Vila Verde

Pilgrimage - defined as a journey. I think implicit within is the challenges, set backs and recovery one faces and overcomes to complete the journey. Another critical aspect - a journey is not made alone.

My pilgrimage today continued with another beautiful day in Portugal. We got away at 6:30 am when we wanted. So, it was a great start. Our miles and steps were ahead of yesterday and we felt good about how things were moving along.

Our passport is becoming full of stamps where we stayed, stopped or ate. The people are very kind about bathrooms also! That can be a big deal, especially when you’re older.

After a good lunch of the traditional European baguette sandwich we continued on the trail, through the country side and villages. Lots of different surfaces, including stone pavers, gravel, dirt, paved and anything that might be made into a road/ trail.

That turned out to be my downfall. I took only pictures and left only footprints, but managed to also pick up a few blisters. The last part of the day was pretty tough. We had about 5 km of a long uphill before we got to the albergue and it was getting hot and we were tired. But as in any journey/pilgrimage, God will provide. Out of nowhere we came across one of the water fountains the Camino is famous for having. You can fill up your water from the tap and get some nice cool water on your face. Some relief.

We arrived at the albergue later because those pesky blisters were slowing me down. Claudia pulled me through and we finished the day where we wanted to go.

But that’s not the end. Some of our fellow pilgrims became aware of my suffering and offered to help. One was a nurse and one was a director of an assisted living facility in Paris. They both proceeded to do everything they could to make it better. The alcohol swab was a bit much and I didn’t have a nail to bite down on, but now I’m doing much better than before all properly bandaged. Claudia picked up dinner and we ate here at the albergue. With so many angels around, it was great to be a recipient of what the Camino has to offer.

I was truly blessed today and was reminded that this pilgrimage is a journey with lots of help along the way.

We will continue tomorrow depending on how my feet feel.

God is great.

17.6miles; 44,000 stepsRead more