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.

Day 44 - Sevilla

A very interesting day,  we walked to the centre of the city via a different route that took us to a pedestrian street full of interesting shops. 

We finally arrived to our objective, the Alcazar.  This is an Arabic word that means royal house.  It was initially built by the Moorish kings and it is now the oldest royal palace in Europe.  The Spanish king still uses the upper level as his residence in Sevilla.

The place is enormous and it has been modelled and remodeled over the centuries.  There are many details of Arabic origin including room covered with tiles. The gardens are extensive and contain multiple fountains. We spent over three hours admiring the fortified castle.

The Alcazar is a located next to the Cathedral and to the General Archive of Indias. We had already spent a whole day at the Cathedral so we went the building of the Archives.

This is also a very impressive building that dates from the XVI century. The archives are rich with material from the first of the conquistadors to the end of the 19th century. Here are the Bull of Demarcation of the pope that divided the world between Spain and Portugal, the journal of Cristobal Colon, maps and plans America and of the colonial American cities, in addition to the ordinary archives that reveal the workings of the whole vast empire.

Today the Archivo General de Indias houses 43,000 volumes and some 80 million pages, which were produced by the colonial administration.

There is also a temporary exhibit of the Ulloa library which includes books from Newton, Kepler and Copernico, books from the XVII century. Mathematics, physics, navigation as well as biology and zoology. An incredible collection.

We ended the day with the rosary in the Parrish that is attached to the Cathedral.

Today we celebrate Saint Emilie de Vialar, thus we ask her to pray for us.

 

Day 43 - Sevilla

Last night we stopped at a little convenience store to buy a few things and ended talking with the owners, Puri and Felipe. Very nice couple, they wanted to know about our pilgrimage. When we went by the store this morning, on our way to breakfast, Puri came out to talk to us. Felipe works for the department of tourism of Andalusia and he got presents for us. An Andalusia T-shirt for me and a fan for Brenda. That was a surprise and a very good detail. Spanish people are so nice.

After breakfast we walked a couple of kilometres to a laundromat. We have enough clothes now that we can wash every other day.

When we finished we were right on time for Mass at the basilica of the Macarena. The image of Our Lady of Hope Macarena is very well known and a favourite of Sevilla. After mass we had also an opportunity to pray the rosary in front of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

By then we were hungry and there just happen to be a Chinese restaurant nearby so hard to believe but we had a Chinese lunch in Sevilla.

We went back to the hotel, had a rest and we spent the afternoon with a very satisfying 10 km walk around the river. Very nice views of the river and the city. We also found some beautiful gardens, walked by a market and ended in a pedestrian street full of restaurants and bars. We finished the day with a salad and a sangria. Then a walk back to the hotel.

Today we pray to Our Lady Macarena and we say hail Mary full of grace protect us and help us get home safely.

Day 42 - Sevilla

I am giving up, I will not add more photos to the blog.  The Blogger app has a lot of problems adding pictures and it causes difficulties for me.

I think both of us are in a funny mood, we are suffering from Camino de Santiago withdrawal.  It is a big change not having the daily challenges that trying to get to Santiago gave us.  We miss that special spirituality that walking brought to us. 

We are in a good hotel, not very expensive but it is 20 to 30 minutes walk to the centre of the city.  Of course, we are pilgrims and walking is not a problem.

Today, oh decadence, we woke up at 9 am, yes 4 hours later than our Camino alarm clock.  First we walked to the bus terminal to get out tickets for Lisboa and then we went to the cathedral.  We arrived early enough to pray our rosary.

After mass we had a bite to eat, shellfish paella and then to visit the cathedral.  We were making time walking around because the cathedral opens for visitors at 2:30 pm.  Well, we came back at 2:15 pm and the line was along a whole block and around the corner.

We finally got in, the Cathedral started as a mosque during the Moorish occupation.  In the XIII century, the king of Castile and Leon re-conquered the city and the Cathedral began to be built over the mosque.

