Fatima, Avila, Madrid and Home

   Oct 10-15
   Oh my!  We've been gone a long time.  We've had quite an adventure, experienced a new culture, and saw interesting places.  Sad to see it end, but it's time to return tomorrow. 
   Fatima was inspiring.  We were at the international rosary and candelight procession Thursday night after we arrived from Vigo.  The next day we saw the sights of Fatima--where the children lived, where Mary appeared to them in 1917, the Cathedral, etc. 
   We left for Avila the next morning on a 9hr bus ride we weren't looking forward to, but we met someone who was also on the camino who had come to Fatima on the way to Madrid.  The day passed quickly enough with shared stories, then we were in Avila.
   Avila is amazing!  We got a taxi to our hotel, which turned out to be 10km from the center of the city.  On the 14th we moved to a hotel inside the city walls which was perfect because it was on the eve of the feast day of St. Theresa.  There was a procession of her statue in the afternoon from the church where it is kept to the Cathedral.  There was a huge procession/parade that night with dancing and music-- a great celebration.  A local man told us Oct 15 is as big in Avila as Easter.  All the people in the procession brought flowers to honor St. Theresa.  It was so much fun to be in Avila experiencing the feast day.

   Oct 15
   There was a High Mass in the Cathedral at 11am, and then a procession of the statue back to the Church of St. Theresa.  The whole town comes out for the celebration.  It's very beautiful and exciting.
   On the 14th we went to all the places we wanted to see and experience--the Convent of the Incarnation where St. Theresa lived for 30 years and the Convent of St. Joseph (her first foundation in 1562) which was very special for us.
The Cathedral was beautiful. The building began in the 12th century and ended in the 16th century.  What is so impressive about the Cathedral is that it was also a fortress.  The city wall, built in the 12th century is the best preserved wall in Spain.  It is 2.5km long with 2500 battlements, 88 towers, and 6 gates.  The Cathedral is merged into the city walls, which is fascinating.
   The feast day of St. Theresa was a special way to end our camino pilgrimage.
   See you soon!  

PICTURES ON A SEPERATE BLOG  

Fatima, Avila, Madrid and Home (pics)

Our Post Santiago Adventures

Oct 5-6

   KATHY:

    On to Finesterre. The bus ride was beautiful! Along the coast, the perfect blue water, fishing boats in the harbor. The weather is perfect! Blue sky and sunny. I'm by the harbor writing this. Tom is walking the 3km to the lighthouse. I can't walk that far. My ankle was pretty sore yesterday from our stay in Santiago, so I'm resting it today. I love exploring new places, so this is disappointing but I'm enjoying the scenery -- I'm not complaining.

   We're staying in an actual hotel with a great view of the harbor. It feels like heaven after almost 4 weeks of albergues, and we're getting our clothes laundered!

   This has been quite an experience for us, meeting so many people from all walks of life from so many different countries with the Camino in common. Hopefully next year we will finish the camino. I feel blessed with what we've experienced so far.

 Oct 7-8

   Finesterre was a wonderful place to visit. Some pilgrims walk there as part of their camino. We rode the bus back to Santiago, caught another bus 30 minutes later to go to Vigo. We were going to Porto, but the hotels were less expensive in Vigo.

   It's a beautiful city on the coast -- a lot of boats in the harbor, even a cruise liner parked in the harbor too.

   We took a ferry across the bay to Congas and strolled along the waterfront for awhile. The weather is perfect, and being by the ocean has been wonderful. I'm getting around easier now. It doesn't hurt much to walk on flat surfaces, but up and down inclines are still difficult.

   The hotel we're staying in is one block from the waterfront with a lot of restaurants and nice walking places. Our room is small--feels like a cruise liner room with its nautical decor. It's very comfortable, with an elevator which is nice for me. This is a great town to relax and have fun in. We're sitting by the waterfront right now with our drinks and watching the sunset.

   Wed Oct 9
   We've enjoyed Vigo so much we decided to stay an extra day.  Tomorrow we leave for Fatima, Portugal by bus (a 6 hr trip).  It would be nice to be there on the 13th, but there is no bus service on Sunday going to Avila, Spain.
  
   Adios for now!

Santigo

Thurs Oct 4
KATHY: Our Camino has been different from what we planned, but we see God providing and leading us on a different pilgrimage.
   After I fell and sprained my ankle God provided a place to stay that was a wonderful gift. We so enjoyed the sisters at the convent, the time to meet the local people, go to Mass every day and relax.
   Then on to Santiago by train where we received many blessings. First of all we stayed at a pension that was old and noisy at night, but close to the Cathedral and inexpensive. There were a lot of steps to climb which was hard for me, but I made it. Then we met Fr. Michael from Australia, one person we had hoped to meet again. We had a warm visit, and he shared intimate insights of his camino with us. I wished I had a pen and paper when he was talking--his thoughts were profound.
    We went to the 12pm pilgrim Mass. It was very crowded. We had visited the church the night before when there weren't many people. Seeing all the pilgrims coming in, greeting each other, there was a lot of joy and excitement. We saw a few of the ones we started with, but not many. Rob and Cindy are due to arrive Wednesday, so we were about a week ahead.
   At Mass they didn't do the incense ceremony, so I asked and found out it was to happen at the 7:30 Mass that evening (and to come 1hr early). We were there early and got seats in the front row by where the ropes are for the botafumeiro (a giant incense burner). They performed the ceremony immediately after the Mass. It takes eight men operating the ropes to swing the burner. It was incredibly moving; I got all choked up while it was happening. What a profound ending of being blessed that way, and how many years it has been happening, and the symbolism behind the ceremony.
  Another special blessing was when we were talking with Fr. Michael. He didn't know whether he'd be concelebrating or not. He did, and sat on our side of the church. We received communion from him. I was so happy for him that he decided to end his pilgrimage on the altar as priest and pilgrim. That was such a blessing for me!
   There was so much joy and celebration in town at the restaurants and bars with pilgrims greeting and celebrating each other.
   My last blessing was in the morning leaving Santiago. We came across a statue of Gandhi. I'd seen a photo of it in the guidebook. I stood in front of the statue, took a photo and said to Tom how lifelike the eyes were--and then the statue smiled at me! I about jumped out of my skin--completely fooled me. He was that good. He gave me a small scroll with a quote from Gandhi that I read a few steps away from the "statue". It said " Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it". I went back and asked him if he spoke English. He did, so I told him I had sprained my ankle and had to quit, what his message meant to me and thanked him. He smiled and nodded.

On to Finesterre.