The unfolding story of Alban and his fellow CAFOD pilgrim's journey to Santiago de Compostela during September 2011
Thursday, 6 October 2011
The pilgrimage is over and a big THANK-YOU for the sponsorship.
Firstly may I say a thank you for looking at this blog.
I am delighted to say that the amount raised exceeded £2400 including Gift-aid donations for CAFOD - the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development.
So much can be done with this money and it will make a huge difference to a number of poor families in the poorest countries of the world. I am so proud of you all for sponsoring me to such an extent and pray that God will bless you for these gifts you have given freely.
As a form of thank you to those that sponsored me - and others interested in doing the Camino for themselves - I will be giving a slide presentation about this pilgrimage at my local Church - St Peter's, 7a Station Road, Biggleswade, Beds, SG18 8AL (If you're not familiar with the church then see the Google street-view below).
The talk will take place after the 6:30pm Saturday Evening mass and commence at about 7:30pm on the 18th February 2012. The Bar will be open so if your interested then please reserve place(s) by clicking here and fill in your details.
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Day 9, 10 and 11 (in reverse order!)
Day 11 (Monday September 26th) Santiago de Compostela to home
Up early this morning, organise a taxi for the airport with Susan. To my surprise Erin came with Susan. Erin had planned to make the coach trip to Finisterre with Alcia that day and so I just had to get a snap of the two ladies I had met at the very start and who were here the very end of my Camino trip. It was great to travel back with Susan as she's such an intresting character. The homeward flight to Stansted passed with out a hitch and I made sure that Susan got to the right bus to get her back to Heathrow for her onward flight to Seatle (via Iceland) the next day. I caught a bus to Stevenage and the Peterbourogh train Sandy, ariving home at just after 2:00pm UK time.
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| From Camino day11 |
the last of the CAFOD questions:
What have been the highlights and low points of this journey for you?
As I sart to think about returning home, what will I take with me from this journey. Will anything change in your life?
The lowlight will be with me for some time to come. I just hope I can understand why such things happen to people I make an effort to care about.
The highlights were the first day getting to Ruitelan and meeting some very special people that day, people who would be with me at various times during the pilgrimage and who would lift my spirits when they fell low. Good companions who I hope I will meet again. One of whom - Susan Gregory - has become a very close friend and I hope (ney know) will be life long friend too.
And finally some thoughts not mine - but that ring true with the whole experince... Enjoy.
Day 10 (Sun September 25th) - Santiago de Compostela
I had a great night sleep and rose early in the morning and went to an early mass where I saw Chris and Roger. The Botafumeiro didn't swing, but after the mass I took the oportunity to investigate a little more of the Cathedral. It's a facinating structuure and I really just managed to visit the various chapples and one of the displays rooms that offers the history of the buildings and a much closer look at the Portico de Gloria (Doors of Glory) and the wonderful carving that tells the story of the history of Jesus line and His Glory in heaven. Central to this door is the tree of Jesse - see the photo - the whole thing is a masterpiece of stonework, that has been eroded by the touch of so many pilgrims over the years that it's now been blocked off. A good thing really, but unfortunately the lighting there doesn't allow you to see and appreciate the inricacies of the stonework - whereas the display brings the story nicekly into focus.I decided to have a little breakfast at the Rúa de San Paio in the sunshine and take a few photgraphs of the eastern side of the exteria of the cathedal. The rest of the day spent restfully enjoying Santiago's sites without the need for meeting up with others.
Day 9 (Sat September 24th)- Santiago de Compostela
I moved to the center of the city today - very close to the Cathedral and well away from the rather smelly fish market where the others had chosen to stay. On my way I took a tour of the Seminario Mentor which was a very impressive building, and was tempted to book in there for the day too. But I knew I needed to check to see if my parcel from France had arrived at the Post Office - alas no luck today. As the Post office is closed Sunday and I'd be travelling before it opened Monday meant the parcel would be returned to France (if it ever arrived); and that idea was a complete and utter wast of time, effort and money for both Ross and me - sorry Ross...Anyway that done I met the CAFOD group for the Pelegrinos mass before 11:30 so that we might find a seat together - as it turned we sat close to each other, but not together (seems to be the almost story of my Camino with this group). The mass was a very moving experince for us all, not withstanding the Botafumereio didn't swing that day.
We sat on the left hand wing of the of the Cathedral facing the people in the right-hand wing during the Service. It was strange that as the service went on I saw more and more people that I had met on the walk - some of whom I knew their names, others (and there were a lot more of these) that I had passed and exchanged greetings. And quite a few that I han't spotted spotted me too as I was wearing my CAFOD running vest - bright/florecent green and they told me as I met them on my walks later on that day or the next. After the service the CAFOD group met to take the official group photograph. And then we spent the rest of the day relaxing and exploring this wonderful city.