Then it Giralda bell tower is 98 metres high and two thirds initially were the minaret of the masque.

Over the centuries the Cathedral has grown and it now has an area of 23,500 square metres. It is the third largest in the world.  It contains the third largest art collection in Spain after el Prado museum and Sevilla's art museum. I counted 21 chapels inside the Cathedral.

With that size it is easy to understand that we spent the rest of the day admiring the architecture, the art and the treasures that are in the Cathedral.  As pilgrims we admired the chapel of Santiago as well as other statues and paintings of the apostle.  We finished our visit after 6 pm.

A point of interest, just outside the Cathedral we found the starting point of el Camino de Santiago by la Via de la Plata. The yellow arrows gave me a warm feeling and brought a smile to my face.

After that a quick dinner and the half hour walk by the river back to the hotel.

Today I want to go back to Santiago apostle and ask him to pray for us.  That the pilgrimage we just completed may bring us closer to Jesus and that we may get the graces to become better Christians.

Day 41 - To Sevilla

The hotel staff were terrific this morning, breakfast is served after 8 am and since we had to leave by 8, they left us last night a generous care package with juice, fruit, muffin and a bottle of water.  We came downstairs early to get a coffee.  When the lady from the front desk saw us she came immediately to set the full breakfast buffet for us.  So we had a good breakfast including freshly squeezed orange juice and a care package for the train.

Since we are pilgrims we walked the 30 minutes to the train station.  The trip to Madrid was long from 9 am to 3 pm. Then we had to switch train station, from Cha Martin to Atocha, that meant we had to take the city train.  I was impressed, the trains are comfortable and an information screen showed among other things the train speed which reached over 230 kph (the train from Madrid to Sevilla runs at 300 kph in some sections).

We sat in front of a couple. Very soon we found that they had just finished the Camino Frances. They are from Nebraska. She had bruises in both cheeks. She slipt and fell just after Sarria. It's good to know I not the only one that falls on the Camino.

We finally arrived to Sevilla at 7:30 pm, we took a taxi to the hotel and went out for a walk. 

Just a block away is the convent of San Antonio,  in front there was a crowd of people so we went to the k it out. It was another of these fabulous Spanish processions. Today is the feast of San Antonio so they were celebrating.

After the procession passed, we continued our walk, we went over to the river and enjoyed a bit of the river views. Sunset came very soon so we decided to call the day and go back to the hotel.

San Antonio, pray for us and our family. Help follow your example of charity and love for our fellow human beings.

Day 40 - Santiago de Compostela

I was just thinking when we left Lisboa, a 15 km day was an exhausting full day.  Yesterday we walked 15 km up the hill in just over 3 hours and we were not even tired.

Today we woke up at 8 am, really we slept until 8 am, decadent pilgrims we are.  We had breakfast in the hotel, another luxury. We walked across town to a coin laundry,  another luxury, took the laundry back and then?

What do we do.  There is no walking to be done, we have not even prepared our backpacks and we don't have to.  Cultural shock, we are not pilgrims anymore.

So, we went out for a walk, why don't we go and check the train station so tomorrow we know where to go?

So we went with a stop at the church of San Beieo for our rosary.  Beautiful small church, very quiet and gave us space for a nice spiritual moment. 

Then we wondered into the market, all kinds of fish, I finally so a choco (cuttlefish) which is what we ate the other day, they are ugly but tasty.  I wanted to try tetilla (little boob) cheese and we finally convinced a vendor to sell us only part of a tetilla, still a sizeable quarter of the thing.  We also brought artisan bread which also was very good.  Suddenly we had enough food for our lunch.

As you can imagine this walk to the train station took some time.  A little farther we found a cafe that advertised churros with chocolate so we had to go in.  Unfortunately once we sat down we found out they had run out of churros.  Still I managed to have chocolate with apple pie Spanish style.

