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  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    Day 59–62

    Bilbao - Paris-Calgary-Vancouver

    May 6 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Had a fairly good sleep at the Hostel. Up bright and early to catch the bus to the airport.
    I just love early morning walks.

    I discovered I have over 20 packets of Starbucks instant coffee left so I ordered just hot water at the airport. So much cheaper😉

    Boarded my first of 3 flights.
    Arrived in Paris on time.
    It was quite a process of going through Customs and then trying to figure out the Terminal and Gate. I rode 2 different buses and amazingly arrived where I should be.

    Paris is certainly getting ready for the Olympics with every type of merchandise you could possibly imagine.

    I boarded my second flight .
    West Jet has been great. Comfortable seats and the flight attendants are very friendly and generous giving you a full glass of Diet Coke instead of a tablespoon .

    Our plane was delayed into Calgary. I managed to get to my next flight in time even though we were delayed because the Customs Police had to physically remove a passenger from the flight.🧐

    I was absolutely delighted to fly on a West Jet plane that was painted with a Disney design🥰👍😂💖

    Kurt greeted me at the Vancouver airport

    We will visit Oma and Laura tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    1
    Day 58

    Avila to Bilbao

    May 5 in Spain ⋅ 🌫 12 °C

    This is always the least favorite part of travel.....going home. It is not that I don't want to go home it is just the logistics🥺

    My train left Avila at 15:30 and arrived at Valladolid at 5 pm. My next train to Bilbao is at 18;50 arriving in Bilbao at 22:20. My flight tomorrow is at 10:30 am....so a lot of travel in a very short period of time.🤔 But all self inflicted....

    I really like train travel as it is very comfortable and punctual

    I am going to add some more pics from Avila as I took a lot.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    2
    11
    Day 56

    Fatima to Avila

    May 3 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    This bus ride was not quite as nice as the previous one.🥺
    The scenery was very interesting. I arrived in Salamanca after 9 hours. I then walked 2.5 km to the train station.

    The train was wonderful. Then I walked 2 km to my Hostel which was inside the walls.

    The next morning, I walked the ancient murallas ,,( Spanish for walls) first thing. I was so happy that I did because of the heat and the crowds!!

    I visited the Basilica of Santa Teresa. They had her ring finger preserved including the ring!! Also bones from Saint John of the Cross both were Christian mystics.

    I basically took in all the sights of Avila in 1 day🤗 18 km in total😅 Loved every moment. Very cool place.

    It was a perfect day ending with churros and seeing Storks😉😍🤗🥰💕💕💕💕💕    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    1
    Day 55

    A few more Fatima thoughts

    May 2 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    All in all this was quite an experience. It was initially very overwhelming. The Basilica again looks like something from Disney. The interior Sanctuary is very peaceful amidst the throngs of people.

    It was interesting observing all of the different types of people. Some were actually crawling to the Basilica on their hands and knees. Others would lie flat on there tummies in front of the alter. Others would only take pictures. I saw the selfie stick a lot. Still others would just walk by....Young, old, in wheelchairs, walking with canes or with a guide dog.....

    There was also a candle section Some people had candles 5 feet in length!!!!

    Tomorrow is a very long day. Fatima to Salamanca 9 hours on the bus, and then an hour train to Avila    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    Day 55

    Fatima

    May 2 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    I had a wonderful supper last night. Portugal has wonderful food.

    I spent a lot of time in the Basilica and walking around. They have beautiful parks close by..

    The actual grounds are massive and set up for enormous gatherings of people for Mass.

    I should summarize the story of Fatima. 3 shepherd girls saw the Virgin Mary a number of times in a field. The younger 2 died at a very young age. They were made Saints. The other one Francisca lived to be 97 and she is in the process of becoming a Saint.

    Chapel of the Apparitions.
    It was in the place of the Chapel that our Lady talked to the little shepherds. Out of the six apparitions of the Virgin Mary, five of them happened in this place – May, June, July, September and October – where, by the Lady's indication, a chapel in her honour was to be constructed

    The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima stands at the place where the three shepherds were playing by "building a small wall" on May 13, 1917, when they saw a sudden lightning and got frightened to the point of gathering the flock to return home for fear it would rain    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    311
    Day 54

    Bus to Fatima Portugal

    May 1 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    So last night at 7 pm the Italian couple arrived to be Hospitaleros. No sign of the other 2 and I don't know if they ever came as I went to bed early🥱

    I woke up at 3:15. Finished packing and had a small breakfast I left San Nicolas Hostel at 4:15 right on schedule!!! Yippee,!!😅👏🥳

    Surprisingly the bus was packed.
    Slept a bit on the bus. We were 15 minutes late into Srantiago, and I barely caught my connection 😱
    That bus was packed as welll

    I have included pictures of the scenery from the bus and the first glimpse of the Sanctuary from Our Lady Of Fatima🙏    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    111
    Day 53

    Last day at San Nicolas Albergue

    April 30 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Today is the last day of doing everything I have done daily for the past 16 days!!!