The thing that became very apprant to me was that the city is always full of people throughout the day. Especially the times when the doors of the Cathedral open. And of course the Cathedral was never empty and generally packed. There was always a hive of activity and the deacons kept protrolling with the intent of keeping conversations down to a respectful level and so I'd frequently hear a loud "SSHHHHHHHhhhh......" being expelled as the noise levels rose every 5 - 10 minutes. It was as if people needed to be close and were drawn to this holy place.
I traversed the city a number of times this day each time spotting something new and interesting. There are so many churches, monuments, and musems I doubt you'd be bored. I storlled into a Picaso exhibition that spanned three large floors of his works. I met Chris and Roger - what a great pair of friends they are - always full of fun and happiness. Then I happened to be walking by the Post Office with the intent of poping in to check the parcel and who should I almost trip over sitting a table outside a bar sipping a beer, but Erin and Susan (E&S) the very two ladies that were ther first people to greet me on the Camino. I sat down and discovered that they had just arived in the city and had yet to find ther hotel. Those who know me well know that I very quickly become oriented in new cities and so I offered to direct them to their hotel - returning te favor so-to-speak... little did I realise that the hotel was right at the far end of a very long street.... Anyway we enjoyed a drink together and chatted about all of the people we had met that first day, including Isabelle who had crossed my path so many times. We spoke of Maria and it seemed E&S had met Maria before Isabelle but never together, we chatted about Alicia and a few others who S&E. I had spotted most of these people at the pilgrims mass earlier and said they wein Santiago. After they finished their meal, I got up and started on the route to take them to the hotel, and almost imeadiately became dioriented, I checked the map and realised we had come one street (10 yards) to far but rather than going back we should walk up Rua de Franco, and as we walked up the street as if by majic most of those we had been chatting about earlier were on that street - it was amazing as if everyone knew E&S.
After directing E&S to their hotel I had a quick snack at a Cafe. After that went for anothr strol and spotted a Galacian dancing band with drums and bag pipes in trin, walking through the streets. I followed them to a plaza where a wedding was taking place in the church of St Agustin. A rather plain looking church from the outside but when I looked inside I was astounded at the beautiful acrchitecture and how the church had been decorated for the wedding. The pictures tell part of the story, but the wedding was a spectacular affair with a string quartet, vocal soloists who sang Avey Maria as well as I've heard it sung. And with about three wedding planners - as far as I could tell - in train. They had even brought along their own trees to stand in the plaza for the photographs taken outside the church. Unfortunately I missed the Galacian dancing band as I suddenly felt quite cold and feverish and made my way quickly back to my hotel to sleep. Boy do these Galcians know how to throw a celebration...
Day 8 (September 23rd) Santa Irene (OS Arca O Pino) - Santiago de Compostela
A wonderful evening at St Irene; but I was slightly concerned about Christine walking on her lonesome in the morning, but said the Rosary before going to sleep and trusted that Our Lady would watch over her and keep her safe.
The bunks beds were lovely and clean and for the first time I felt happy to sleep under the sheets provided. Needless to say it was a wonderful sleep. I woke as Christine packed at 6:00am and passed her my torch. It seemed there were a number of people rising early and setting off before breakfast. I tried not to make too much noise and decided to have a shower before breakfast and setting off. Not long after getting out of the shower Christine arrived back and said she'd not been able to locate the path and could I set off with her asap. I quickly grabbed my things together, packed, grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee shared with Christine said our goodbyes and set off still in the dark at about 7:05. I noticed the air was cool and damp as we left. We crossed the road and passed the Scouts tent that had been cannily set up in the bus shelter, outside the Municiple Albergue. We made our way into the edge of the woods but it was quite difficult to see the path ahead in such light. There were pilgrims ahead that were occasionally illuminated by the odd car headlights that passed at that time in the morning and that made finding the path easier. I also have very good sense of direction so can generally feel when I'm going in the right direction so we managed follow the right path. We were making good time and within 20 minutes passed through the town of Arca O Pino. It was still dark but sky was beginning to lighten up. The path took us completely around the sports centre and into the forest again. Christine was making excellent time and walking at a very good pace through the woodland footpath that at times was carpeted with soft pine needles - we were even passing other fast walking pilgrims too. We continued on to Amenal Tunel where we stopped (just after 8:00am) for a comfort break. The clouds were low and the mist was just above the trees. It was here that I got to hold one of the Spanish pilgrim's staff adorned with the flag of Spain, and a teddy bear with a teddy bear pilgrim's passport around it's neck - see photograph taken by the owner of such staff.
