looking for yellow arrows.

Still, when we came back last year from el Camino Frances my wife told me that I had change for the better.  I think this  year, el Caminho Portugues, has also changed me.

Are we going back for another Camino?  I don't know, the itch is there.... God willing...

Day 49 - Lisboa

I think now we are just waiting for our flight home. 50 days is a long time to be away.

Last night when I was ready to sleep I turned off the TV. A big puff and the light went out. Today I learned that it was not only in our room but the whole floor. This morning our phones would not charge with our adapter. Brenda cannot live without her phone so after breakfast we wall to "El corte inglés" (equivalent to The Bay) and bought a new adapter.

We walked through the park Alfonso VII up the hill. From the top of the park there is a nice view of the city.

Later we went to the Natural History Museum. Today's happen to be free entrance so that was a bonus. The museum is housed in an old building which I think belongs to the university. They have exhibits on dinosaurs, geology, animals, math and geometry, math games, physics, etc. They have a lot of really old things. There is a chemistry lab and a very old university classroom. It was very interesting.

After the museums we found a restaurant in a park a couple of blocks away. The weather was comfortable and the food was good.

We decided we would just walk around the rest of the afternoon. Always shooting for the 15 km. So we walked and we found the convent of San Pedro. It is open for visitors. I don't really know if it is still used as a church but it looks like it could be. It was quiet in there so we prayed our rosary and then we spent some time admiring the religious art.

Right in front of the convent there is a lookout. We were pretty high so we had a view of a very large part of the city.

There is a tram that goes down a very steep street so we walked down. It was a bit slippery with my shoes so I had to go very slow. That street took us down to the centre of the city.

We continued walking down until we got the the plaça de comercio and the river Tejo. Finally we walked back to the hotel through the most touristy part of town.

And by the way, we did make the 15 km.

San Pedro de Alcantara, Franciscan friar and mentor of Santa Teresa de Avila, pray for us.

Day 48 - To Lisboa

Early start. The bus left Sevilla at 7:30 am.  We crossed the border where police officers check passports ( I thought people moved freely within the European Union), then we changed bus at Faro and finally arrived to Lisboa at 2 pm.

There is a metro station by the bus terminal so we were in the hotel within half hour.

Lisboa is warm, 30C, still cooler than Sevilla and we could feel the difference.  We found the streets around the hotel closed.  I asked a police officer what was happening and he said a teachers parade and then with a grin, he said, they are the same all over the world.

When we came out for a walk downtown, the parade was starting. A quit affair with lots of banners, most of them did not look very happy to be there.

We were hungry but it is not hard to find food in Lisboa.  We stopped at an outdoor restaurant and had the kind of Portuguese food we like.  Seafood rice for me and salmon for her.

Sitting next to us was a really happy fellow who likes to talk as much as I do. He is from Angola and we talked (somehow) in Portuguese. He was very interested and amazed at our little walk.

Now, to look for a church for Mass.  I had read that the church of San Roque, a Jesuits church, is beautiful and has a museum of religious art.  We decided to find it.  What we did not know is that the church is at the top of one of Lisboa's famous hills. 

We took a very long stairway and finally got there but no Mass. A bit disappointed but the museum was still open.  What a marvelous collection of religious art.  I was truly happy that we made it there.

Then, still hoping to find mass, the lady at the entrance to the museum gave us directions to the church of Sao Domingus. Down and down and down the stairs we went. 

We found the church and went in, Mass was just starting.  I was in awe, this is a gigantic, majestic church but it seems like it is crumbling.  In fact, there was a terrible fire in 1959 and it took some 25 years for it to reopen.  The columns and the stone work are missing pieces, in fact one of the statues behind the altar is missing its head.  Still, the ceiling has been renovated, the altar itself is gold, gorgeous.  It looks like parts have been restored and some others left damaged on purpose.

While we did not understand most of what the priest said, it was a pleasure to listen to him. Obviously a joyful man. He actually greeted us in English after the mass.

Then to the hotel and bed. Tomorrow our last tourist day.

Sao Domingus, pray for us.

Day 47 - Sevilla

Our last day in Sevilla and this place is becoming an oven. Going up to 37 C today. People tell us that the temperature in the summer can go up to the mid-forties. Wow, no wonder everything is closed from 2 or 3 in the afternoon until 6 or 7 pm.

Today we started on an already 30 C day at the laundromat. The last time we have to do this. Then we stopped by the basilica of Our Lady Macarena to recite the rosary and say good bye to her.

Back to the hotel to unload the clothes and then to the fine arts museum. The museum is in a gorgeous building that used to house a convent. They have a great collection of paintings from Spanish artists. Probably the best known is Murillo. They have used the old church for the largest paintings. The result is stunning.