We finally found the train station and we timed the return to the hotel;  it is half an hour. Now we can plan our timing for tomorrow morning.

We still had time for a nap and then went out for one more good bye.  Our friend Clare from Ireland arrived today so we met for a drink.  It was great to see her again.  Both Brenda and I like her very much so we had a great time.

Then to the pilgrim Mass.  We arrived half an hour early and we were surprised to find the cathedral full. I thought being that early would give us a choice of seats.  Well, there was not a single seat left in the whole cathedral.  The big attraction is the botafumeiro, the giant incense burner. It is once a week at the Friday evening mass and it attracts a lot of people.

Mass was intense, still going through the feelings of the end of pilgrimage. Questioning myself if the long walk has indeed changed me the way I hoped. Am I really closer to my wife? Am I really closer to my God? I hope I am, I think I am

We ended the day having dinner with Clare. We truly enjoyed the company as I said before Clare is charming. We also were lucky to find a few other pilgrim friends at the restaurant. With some regret we said good bye. Our last pilgrim good bye. From now on, every time we watch "game of thrones", we'll think of Clare and will be watching the credits for her name.

And now to bed.

Today is the day of St. Anthony, we ask him to pray for us, to help us take advantage of the opportunity we had to this pilgrimage to make us better Christians and better human beings.
 

Day 39 - To Santiago de Compostela

To Santiago de Compostela:  0 km

Walked today: 22 km

Total walked:  725 km

We had only 15 km to the cathedral of the saint so we decided to wait for breakfast.  Pepe, our host, served breakfast early for us. At 7 am he had things ready. He outdid himself and had several choices for us.

We also found our two new friends from Holland at the restaurant and we met another young man from Russia there.

The picture below was taken from our window just before we started to walk.  

This morning we walked very fast, el Camino is mostly up the hill to the cathedral but we managed the 15 km in just over 3 hours. This time we even passed some pilgrims.

I have admit that as we approached the cathedral I got a bit emotional. Being a pilgrim is a lifestyle, there is built in time for prayer, there is time for thinking, there is a purpose to get to the goal that is the tomb of the apostle despite tiredness, pains, blisters. Rain or shine, steep hills, mud, obstacles don't matter.  

If you ask a pilgrim why are doing the pilgrimage, many will have hard time explaining it.  But all will agree that the experience changes us.  Most will tell you that there is an inescapable spiritual impact even if they started just as tourists and not pilgrims.

Another aspect is the links Pilgrims make with each other.  The shared experiences, the pains, the difficulties.  As well as the good times, the meals together.  All these things bound us together in friendships, often from one side of the world to the other that last forever.

Arriving to the cathedral is the end of the pilgrimage so all of us suffer from mixed feelings and some emotional moments.

For us today arriving to the plaza in front of the cathedral was the first step.  We took some pictures but we could not go in. We still had our backpacks and backpacks are not allowed inside the cathedral.  Instead we went to the office of peregrinos to get our certificates of completion.  Prized mementos which will have a place of honour in our house.

We found our hotel,showered, and left the backpacks and hurried back to the cathedral.  There are some pilgrim routines that must be followed.  We sent up to the back of the altar to embrace the statue of Santiago and then down to the chapel under the altar where the human remains of the apostle are located to say a short prayer. A few steps away is the chapel of Our Lady, the perfect place to pray the rosary.

Then to look for our friends, the people who walked with us, the people that endured what we endured, the people that will be our friends forever.  No one wants to say goodbye.

Then the Pilgrims Mass at the cathedral. Another moment that is emotional and spiritual for us pilgrims. Very important, the culmination of our month long pilgrimage. The pilgrim masses are always very solemn.  

And again, to look for our friends and to have dinner with them, to talk about the impact of the pilgrimage on us but also to talk about feet, blisters, stinky people (mostly ourselves), the things we do as pilgrims that we would never do at home and to just have fun. Again, no one wants to say goodbye.