Time was of the essence to Christine so we pressed on; the others were about 4Km beyond us, but we were catching them up. As the path rose towards the airport we entered the mist. Christine and I walked together for another 2km and then she asked me to press ahead to the airport and order breakfast rolls and coffee. I duly rushed ahead, passed the airport and heard planes in the air but absolutely no visibility beyond about 50 meters. On reaching the the airport perimeter fence I passed Tony and Ilsa - the couple from Denmark who we'd met at St Irene. They were making good progress too for 75 & 81 year olds. Soon after that I happened to notice that the pilgrims had created a shrine of crosses on the Airport fence, made by twigs. It looked wonderfully mystical against the background of mist/fog - see the photos. It wasn't to much further to the cafe at San Payo just beyond the Airport where I stopped to order breakfast. The place was crowded and it took a long time to get served. And as the coffee and pastries arrived so did Christine at 9:10am - excellent timing, I thought. We sat at a table with a young couple who had walked all the way from Denmark and who looked extremely fit. We had our Coffee and it was on the road again Christine had a message from Nick saying they were ahead at Vilamaior (only 3.5km ahead and suggested that I push ahead and let the know she was not far behind. The path was quite boring as the mist was settled in for the day, visibility was low and the path was on a quiet tarmac road surface, but the temperature fine for walking and the general level was falling towards the Rio Labacolla so my pace was very good. I recall rising and passing a very smelly milk farm (which quickened my pace further) and before I knew it I was at Vilamaior with the full group waiting... We all waited for Christine to catch up as the intention was to walk into Santiago together. It took a little while for Christine to catch up, so I wnt back and joined her by the smelly milk farm. She seemed a little tired, but chatting away with Tony and Isla.
After tea and a beer we pressed on. I decided to push ahead as the atmosphere took a turn for the worse. I met up with Isabella and Maria at Monte del Gozo, Mout of Joy, where I took the final photograph of the walk which should have been a view of the Cathedral, but the atmospheric conditions obscured those views. I arrived in Santiago at 1:00pm and chose to use the Final Pilgrim's Refugio in Santiago - a really nice hostel with excellent facilities - perhaps a tad to far from the city's centre. I had a shower then walked into the the centre to get the official certificate. I caught up with Shirley on the way - the GP from Melbourne, Australia - I had met on the fist walking day (day 2). Shirley told me that Joan had fallen sick on the last leg so had returned to her hotel and may not complete the pilgrimage? That was another sad moment for me, I had so hoped Joan would have made it with her multitude of pilgrim passports and her cheery disposition... When I got to the city centre I went straight to the Post Office to check if the Parcel I sent from France had arrived - no luck, they needed the tracking number. I got the tracking number text to me from Ross, but there was no such record on the Spanish parcel system :-( I'd tray again tomorrow. I went on to the cathedral and thence to the Pilgrim office to pick up my certificate see below.
I then took a mini tour around some of the more interesting places and relaxed contemplating the GAFOD questions for the day. I then made my way to the evening mass where I saw for the first time the Botafumerio swung by about ten men attendants. This was originally used to fumigate the smelly and disease-ridden pilgrims, but nowadays its just a bit of a "show glitzy" item that I'm sure if Cannon Michael G saw it he would want one for his church in Corby :-). That said it is a splendid sight and sends a shiver down one's spine thinking of the potential devastation should the casket come off mid flight. The swinging apparently caused some spiritually significant experiences a few pilgrims I met who wanted to renew their faith after seeing this - so perhaps I shouldn't be so disrespectful ...
I met up with the team after mass and shared a wonderful shellfish meal with Nick before dashing back to my Refugio. I slept extremely really well that night.
Pictures of the day follow:
The bunks beds were lovely and clean and for the first time I felt happy to sleep under the sheets provided. Needless to say it was a wonderful sleep. I woke as Christine packed at 6:00am and passed her my torch. It seemed there were a number of people rising early and setting off before breakfast. I tried not to make too much noise and decided to have a shower before breakfast and setting off. Not long after getting out of the shower Christine arrived back and said she'd not been able to locate the path and could I set off with her asap. I quickly grabbed my things together, packed, grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee shared with Christine said our goodbyes and set off still in the dark at about 7:05. I noticed the air was cool and damp as we left. We crossed the road and passed the Scouts tent that had been cannily set up in the bus shelter, outside the Municiple Albergue. We made our way into the edge of the woods but it was quite difficult to see the path ahead in such light. There were pilgrims ahead that were occasionally illuminated by the odd car headlights that passed at that time in the morning and that made finding the path easier. I also have very good sense of direction so can generally feel when I'm going in the right direction so we managed follow the right path. We were making good time and within 20 minutes passed through the town of Arca O Pino. It was still dark but sky was beginning to lighten up. The path took us completely around the sports centre and into the forest again. Christine was making excellent time and walking at a very good pace through the woodland footpath that at times was carpeted with soft pine needles - we were even passing other fast walking pilgrims too. We continued on to Amenal Tunel where we stopped (just after 8:00am) for a comfort break. The clouds were low and the mist was just above the trees. It was here that I got to hold one of the Spanish pilgrim's staff adorned with the flag of Spain, and a teddy bear with a teddy bear pilgrim's passport around it's neck - see photograph taken by the owner of such staff.