By the time we finished there it was almost 2 pm and very hot, in the mid thirties. We walked across the river to the market for lunch. Then back to the hotel to hide from the heat.

Around 7 pm we went out for a walk, still very hot, we went all the way to the cathedral. Then on the way back we stopped to say goodbye to the owners of the bar were we usually had breakfast and then we went to the convenience store to say goodbye to Puri.

We are now packed and ready for our bus trip tomorrow to Lisboa.

At the museum we saw a statue of San Ramon Nonato. He had his lips punctured and a metal ring was put through them by the moors in an attempt to keep him from preaching. I ask tonight San Ramon to pray for us.

Day 46 - Sevilla

It is getting pretty hot, today we saw thermometers in the street indicating 39 C. And our Sevilla friends tell us the the heat is just starting.  At least tomorrow is our last day here.

We are becoming regulars at the corner bar.  The barman now knows our breakfast and he calls it screaming: one orange juice, cafe con leche, infusion de manzanilla, una media con York (this means a small ham sandwich) and uno completo con mantequilla  (a big toasted bun with butter).

The tour of today took us through downtown by the cathedral to Plaza de España.  There was a police ceremony with parade, mounted police, gun salute, flag raising, the works.  The plaza is surrounded in one side by a 1920s building covered in tiles.  Beautiful. It has a series of picture tiles from hidtorical events on each of the major cities in Spain. There must be close to 50 of this pictures around the plaza.

The park Maria Luisa is next to the plaza. It is a huge park, a giant island of green in the city.  It is surprising how much cooler it feels in the trees shade.  We crossed the park to get to the museums. 

First we visited the museum of   "Artes y  costumbres populares". They have all kinds of things that were common objects in the houses of Andalucia in the time of my grandparents. There was a group of Spanish seniors and they were talking about the things they recognized and remember. I also saw many things that I had seen in my grandfather's home.

When we finished that museum we just had to cross a small plaza to the museum of archeology. The museum is dedicated to local archealogy of Andalucia. Very interesting, starts with the bronze age and ends with items from the Roman era.

We had bought bocadillos from our friend Puri, the owner of the convenience store by the hotel. So with our bocadillo, a can of pop and some fruit we had a picnic in a nice shaded area in the park. When we finished it was past 2 pm and very hot.

We came back to the hotel again through downtown. It took us around 45 minutes, it is at least 4km. And then we took refuge from the heat in our air conditioned room.

At around 7:30 pm we came out for air and looking for food. It was still very hot but we found a table on the shade by the corner bar. We had to wait until 8 pm (Spanish people eat very late). But we had our fill with tapas.

On the way back, we stopped to say hello to Puri and she had more presents for us. Andalucia caps. One for each. They are so nice. Her husband Felipe arrived and we chatted with him for a while. He is more than ready to go and walk on el Camino and Puri wants to go with him.

Now in bed, getting ready for tomorrow, our last day in Sevilla.

St. Isidore of Sevilla is the patron saint of this city. He was a charitable and learned man, he wrote many books including an encyclopedia which was used several centuries. He is also the patron saint of computer scientists and the internet. St. Isidore pray for us.

Day 45 - Sevilla Photos

I finally figured that I can add pictures going to the website and skipping the app

The church of San Julian

Las Zetas - The mushrooms

In LA Casa de Pilatos

In the gardens

One of the sculptures 

Day 45 - Sevilla

Another day as tourists. We started with the laundromat. From there we decided to go and see the metropoi parasol or as the locals call them, las zetas - the mushrooms.

As we walked, we found an open church. The church of San Julian. Another beautiful example of a Spanish church with a lot of religious art, probably mediaeval. It was quiet and peaceful, a perfect place for our daily rosary.

I should mention that the daily rosary is new for us. In Fatima we learned that Our Lady asked us to pray the rosary every day for the salvation of all souls including our own so we are trying to comply with her request.

Anyway, we continued the walk and eventually arrived to the mushrooms. Very impressive structures. Too bad the blogger app does not allow me to add pictures.

We had bocadillos, Spanish sandwiches, so we had our lunch right there. By then it was getting very hot, over 30 C, so we came back to the hotel to have a rest in the AC.

When we thought that it was getting cooler (we were wrong), we went out again, this time to visit the Casa de Pilatos. An Andalusian palace, initially built by a nobleman in the XVI century, it is a combination of Moorish and renaissance architecture. The tiles, the engravings in the walls, the woodwork in doors and ceilings are unique. The house is also full of Greek like statues. We spent a couple of hours there, admiring the place despite the heat.

By then it was close to 7 pm, so we walked slowly back to the hotel with a stop for dinner. But it was still pretty hot.

Tomorrow is going to be hotter....

Today we visited the church of San Julian de Burgos. The beggar bishop. We ask him to teach us humility and to pray for us.