Now, we have one more day here, we definitely spend more time at the cathedral and also we will be meeting another pilgrim friend who arrives tomorrow.

Then we become tourists.  Our fight to Canada is in 10 days, we are planning to spend a week in Sevilla

Tonight we thank San Tiago for his assistance in completing the journey and we ask him to pray for us. 

Day 38 - To Parada de Francos

To Santiago de Compostela: 12 km
Walked today: 16 km
Total walked: 703 km

We started the day late.  We were ready for breakfast at 7:30 am. When we went down, our German friend Clemens was already there so we joined the old gentleman for a last meal together.  He confessed that he is nervous. He will walk to Santiago de Compostela today and go home tomorrow.

My friend Ksinia should be in Santiago by now and she flies away tonight.  LeeRay is like ng gone.  It is sad to see our friends for the last time.  Likely we will never see them again.

We walked the 12 km we had planned for today.  I found it very hard.  No energy, on top, my arthritic hand is acting up and is painful. Slowly we approached our goal. 

En el Camino encontramos una iglesia, it was up from the road so its front yard was a bit hidden from the road.  An idea al place for the rosary.

3 or 4 kilometers ahead we met Donna.  She does not want to arrive today to Santiago so she is staying at an albergue near by.

A few kilometers more we met two young women from Holland.  They were trying to figure out where we were and where they could stay. 

Very soon we arrived to our Casa rural.  It is one of the fanciest places we have been at in this Camino. While we were checking in the dutch gals arrived. They will be staying here too.

In the afternoon we rested, we walked around a bit, we sat in the garden, we talked to the girls, it was a pleasant break. We walked a total of only 16 km, about half of our daily exercise.

The restaurant is a classy one, Pepe, our host is a gourmet chef. We selected black rice with cuttlefish. It was very good and the desserts were spectacular as well, a cheese cake for her and ojaldra de manzana (like apple strudel) for me.

God willing tomorrow we will be in Santiago at the tomb of the apostle. St. James pray for us.

Day 37 - To Padron

To Santiago de Compostela: 25 km
Walked today: 26 km
Total walked: 687 km

The day was expected to be warm, again we were up at 5 am and started walking in the dark.  Caldas de Reis is a nice little town, we crossed another ancient bridge and a bit later we were out in the country.

We've had our regular breakfast of a bottle of juice, a sweet bun and a fruit at our room but we were missing a hot drink.  There is nothing for 5 km so we did not our drinks for almost two hours. 

We are slow walkers and we stop often to take pictures.  So pilgrims kept passing us including our new gang who have started calling ourselves the family.

I have made really good friends with a Russian teen and her mom.  They are very nice and have a great relationship.  This young girl gave us the best compliment anyone can ever give us.  She said she would like to grow up to be like us.  To tell the truth I really like her back.  She is a very polite, nice, pretty and good girl.

The walk today was easy, mostly away from roads and crossing evergreen and eucalyptus woods. Today even the slopes were gentle.

When we arrived to the river which marks the entrance to Padron it was 1 pm so we stopped at a cafe for a bocadillo, it means little bite, in reality they are half of a baguette stuffed with ham and cheese.  Good lunch.

From there it was a short distance to our hotel.  Following the routine we showered, Brenda washed the clothes, a nap and then out for a tour of the town.  We visited the church of Santiago de Padron.  It has a statue of Santiago Matamoros (the moor slayer) and another one of a guy who looks like Santiago Peregrino but it is San Roque.  Wonder Woman tells  me that you can recognize San Roque because he is always represented showing a knee. 

After that we went to a bar to get some ice cream and we spent some time talking to Margarita, the proprietor, she is pure Gallega and very entertaining.  We also met her husband and her daughter.

Finally we walked over to a restaurant we had picked for dinner with the family.  This group is breaking up.  My friend Ksinia and her mom Katia need to get early to Santiago to obtain their Compostela.  They are flying tomorrow night.  We said good bye to them. My teen friend made a bracelet for me.  I am touched.  I wish we could spend more time with them.