Time was of the essence to Christine so we pressed on; the others were about 4Km beyond us, but we were catching them up. As the path rose towards the airport we entered the mist. Christine and I walked together for another 2km and then she asked me to press ahead to the airport and order breakfast rolls and coffee. I duly rushed ahead, passed the airport and heard planes in the air but absolutely no visibility beyond about 50 meters. On reaching the the airport perimeter fence I passed Tony and Ilsa - the couple from Denmark who we'd met at St Irene. They were making good progress too for 75 & 81 year olds. Soon after that I happened to notice that the pilgrims had created a shrine of crosses on the Airport fence, made by twigs. It looked wonderfully mystical against the background of mist/fog - see the photos. It wasn't to much further to the cafe at San Payo just beyond the Airport where I stopped to order breakfast. The place was crowded and it took a long time to get served. And as the coffee and pastries arrived so did Christine at 9:10am - excellent timing, I thought. We sat at a table with a young couple who had walked all the way from Denmark and who looked extremely fit. We had our Coffee and it was on the road again Christine had a message from Nick saying they were ahead at Vilamaior (only 3.5km ahead and suggested that I push ahead and let the know she was not far behind. The path was quite boring as the mist was settled in for the day, visibility was low and the path was on a quiet tarmac road surface, but the temperature fine for walking and the general level was falling towards the Rio Labacolla so my pace was very good. I recall rising and passing a very smelly milk farm (which quickened my pace further) and before I knew it I was at Vilamaior with the full group waiting... We all waited for Christine to catch up as the intention was to walk into Santiago together. It took a little while for Christine to catch up, so I wnt back and joined her by the smelly milk farm. She seemed a little tired, but chatting away with Tony and Isla.
After tea and a beer we pressed on. I decided to push ahead as the atmosphere took a turn for the worse. I met up with Isabella and Maria at Monte del Gozo, Mout of Joy, where I took the final photograph of the walk which should have been a view of the Cathedral, but the atmospheric conditions obscured those views. I arrived in Santiago at 1:00pm and chose to use the Final Pilgrim's Refugio in Santiago - a really nice hostel with excellent facilities - perhaps a tad to far from the city's centre. I had a shower then walked into the the centre to get the official certificate. I caught up with Shirley on the way - the GP from Melbourne, Australia - I had met on the fist walking day (day 2). Shirley told me that Joan had fallen sick on the last leg so had returned to her hotel and may not complete the pilgrimage? That was another sad moment for me, I had so hoped Joan would have made it with her multitude of pilgrim passports and her cheery disposition... When I got to the city centre I went straight to the Post Office to check if the Parcel I sent from France had arrived - no luck, they needed the tracking number. I got the tracking number text to me from Ross, but there was no such record on the Spanish parcel system :-( I'd tray again tomorrow. I went on to the cathedral and thence to the Pilgrim office to pick up my certificate see below.
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| From Camino day8 |
I then took a mini tour around some of the more interesting places and relaxed contemplating the GAFOD questions for the day. I then made my way to the evening mass where I saw for the first time the Botafumerio swung by about ten men attendants. This was originally used to fumigate the smelly and disease-ridden pilgrims, but nowadays its just a bit of a "show glitzy" item that I'm sure if Cannon Michael G saw it he would want one for his church in Corby :-). That said it is a splendid sight and sends a shiver down one's spine thinking of the potential devastation should the casket come off mid flight. The swinging apparently caused some spiritually significant experiences a few pilgrims I met who wanted to renew their faith after seeing this - so perhaps I shouldn't be so disrespectful ...
I met up with the team after mass and shared a wonderful shellfish meal with Nick before dashing back to my Refugio. I slept extremely really well that night.
Pictures of the day follow:
Day 7 (22nd September) Ribadiso - Santa Irene 19.4km (OS Arca O Pino 22.1km)
CAFOD questions:
How do you answer Jesus call to follow him in your life?
What could you do to help to build a world that reflects God's justice and glory?
I again set off later than the rest, choosing to have breakfast at the restaurant we had our evening meal at the night before. I started soon after 8:30am and it was not long until the path took me to Arzua filled with refugios and bars with the smell of coffee and breakfast emanating every few hundred yards. I fully expected to see the team enjoying breakfast in one of these - not to be. I continued along the way and eventually left the small town as the path headed for a wooded area I noticed a sock in the middle of the path. This was to be expected as pilgrims wash socks they ware the previous day and dry them over night and if not dry then the hang them to their ruck sacks in the hope that they would dry along the way. My thoughts went to the person who would have one less sock to ware tomorrow and although the thought of picking up a wet, sweaty, possibly bed-bug ridden sock repulsed me I thought I just needed to take it with me... Anyway as you can imagine my greetings to others on journey from then on included - "here mate you haven't lost a sweaty sock per chance?" as I waved the sock in the air in front of their faces. I have to say I've seen some faces pulled in my time but some of these really took the biscuit.
