Sunday, October 5, 2014

Camino Portugues - Seven months to go

Here we go again.

El Camino de Santiago was such an amazing experience that we want to try again.  Initial plan calls for El Camino Portugues starting in Liboa.  We plan to stop at Fatima to visit the shrine of our Lady Mary and from there to Porto, Tui and Santiago de Compostela.  This will probably take place in May/June next year.

Both of us have new boots to replace the ones we wore out in El Camino and I got a new backpack that fits better than the old one and we probbaly will have to replace a few more items.  We feel out of shape since we have not been able to walk in the last couple of months much but we still have time (although winter is coming).

Our health has been up and down but we cannot complain, we still can walk.  When we walk next year I will be almost 72 years old but this time we will have the experience and El Camino Portugues is shorter, only 615 Km, and is easier, not as many mountains to climb.  Besides, Wonder Woman will be at my side to pick up the pieces every time I fall.

So Santiago de Compostela here we come.



Santiago, St James, pary for us.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Day 51 - Madrid to Mississauga

This will be the last entry for this blog.

We are going home.  As I write we are flying towards Mississauga.  God willing we will be home this evening.

Too many thoughts run through my mind.  I don't want to think of tomorrow.  I know that after almost two months away there will be a long list of things to do.

I rather think of the last two months.  The excitement of the preparation.  The impatience to get started and then the adventure of our lives.

I admired my wife for years but this pilgrimage has given me a whole new view of her.  She looked after me like no one could have, and while she can be  sweet and loving she is also really tough. I cannot believe I got so lucky getting her as my girlfriend, my lover, my wife.

I have now so many memories that will last forever.  On the spiritual side I got closer to our Lord Jesus.  The old majestic cathedrals and churches, the priests, monks and nuns that we met. The priests and religious who gave us pilgrim blessings; in the church in Pamplona, in Estella, the Benedictine monks, the Franciscan friars of O'Cebreiro, the Belgium pilgrim priest, the young priest walking with a school group of 15 year olds, the nun in the convent of Santa Teresita, and the last blessing from the Franciscan brother at the church of San Francisco in Santiago de Compostela.

There are memories of magnificent liturgies.  We attended some very special services including a vespers in the cathedral of Leon, vespers with Gregorian chants with the Benedictine monks, mass with the Cistercian nuns of Santa Teresita and the liturgies of holy week in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela with the archbishop, a large group of priests, cantors and choir and the amazing pipe organ.  I will never forget the Spanish cofradias and their processions.

And then there are all the pilgrims we met and share the experience with.  Starting with Luis, the Spaniard from Navarra who walk with us the first day and stay with us because he felt I was not well, and Felipe from Santiago who took over for Luis the next day.  We were lucky to see him again in Santiago where he invited a cup of coffee.  Hendrik and Sophia from South Africa who were our companions a couple of days, Ian and Marian from England, Karen and Dave from Calgary,  Karen and Steve from California.  Roberto from Monterrey, Mexico. I have to mention the two Spanish 15 year girls who stop to help when I fell. Then my internet friends I never met in person but shared the experience on Facebook, Marilize and Theresa both from South Africa.  And many more. 

Then the sites we walked through, mostly I loved the mountains and the peaks (though sometimes I was not sure I liked climbing them).  In particular I will never forget come down the Pyrenees through Roland's pass, el alto del Perdon, where the way of the wind crosses the way of the stars and where the monument representing pilgrims through the centuries is.  The cross the Ferro, where pilgrims have been depositing pebbles for centuries.  The pebbles brought from their homes and representing things from our lives that we want to leave behind.  O'Cebreiro with the oldest church in el Camino with incredible views on one side to Castilla and on the other to Galicia.

Then the historical places that we saw. Like walking on a 2000 year old Roman road or crossing Roman bridges or mediaeval bridges like the one Santo Domingo de la Calzada built for pilgrims and the bridge on Puente la Reina.  Then there were sites like the castle of the Templar Knights in Ponferrada or the Parador de San Marcos which was the base for the Knights of Santiago and the museums, so many is hard to remember.

As I said somewhere in the blog an incredible journey. Spiritually uplifting, emotionally exciting and physically demanding.

Lord Jesus, thank you for allowing us to complete this pilgrimage.  Allow this experience to get us closer to you and to make us better human beings.
Ten piedad de nosotros.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Day 50 - Madrid

Last day in Spain.

We thought all the museums were closed on Monday but we discovered that El Prado is open.  So we woke up late and to the Prado we went.  The Metro left us only a couple of blocks away and we walked in the rain to find a block long lineup of umbrellas.  Of course we lined up and eventually we got into the museum.

We spent there most of the day.  It is an incredible collection.  Lots of Spanish art including Velázquez, Goya, Murillo but there is a wide collection of European art including Miguel Angel, Rubens, el Greco, Raphael, Tintoretto, Rembrandt.  We could spend days admiring all these master pieces and walking room after room in there. There are more than 90 rooms.

We did escape for a bit for lunch to a favourite restaurant of Brenda that is nearby and had a nice paella and squid lunch. I think we have been there every time we have been in Madrid.