    My partner (who I called " OPA") announced he was leaving early at 11 am. It is his daughter's birthday.

    The new group of 4 Hospitalaros arrive sometime today. Two are a couple from Italy and the other two unknown🧐 All I know is that Isobel and I are on the early shift 1-4 pm and then I pack 😅

    My bus leaves at 5:15 am to Fatima Portugal tomorrow morning. I will walk 2.5 km at 4:15 to the bus station. I cannot wait!!!!!!!!

    I have included pictures of a couple who have walked with their old dog of 13 years from Treport France They have walked 2000 km this far. They began Jan 1!!!! Unfortunately it is not a great picture of the dog. They have tented the whole way. Simply Amazing😉

    I also have a picture of a delightful elderly Japanese man who knows no English. We helped him extensively with luggage transfer, finding a grocery store , and showing him which way to find the Camino in the morning.💖💖💖

    Other pictures are from my walks around Ponferrada. The park is so beautiful and many do the circuit walk around it ( 1 km,)

    The mountains are beautiful in the distance ....sort of like Calgary and the Rockies😉

    My poles that I bought here and cannot take home were given to a Pilgrim in need this morning🌞🤗 That's brings me so much Joy 💖

    We are averaging 55 pilgrims each day I am so thankful that the numbers have stayed manageable. I know it won't be long before it will be full (140) every single night!!!

    Good Luck to the next group!!
    💪💪💪💪🍀🍀🍀🍀🙏🙏🙏🙏    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    1
    Day 49

    Hola - Adios

    April 26 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    This whole experience has been filled with greetings and partings.....

    I especially love when Pilgrims find each other after a day or two or even more of separation . The exclamation of pure JOY is so heartwarming....it gets to me every time♥️♥️

    I also feel pangs of brief sadness as I say "Goodbye" to my Pilgrims in the morning.

    I got up at 430 to open the door for a Father and daughter who are doing the Camino on bicycles.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    Day 46

    No room at the Inn?

    April 23 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    When we started working here, the number of pilgrims we registered started at 28 and then gradually increased over the days to 30- 40. We hit 50 and we were amazed. That number was short lived by our record of 64 pilgrims.

    We far surpassed that number by 102 last night!!! That included a family with 5 children under the age of 12.!! I think our maximum capacity is 140🧐

    The massive numbers of Pilgrims drastically changes the experience of the Camino to one of anxiety and fear. Will I have a bed tonight??

    I no longer have the time to socialize in a meaningful way with each pilgrim. This makes me sad.😥
    Registration is a time of speed and efficiency as best as one can do in very poor lighting.
    That being said, the difficulty in reading of the numbers off of their cards can be extremely difficult. There are no LED lights here at all. I use the flashlight on my phone😉

    The French DIN card has the most numbers and letters and the Italians win for the smallest print of their names on the card.

    Speaking of names, there can be up to 6 given names for the French, Italian and Spanish.

    We had one woman very ill last night and this caused panic amongst the other pilgrims in her room. Will they become ill? The lady was unfortunately unable to speak any English of any other language that we know of She ended up going to the hospital.

    I must speak of keys. There are so many doors and so many keys!!! Even if you have the right key for the right door it may not open.....A lot of the doors are color coded....I am thinking a Canadian🇨🇦 did that 😅
    Sometimes you have to turn the key twice around to the right. some you just nudge a bit to the right and some you have to use BRUTE strength while turning the key for it to open. It is quite an art to learn 🧐

    What will today bring,??    Read more

  • TravelerScotland to Spain
    Day 42

    Mucho dias - Mucho Peregrinos Day 2-7

    April 19 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    It is fascinating watching all of the different peregrinos from all over the world mixing together.
    They are bound by a common goal, a desire to follow, " The Path."
    Each has their own purpose which is as diversified as the mixture of cultures.

    We are averaging 50 pilgrims per day now.

    We had a young girl from Korea come and she was filming every moment of her experience not wanting to miss anything.

    I also am amazed at how our kitchen is transformed into a fusion of different cuisines.
    We had an Italian chef prepare a pasta extraordinaire for all the pilgrims including us!!!

    There was also a guy who after walking 6 hours prepared stuffed dumplings from scratch using a box of pizza crust flour!!!

    We had a family from the USA that were walking with their 2 boys ages 12 and 15 years.

    I watched a tall elderly man do an entire Yoga Vipassana this morning. Amazing🤗 No I didnt stare.....🤔😂

    At the end of the day you always wonder who will arrive tomorrow??    Read more

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