I pressed ahead through picturesque and undulating countryside, mainly through woods before crossing what looks like a major road development, that seemed to be cutting its way through some lovely countryside, before catching up to Christine a few km's before A Calzada. Christine and I walked together for a while before who continued the thoughts that she may have to reduce the distance she's walking - and I pondered doing likewise to make sure someone's close. I passed the Wills at Casa Calzada who said Nick was ahead. I pressed on to discover Nick waiting to be served at Bar Lino with an Austrian chap called Edwin (Ed). I'd met Ed the day earlier on my way through Melide with his wife who's Galician and her cosin from Mexico. Ed lives in Luco and speaks fluent English and Spanish. Ten minutes later Martin, Angela and Christine arrived, just as Nick was about to be served. Martin and Angela decided they'd investigate the next bar a few minutes walk onward, that is close by the river. Nick and I had refreshments together and started on our way again. Nick and I walked for a long time making good pace and chatting. But it was clear that he was in some discomfort, but liberally applying lubricant seemed to be helping. We happened to stop close by a farm, where there were a number of cockerels resplendent in the bright red colours and very aggressive toward each other. But also close by some wonderful flowers growing naturally along the forest paths.
We continued on our way making good progress when we came across James (from Bristol) who now lives in Madrid. James was having problems walking and it looked as if he were suffering from a form of cramp. Nick and I had promised ourselves a beer and so we stopped an the O Emplane with james. The more James explained his injury the more it sounded like an Achilles Tendon problem, so I advised great care in what he did and recommended seeking medical advice.
After our beers, Nick and I pressed on and before we knew it arrived at Santa Irene. A path took us under the main road to a private Albergue that looked idyllic - in it's own grounds, and very peaceful. We enquired but there were only two rooms at the in. We decided to press on to the municipal Albergue 100m on, but found that we were too early to book. Nick wanted to go on but at that I remembered Christine's suggestion and called her to see if she'd like to reduce her journey and stay at the idyllic location. To cut a long story short Christine and I booked into the Alberge Perigrinos and it was everything I had expected, great food, accommodation and superb grounds. It was slightly more expensive that the average but great value all the same and the best I stayed at including some of the hotels. It was there we met three German scouts, who joined us for dinner, Tony and Isla from Sweden, Robert from Canada who was completing the Camino from Le Puy in France and Fella - who I had noticed in conversation in Triacastella but our paths had not crossed since - originally from Kent, but now living in Barcelona. The meal was wonderful company great and the accommodation fantastic.
I considered the CAFOD questions, but could not come up with anything new - perhaps this may come later from the contacts I've made - perhaps Susan, the inspirational author, may hold the key ?
Pictures follow:
How do you answer Jesus call to follow him in your life?
What could you do to help to build a world that reflects God's justice and glory?
I again set off later than the rest, choosing to have breakfast at the restaurant we had our evening meal at the night before. I started soon after 8:30am and it was not long until the path took me to Arzua filled with refugios and bars with the smell of coffee and breakfast emanating every few hundred yards. I fully expected to see the team enjoying breakfast in one of these - not to be. I continued along the way and eventually left the small town as the path headed for a wooded area I noticed a sock in the middle of the path. This was to be expected as pilgrims wash socks they ware the previous day and dry them over night and if not dry then the hang them to their ruck sacks in the hope that they would dry along the way. My thoughts went to the person who would have one less sock to ware tomorrow and although the thought of picking up a wet, sweaty, possibly bed-bug ridden sock repulsed me I thought I just needed to take it with me... Anyway as you can imagine my greetings to others on journey from then on included - "here mate you haven't lost a sweaty sock per chance?" as I waved the sock in the air in front of their faces. I have to say I've seen some faces pulled in my time but some of these really took the biscuit.
I pressed ahead through picturesque and undulating countryside, mainly through woods before crossing what looks like a major road development, that seemed to be cutting its way through some lovely countryside, before catching up to Christine a few km's before A Calzada. Christine and I walked together for a while before who continued the thoughts that she may have to reduce the distance she's walking - and I pondered doing likewise to make sure someone's close. I passed the Wills at Casa Calzada who said Nick was ahead. I pressed on to discover Nick waiting to be served at Bar Lino with an Austrian chap called Edwin (Ed). I'd met Ed the day earlier on my way through Melide with his wife who's Galician and her cosin from Mexico. Ed lives in Luco and speaks fluent English and Spanish. Ten minutes later Martin, Angela and Christine arrived, just as Nick was about to be served. Martin and Angela decided they'd investigate the next bar a few minutes walk onward, that is close by the river. Nick and I had refreshments together and started on our way again. Nick and I walked for a long time making good pace and chatting. But it was clear that he was in some discomfort, but liberally applying lubricant seemed to be helping. We happened to stop close by a farm, where there were a number of cockerels resplendent in the bright red colours and very aggressive toward each other. But also close by some wonderful flowers growing naturally along the forest paths.
We continued on our way making good progress when we came across James (from Bristol) who now lives in Madrid. James was having problems walking and it looked as if he were suffering from a form of cramp. Nick and I had promised ourselves a beer and so we stopped an the O Emplane with james. The more James explained his injury the more it sounded like an Achilles Tendon problem, so I advised great care in what he did and recommended seeking medical advice.