By 4 pm we had overdosed in art so we left and walked first to la Puerta de Sol and then continued to the Opera House and crossed to over to el Palacio Real and finally to the Cathedral de Santa Maria la Real de Almudena.  We arrived just on time for our last mass in Spain.

Now back at the hotel and getting ready for tomorrow.  It looks like we have to get up at 5 am.  We are ready to go home.

Santa Maria de Almudena, take care of us in our trip back home.  Pray for us and for all our pilgrim friends on their way home or still completing their Camino.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Day 49 - Santiago de Compostela to Madrid

Bus day.

Really nothing notable happened today.  We left the hotel  at 9 am and the bus trip took 10 hours.  It seems our bus is the one that goes around Galicia from town to town picking up people.  We arrived at 8 pm to Madrid and it took us one more hour to take the subway across the city to get to our hotel.

Now to bed. We really want to get home now but we have one more day in Madrid.  Unfortunately is a Monday and all the museums are closed.

Hail Mary full of grace pray for us.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Day 48 - Santiago de Compostela

Last day here in Santiago de Compostela and mass of the resurrection.

The only thing we really wanted to do today is attend the Easter Vigil at the cathedral at 10 pm so we had a free day.

We decided to visit some of the museums. There are two museums of pilgrims.  We started with the old one.  It has some interesting facts of the pilgrimage and religious art.  The new museum is very modern and is next to the cathedral.  It has an amazing model of the cathedral and a computer game where we role played  a mediaeval pilgrim arriving to Santiago and the cathedral.  It also has a collection of great photos from el Camino which we could identify, we were there!

We also took the time to have one more visit to the tomb of the apostle and then a last Galician lunch of caldo Gallego and fried squid.

We rested  for a while and packed for tomorrow's trip to Madrid.  And the afternoon was gone.

We left the hotel just before 9 pm and caught a bit of another procession.  This was from the Cofradia del Santisimo Cristo  de la Uncion y Nuestra Señora de la Serenidad. I was reading that it is important for the cofradias to include the family thus the processions include women and children.  Today they had lots of children.

From there to the cathedral.  What a special sendoff.  The Easter Vigil started with the ceremony of fire with the cathedral on the darkness.  Then the fire was passed along to all the people.  We all had candles and then this magnificent huge church became alive with all the lights. This cathedral which was built over hundreds of years is one of the largest of Europe and has a very large pipe organ.  The organ and the choir provided a majestic sound to the ceremony.  The archbishop was accompanied by 10 priests.  I don't have the words to describe what I saw and what I felt.  A great celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Santiago, apostle of our Lord Jesus, patron of the pilgrims, please  listen to our petitions and protect us in our way home.  Pray for is.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Day 47 -Santiago de Compostela

Good Friday

Day of mourning.

We started the day by watching a reenactment of the passion of Jesus by the Cofradia of Jesus of Nazarene and our Lady of Sorrows.  This was in a plaza outside the cathedral.  The passion of our Lord was narrated by a priest and reenacted with four floats carried by the Cofrades.  The floats were: Veronica,  St. John, Our Lady of Sorrows and Jesus carrying the Cross.  The performance ended with a procession through the streets of Santiago.

After that we visited the cathedral's museum.   It has a wonderful collection of mediaeval religious art and includes a visit to the old claustro.  Very interesting.

We finished the day with Good Friday celebration at the cathedral. It was an impressive liturgy.  It was presided by the archbishop accompanied by the bishop and a dozen priests.  The passion according to the  gospel of John was  chanted by three cantors and a choir.  I had never seen a Good Friday liturgy like this.  This continues to be a very special Holy Week for us.

Our Lord Jesus, you died for us in a day like today 2000 years ago. Thank you for allowing us to be here, by the tomb of your apostle Santiago.
 
Ten piedad de nosotros.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Day 46 - Santiago de Compostela

The last couple of days we have spent a lot of time with pilgrims we met on the way and that keep arriving.  Lots of hugs, dinners together, and talk a lot about our experiences.  It feels like nobody wants to end the pilgrimage. Today we had lunch with Hendrik and Sophia from South Africa.  We were at mass with Marieta and her son.  And we saw Steve walking around. Marilize from South Africa should arrive tomorrow with her mom.  There is a true pilgrims  fraternity.

The other very significant part of these days has been the liturgical part.  Today we attended a penance service in the morning presided by the archbishop.  Luckily, there was an English priest right by the place where we sat so it was easier for Brenda to go to confession.

This afternoon we attended the mass of the last supper.  The archbishop presided again with a dozen priests concelebrating.  The gigantic organ was played with a beautiful choir.  The liturgies in the cathedral are just incredible. 

After mass we went out the plaza to watch the Maundy Thursday procession by the Cofradia of the True Cross and presided by the archbishop.  As usual they had a float of Jesus at the last supper and a float of Our Lady of Sorrows.  I should mention that the masks worn by the members of the cofradias have been in use since the XV century.

These liturgies have had a great impact on me.  As I am rediscovering my church I feel a true spiritual renewal.

Santiago, help up maintain this spirit of rediscovery, and today that we celebrate the first mass and the institution of priesthood pray for our priests, our religious orders and for us.