I think we will not see again Herbert and Clemens from Germany, the two Karen's from Australia, Shirley from New Zealand, Liz and Yethel from Denmark and many others.

Tomorrow we are walking only half way to Santiago, just over 10 km to Teo, may be we just want to make this last a little longer. That means we will be left behind from most of the family.

Our plan is to arrive to Santiago on Thursday and we already have plans to meet some of our friends from our Lisboa gang.

Sad good byes, mixed feelings, the Camino lifestyle and the relationships we create here are very unique.  But also we are approaching our goal.  To visit the tomb of the apostle, to pray at his tomb, to think over the reflections we had on the Camino.

Some pictures from today are below

Tonight we pray to St. Anthony of Lisboa for all the people who has helped us to get here.  Including the agent of Proteccion Civil who was on the Camino watching over us pilgrims.  We also ask St. Anthony to pray for us pilgrims and for our families

Day 36 - To Caldas de Reis

To Santiago de Compostela: 43 km

Walked today: 29 km

Total walked: 661 km

Another very hot and humid day. Today we woke up even earlier to beat the heat. Usually at 6 am we walk alone but today the dark streets were busy with pilgrims.

We crossed the bridge on the way out of the city and walked and walked.  At about 10 km we stopped at a cafe.  The waitress was overwhelmed.  Too many pilgrims. We were the last ones to leave.  I made a comment to the waitress and she said foreigners are OK, they are quiet and wait in line, it is the Spaniards and the Portuguese that drive me crazy.  They are load and want service at the same time. Funny, she is Spanish.

We stopped a couple more times to rest, we got caught by the heat and we  arrived to Caldas de Reis at around 2 pm. The am sorry to report that my 4 old blisters are still there, a couple are bigger and I have a new one on a toe.

We did our errands, luckily there is a laundry at the hotel and a Froiz supermarket across the street.  We also had time for a bit of rest.

We had agreed with a few friends to meet at 7 pm for dinner and to celebrate Brenda's birthday.  We found a large group including pilgrims from Germany, Russia, Austria, Australia, Holland, Italy, Denmark and Canada.  Over 20 people.  The waitress played a Spanish birthday song in the sound system as she brought the cake ( I got the cake earlier at a pasteleria ).  Everyone stood up and clipped with the song.  I think Brenda enjoyed her party.

It is past 11 pm so to bed. I have to be up in 5 hours.

Santiago el Mayor, St. James the Great, help us complete this pilgrimage to your tomb, help us to take advantage of the privilege of being pilgrims to get closer to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

PS. Blogger failed again and I lost all the photos.

Day 35 - To Pontevedra

To Santiago de Compostela: 65 km
Walked today: 22 km
Total walked: 632 km

Up earlier, today is going to be a hot one so we wanted to start very early and get to Pontevedra before the heat and on time for Mass.

The two Danes, Liz and Yethel, joined us.  We took a taxi together from our beach hotel to el Camino.  By 6 am we were walking in the dark.

It was still dark when we crossed the town of Arcade.  We had some nice views of the ria and the river Vigo

By the time we got to the Ponte Sampaio over the Rio Verdugo there was some light and the sun was trying to peek over the mountain.

Then a very steep climb to el alto de Canocouva.  The pace slows, the backpack gets heavier as the trail gets steeper and the day gets warmer.

Then it got rocky, the last 3 km are always the harder despite that it was flattered

We really did not have anything to eat all morning, we walked about 16 km in 5 hours, and all the coffee shops we saw were closed.

When we arrived to Pontevedra, the first open place was the coffee shop of the train station so we finally had a chance to eat something.

We located our hotel, left our backpacks and went on to the centro to look for a church with Mass. The first Church we found was the Peregrina, the church of Nuestra Señora del Refugio, La Divina Peregrina.