After our beers, Nick and I pressed on and before we knew it arrived at Santa Irene. A path took us under the main road to a private Albergue that looked idyllic - in it's own grounds, and very peaceful. We enquired but there were only two rooms at the in. We decided to press on to the municipal Albergue 100m on, but found that we were too early to book. Nick wanted to go on but at that I remembered Christine's suggestion and called her to see if she'd like to reduce her journey and stay at the idyllic location. To cut a long story short Christine and I booked into the Alberge Perigrinos and it was everything I had expected, great food, accommodation and superb grounds. It was slightly more expensive that the average but great value all the same and the best I stayed at including some of the hotels. It was there we met three German scouts, who joined us for dinner, Tony and Isla from Sweden, Robert from Canada who was completing the Camino from Le Puy in France and Fella - who I had noticed in conversation in Triacastella but our paths had not crossed since - originally from Kent, but now living in Barcelona. The meal was wonderful company great and the accommodation fantastic.
I considered the CAFOD questions, but could not come up with anything new - perhaps this may come later from the contacts I've made - perhaps Susan, the inspirational author, may hold the key ?
Pictures follow:
Day 6 (21st September) OS Charcots - Ribadiso
This day was a day of reflection, churches and Ocho Rios
CAFOD questions this day
When was the last time you spoke out against something you believe to be wrong?
How could you encourage others to do the same?
Again, I set off much later than the rest, although on this occasion we were all later than usual. After taking breakfast at the resturant opposite I passed down the path to Palas de Rei on my loansome, it being a misty dismal start to the day, I was thinking only of family and how I missed them. The sights seemed to filter from my mind/memory except for the bleakness shown in this first picture. I remember getting to the end of the small town of Palas de Rei before I snapped out of my day dream and saw a chap walking - as if he was Jesus carrying his cross with the weight of all of our sins on his shoulders. I couldn't help my self making the effort to engage this man in conversation. His name was Frank and I discovered that he had traveled approximately 2000km from Zuric (Switzerland) to this point, and that his legs took a little while to get back into the swing of walking each morning. Was I impressed by his commitment! He told me that his pilgrimage to Santiago would be 2048 km - a number that I know well from maths/electronics being 2^11. Frank went on to say that he planned to finish his pilgrimage at Finisterre where he would met with his wife and throw his walking boots in to the ocean... I walked on past frank and arrived at the Monumeno a los Peregrinos - which seemed a fitting view for Frank who followed me.
I soon met up with Isabella, a French speaking lady from Mauritius that I first met in Ruitelan, who introduced me to Maria her friend from Central America. I joked that they must visit the next church called Santa Maria and left them so I could press ahead to catch up with the team. A little while along the way I entered St Maria XIII church at Leboreiro. When I entered it was extremely peaceful and I stopped to sample the peace. My mind turned to my friends Ross & Ginny and the death of Ginny's mother the week before - I tarried a while longer and said the rosary there. About a 45mins later I was on my way again, passing all those people I'd passed in the morning, but still well behind the rest of the CAFOD group it wasn't until I was closing on Boente did I feel I was catch the team; they had made really good progress (not so many ups and downs I suspect). I caught the group up just before Castaneda and walked on with Nick towards Ribadiso where the last of the eight rivers we crossed that day. We arrived within a few minutes of each other and booked into the Albergue Los Caminantes which was one of the nicest we all stayed in together.
We had our evening meal together which was most enjoyable. Strangely the CAFOD question of the day was raised by Martin who said he wanted my opinion on whether I would have spoken out about someone who he'd observed during the day. This sparked a discussion which we all had views and it centered around respect and love.
The final photo of the day was taken especially for Christine's grandchildren Finlay and Amelia... Christine contemplated doing the last two stages of the walk over three days as she had no need to make Santiago by Friday and was there until the Wednesday. I said that whilst Friday was easy for me I'd happily consider doing it as three days too as I'd have the Saturday and Sunday to get to the Pilgrim masses and the certificate. We pondered on this awhile but left it unresolved.
CAFOD questions this day
When was the last time you spoke out against something you believe to be wrong?
How could you encourage others to do the same?
Again, I set off much later than the rest, although on this occasion we were all later than usual. After taking breakfast at the resturant opposite I passed down the path to Palas de Rei on my loansome, it being a misty dismal start to the day, I was thinking only of family and how I missed them. The sights seemed to filter from my mind/memory except for the bleakness shown in this first picture. I remember getting to the end of the small town of Palas de Rei before I snapped out of my day dream and saw a chap walking - as if he was Jesus carrying his cross with the weight of all of our sins on his shoulders. I couldn't help my self making the effort to engage this man in conversation. His name was Frank and I discovered that he had traveled approximately 2000km from Zuric (Switzerland) to this point, and that his legs took a little while to get back into the swing of walking each morning. Was I impressed by his commitment! He told me that his pilgrimage to Santiago would be 2048 km - a number that I know well from maths/electronics being 2^11. Frank went on to say that he planned to finish his pilgrimage at Finisterre where he would met with his wife and throw his walking boots in to the ocean... I walked on past frank and arrived at the Monumeno a los Peregrinos - which seemed a fitting view for Frank who followed me.
