Day 5: Into Spain and O Serrallo- 12 mi

Today, we finished our Portugal leg and ventured into Spain. This is my (Jack's) 39th country, and it took way too long to cross Spain off the list. We went to the grocery store for some breakfast food, then boarded a somewhat sketchy boat to taxi us to the other side of the river. Once we landed, we headed back north and a little west to get back to the coast. It was up and down over a ridge, and we got some really good time along the Spanish Atlantic coast. It took a little adjustment to now use Spanish. We both said thank you in the wrong language or forgot to change Bon Caminho to Buen Camino as we greeted other Pilgrims. It is very nice to greet people using "hola" and much easier for us to communicate here. One highlight is we met a German lady from Hamburg and we kept switching from English to German to Spanish while speaking to her - it was comical.

Other highlights are the beautiful coast with horses and cows, a meditation space with water, and a beautiful church with a nice lady who gave us a stamp on our pilgrim credentials and invited us to stay for mass (we prayed and then left before the service). We met two girls from Bamberg, Germany, which is close to where we lived in Bavaria and also met two girls from Venezuela and England. We didn't see a ton of other pilgrims, but some to say hi to.

My ankles were feeling much better today. I figured out my socks were too tight at the band, and they were cutting off the circulation. I cut my socks and felt like a new person. I hope the swelling and redness go down soon. We have another fairly light day coming up, so we hope to get healthy. Tara has a couple of nagging blisters and sore shoulders and back. But we found this stuff called Star Balm (kinda like Biofreeze, but you spray it) at a pharmacy, and it's magic. It makes your skin tingle and smells like Vick's Vapo Rub. Most of all, it really helps with muscle pain. Tara is a big fan. :)

We had to make the brand switch on our drinks from Portuguese to Spanish. Estrella Galicia is the local beer, and there is a local cider that was pretty good. See you all tomorrow, and thanks for all of the prayers for our health. I think tomorrow we will be getting back closer to full strength. We have just under 100 miles to go!Читать далее