There we were told there was a noon Mass at the church of St. Francis across the street. So we got our Mass in a beautiful Church.

When we came out of mass we saw that Pontevedra's procession of Corpus Christi was in progress.  It was a large parade with floats of saints and bands in typical dress from Galicia playing pipes and drums. At the end a large float with the Holy Sacrament, the body of Christ, Corpus Christi.  We were lucky to be there.

We rested all afternoon and we met for dinner with our new friends from Germany, Russia, Holland, Ireland, and more.  Arroz con gambas y verduras, suspiciously looking like paella and pulpo a La gallega, Galician octupus.

Now in bed nursing my new blister as well as the old ones. As my friend Jasmin says, we are walking on water beds.

Our Lady Peregrina pray for us.  Hail Mary full of grace.

Day 34 - To Redondela (Outeiro de Penas,)

To Santiago de Compostela: 82 km
Walked today: 21 km
Total walked: 610 km

We were late leaving this morning.  It was almost 7 am.  The hour change from Portugal to Spain had a bit of impact on our sleep.  Since we were right at the centre of the city we could hear people partying until 3 am.

Very soon we found an open coffee shop so we stopped and as we drank her coffe and my tea we started to see our new friends from yesterday go by.

Through the day we will meet them over and over again.  It is a pretty big gang and we tend to arrive to coffee shops, restaurants and even the hotel pretty close so we seem to overwhelm the attendants.

The group includes people from Germany, Austria, Russia, Denmark, Australia, Holland, New Zealand and us Canucks but of course I also represent Mexico

We are still in the Via Romana XIX so we keep finding neat Roman things, a few sections are still in the Roman cobblestone, today we saw distance military markings and a solar clock (see below).

The Camino markings are now under 100 km so we feel that Santiago de Compostela beckons.  One of our friends, a fast walker is already there.

The trail today was really just to get through Monte Corriedo.  A steep 235 m climb and then an even more steep way down.  With the temperature going to over 30 C, it was a bit hard but it also waz a short walk of under 20 km.

When we arrived to Redondela the whole gang got together for lunch and then we split.  Some stayed at the municipal albergue and some, us included, went to a hotel by the beach.

We rested a bit, we had a walk on the beach, and had dinner with the gang.  Which was a delight.  And now early to bed.

The plan for tomorrow is to take a taxi back to the Camino and walk to Pontevedra.

Today we pray to San Ignacio de Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, my educators. We ask him to pray for all the Christians that are being prosecuted and to grant them his protection.

Day 33 - To Porriño

To Santiago de Compostela: 101 km
Walked today: 26 km
Total walked: 589 km

An uneventful day.  We started to walk shortly after 6 am and pretty soon we lost an hour.  In Spain is an hour latter than in Portugal.

There are more pilgrims in el Camino but while we say hello or hola, we had not really made friends with any of them.  There are many Spanish pilgrims.

After we crossed the bridge we followed a path that is next to the river rather than walk up the hill to the cathedral.

We passed more Roman bridges and at some point I saw a marker that said the Camino de Santiago follows the Via Romana XIX.  Some of the trails we've followed are indeed Roman roads

Eventually we arrived this cross.  The bridge ( not seen ), it called el Puente de la Fiebre - the fever bridge .

San Telmo, the patron Saint of Tui died here of a fever while on  pilgrimage to Santiago.

The walk is now very Galician, we remember paths like this one - water running on one side and a stone trail on the other.  We saw them in el Camino Frances.

This last 3 km are on this path.  At the end there is the albergue and the entrance to Town.

Arriving to Porriño.

We are tired today, we bought a few things and retired l.

Hail Mary full of grace

Day 32 - In Valença and Tui

To Santiago de Compostela: still l117 km
Walked today: 16 km
Total walked: 563 km

España!!!
We made it to Spain, now is only 117 km to Santiago de Compostela.