I soon met up with Isabella, a French speaking lady from Mauritius that I first met in Ruitelan, who introduced me to Maria her friend from Central America. I joked that they must visit the next church called Santa Maria and left them so I could press ahead to catch up with the team. A little while along the way I entered St Maria XIII church at Leboreiro. When I entered it was extremely peaceful and I stopped to sample the peace. My mind turned to my friends Ross & Ginny and the death of Ginny's mother the week before - I tarried a while longer and said the rosary there. About a 45mins later I was on my way again, passing all those people I'd passed in the morning, but still well behind the rest of the CAFOD group it wasn't until I was closing on Boente did I feel I was catch the team; they had made really good progress (not so many ups and downs I suspect). I caught the group up just before Castaneda and walked on with Nick towards Ribadiso where the last of the eight rivers we crossed that day. We arrived within a few minutes of each other and booked into the Albergue Los Caminantes which was one of the nicest we all stayed in together.
We had our evening meal together which was most enjoyable. Strangely the CAFOD question of the day was raised by Martin who said he wanted my opinion on whether I would have spoken out about someone who he'd observed during the day. This sparked a discussion which we all had views and it centered around respect and love.
The final photo of the day was taken especially for Christine's grandchildren Finlay and Amelia... Christine contemplated doing the last two stages of the walk over three days as she had no need to make Santiago by Friday and was there until the Wednesday. I said that whilst Friday was easy for me I'd happily consider doing it as three days too as I'd have the Saturday and Sunday to get to the Pilgrim masses and the certificate. We pondered on this awhile but left it unresolved.
Day 5 (20th September) Portomarin - OS Charcots
CAFOD Questions
When you are weighted down by your burdens, what or who is it that gives you strength?
How can you be this strength to others?
The others were keen to set off early again today, but I had said I wanted to leave later. I tried to stay in bed a little longer, but found that I had been awakened and needed to get up and sort things out for the day ahead. I had a light breakfast at the hostel, but even after this it was much to dark to proceed on the journey. So I decided to have a walk around Portomarin to see more of the sites. I strolled up the main street and into square then beyond that and sat in the park for a while - still too dark, I wished I had stayed a little longer in bed! I went back to the square and a number of pilgrims were beginning their trek, but it was still dark. I went for a cup of coffee and croissants in the Cafe in the town centre, stayed there for about 30 minutes and then decided as light was just showing on the horzion I'd better begin my walk as the others had at least 1.5hrs head start. I slowly walked down the main street, took the diversion Martin had pointed me toward the day previously, towards a picturesque footbridge that was supposed to be the route of the Camino. I could see when i got there that the route was blocked and most pilgrims were walking across the road bridge.
The light was improving as I strolled rapidly up the forest path enjoying the cool air and some rather pleasing views. The path took a turn northward and opened up to show Portomarin on the eastern horizon set against the backdrop of morning breaking (see the photograph). I walked rapidly continuing to ascend, into misty cloud with no more that 100m visibility; quite a dismal day really. I pressed on thinking I must catch up as they would be so far ahead of me, little did I know that I had probably past them all in the first hour of the walk as they had got lost in the dark. It was about 9:30 when I reached the highest point of the days walk, and odly enough the half-way point of the 100mile pilgrimage, and the sun mysteriously appeared from the mist and brightened the whole place. Across the road I could see sunflowers popping their heads above the hedge and fellow pilgrims visibly delighted with the views of yellow stretching into the distant greens and then toward the white of the cloud base below us and in thew distance mountainous peaks. This lifted my spirits and made the whole mornings walk worthwhile.
I felt I should motor on from there as the heat of the sun pored through and the temperature began to rise. I raised my pace thinking "I must be a long way behind" and pased pilgrim after pilgrim treading the path. I soon past Eirexe and was striding out across fairly flat undulating countryside well in front of others the walk was becoming a trudge. It was then I heard the sound of footsteps behind me - surely no one could have caught me they were all miles behind. I turned and realized it was Laura, a Spanish girl, who I had met with her friend in the Albergue the night before last - there was a mix up over the number of beds in the hostel and we were both implicated in that. Anyway Laura had found her walking pace that day of the walk, and was very much faster than anyone else on the Camino that day and had caught me up. I increased my pace again and walked with her for a while. Before I had realized, where I was, we had past the spot I wanted to make a detour to see Vilar de Donas and had arrived in OS Chacotes 1km outside Palas de Rei (our destination for the day). It was just before mid day so we halted there for a drink. The location was nice with a hotel and resturant close by so I checked out the two Albergues available and booked us all into one of those for the night. This was a very basic Refugio - reflected in the price of €5 per person - cheapest by far but still very adequate for what we needed. Later we were to find that there had been a ruckus in the other (bigger) Albergue as some had arrived back very late and so a lot of people there had a disturbed night - so we agreed that this was the right one to choose.