One of the first things I learned today is that the town is called Tui in Portuguese or Galician but it is Tuy end Castilian (Spanish) and the river is Minho end Portugal but it is Miño in Spain.

Today is a day of rest for us, we woke up late.  It was already  7 am when we finally woke up.  Another luxury, usually we are too early for the free breakfast at the hostels but today we actually sat down at a table and had hot beverages.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon walking in the Fortaleza, the old town of Valença so the plan for today was to walk the 3 km to Tui and spend the day there

We walked on the avenue around la Fortaleza and arrived to the old bridge.  We were told it was built by Eiffel, the same man from the tower in Paris and the bridge in Porto.

Borders are almost non existent in Europe but there were policemen just waving the cars through at the Spanish end of the bridge.

We followed the Camino to the cathedral, la Catedral de Santa Maria. We entered and went straight to the chapel of the Holy Sacrament. We were alone on this magnificent mediaeval and holy place.  The perfect place for our rosary in front of Our Lord.  We were halfway through our prayers when a pilgrim came in. She asked if she could join and she prayed the rest of the rosary with us.

Later we talk for a bit, her name is Marian and she's from England. She told us that some years ago she rode her bike into Santiago with her husband and saw the pilgrims arriving. Later they tead a book "the field of stars" they decided they were going to come back and walk the Camino but a few months later he died. She came back to walk el Camino by herself and brought the ashes of her husband to spread as she walked.  Just like in the movie "the way".  I almost dropped a tear at that moment.

After the chapel we did the tourist visit to the cathedral.  It is amazing, no comparison to any of the cathedrals we've visited on this trip.

The chapel of Santiago has this picture of Santiago Matamoros. The story is that in the middle ages when the moors invaded Spain. A Christian king leading his army in Clavijo, was getting ready for battle. The moors had the advantage.  The king prayed to Santiago asking for help. The next day the battle started in favour of the moors and when it looked like the battle was lost, Santiago appeared riding a white horse and led the Christians to victory.  Perhaps this is the reason why Santiago is the patron saint of Spain.  Santiago Matamoros, Santiago the moor slayer.

 

The cathedral also has a lookout with a view of the river and Valença. The lookout is in a garden out from the cloister

When we walked around the cloister we saw women in a side room chopping leaves and evergreens.  They explained that today is the feast of Corpus Christi and that they will celebrate this weekend.  Part of the tradition is to make pictures in the floor with flowers and leaves and they are getting ready.  They told us we should be able to see this pictures this weekend as we walk through the villages and towns of this region.

Then we went to the roof and to see the Tower of the cathedral.  While we were out in the tower I asked a lady to take a picture of Brenda and me.

Suddenly she asked, were you with a group having dinner in the Fortaleza last night? 

I said ooops I am sorry because we had been very noisy, telling stories and laughing.

She said it was OK, they usually end alone in restaurants and then she started to tells us back our stories from last night. Including stories of blisters and feet.

After the cathedral we had lunch and went to get a sim card with a Spanish telephone number. 

We had been told that we could attend mass at the Convent of the Doroteas at 6:45 pm. So we had some time to kill.  We were having an ice cream when we saw of friend Clemens, the 78 year old German pilgrim.  It was another nice reunion.  We made a date for dinner for Brenda's birthday a few days and a few kilometres from here.

Then to mass we went.  We had a surprise when we read a plate outside the convent.  Sor Maria Lucia de Jesus took her habits in this convent and resided there for 17 years.  She was Lucia of Fatima.  One of the sheppard children who saw and talked to Our Lady in Fatima.  We attended mass with the nuns in the same chapel where Lucia (soon to be blessed Lucia) attended mass every day for many years. Wow!

We finished the day with the 3 kilometre walk back to Valença in Portugal.  Tomorrow we walk into Spain.

Today we ask Saint Telmo (San Pedro Gonzalez), patron saint of Tui and of sailors to pray for us and for all our priests, monks and nuns who have dedicated their lives to the service of Our Lord.

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.