The evening was pleasant and so we all walked down to Palas de Rei to the Church of San Triso for evening mass. Sylvia a lady from Chilli who's read at each of the masses we had attended took her usual spot and I had the urge to take photograh - this seemed to be very much a part of her Camino experience and I thought she'd welcome the record - you can see these in the slideshow below.
I left the church having received the customary pilgrim stamp and met up with Colin (Ilkley - Yorks) once again. We chatted for a while before I set off for my bed for the night.
The CAFOD questions came to mind that night and I realized that unexpected warmth eases my burdens, just like the sun this day lifted me after trudging the misty way. Any form of warmth will do this especially other's love for me when life get really tough. And I know what I must do too...
When you are weighted down by your burdens, what or who is it that gives you strength?
How can you be this strength to others?
The others were keen to set off early again today, but I had said I wanted to leave later. I tried to stay in bed a little longer, but found that I had been awakened and needed to get up and sort things out for the day ahead. I had a light breakfast at the hostel, but even after this it was much to dark to proceed on the journey. So I decided to have a walk around Portomarin to see more of the sites. I strolled up the main street and into square then beyond that and sat in the park for a while - still too dark, I wished I had stayed a little longer in bed! I went back to the square and a number of pilgrims were beginning their trek, but it was still dark. I went for a cup of coffee and croissants in the Cafe in the town centre, stayed there for about 30 minutes and then decided as light was just showing on the horzion I'd better begin my walk as the others had at least 1.5hrs head start. I slowly walked down the main street, took the diversion Martin had pointed me toward the day previously, towards a picturesque footbridge that was supposed to be the route of the Camino. I could see when i got there that the route was blocked and most pilgrims were walking across the road bridge.
The light was improving as I strolled rapidly up the forest path enjoying the cool air and some rather pleasing views. The path took a turn northward and opened up to show Portomarin on the eastern horizon set against the backdrop of morning breaking (see the photograph). I walked rapidly continuing to ascend, into misty cloud with no more that 100m visibility; quite a dismal day really. I pressed on thinking I must catch up as they would be so far ahead of me, little did I know that I had probably past them all in the first hour of the walk as they had got lost in the dark. It was about 9:30 when I reached the highest point of the days walk, and odly enough the half-way point of the 100mile pilgrimage, and the sun mysteriously appeared from the mist and brightened the whole place. Across the road I could see sunflowers popping their heads above the hedge and fellow pilgrims visibly delighted with the views of yellow stretching into the distant greens and then toward the white of the cloud base below us and in thew distance mountainous peaks. This lifted my spirits and made the whole mornings walk worthwhile.
I felt I should motor on from there as the heat of the sun pored through and the temperature began to rise. I raised my pace thinking "I must be a long way behind" and pased pilgrim after pilgrim treading the path. I soon past Eirexe and was striding out across fairly flat undulating countryside well in front of others the walk was becoming a trudge. It was then I heard the sound of footsteps behind me - surely no one could have caught me they were all miles behind. I turned and realized it was Laura, a Spanish girl, who I had met with her friend in the Albergue the night before last - there was a mix up over the number of beds in the hostel and we were both implicated in that. Anyway Laura had found her walking pace that day of the walk, and was very much faster than anyone else on the Camino that day and had caught me up. I increased my pace again and walked with her for a while. Before I had realized, where I was, we had past the spot I wanted to make a detour to see Vilar de Donas and had arrived in OS Chacotes 1km outside Palas de Rei (our destination for the day). It was just before mid day so we halted there for a drink. The location was nice with a hotel and resturant close by so I checked out the two Albergues available and booked us all into one of those for the night. This was a very basic Refugio - reflected in the price of €5 per person - cheapest by far but still very adequate for what we needed. Later we were to find that there had been a ruckus in the other (bigger) Albergue as some had arrived back very late and so a lot of people there had a disturbed night - so we agreed that this was the right one to choose.
The evening was pleasant and so we all walked down to Palas de Rei to the Church of San Triso for evening mass. Sylvia a lady from Chilli who's read at each of the masses we had attended took her usual spot and I had the urge to take photograh - this seemed to be very much a part of her Camino experience and I thought she'd welcome the record - you can see these in the slideshow below.
I left the church having received the customary pilgrim stamp and met up with Colin (Ilkley - Yorks) once again. We chatted for a while before I set off for my bed for the night.
The CAFOD questions came to mind that night and I realized that unexpected warmth eases my burdens, just like the sun this day lifted me after trudging the misty way. Any form of warmth will do this especially other's love for me when life get really tough. And I know what I must do too...
Day 4 (19th September) - Sarria to Portomain
Day 4 Sarria to Portomarin - 19th September
CAFOD questions for this day were:
What do you notice about the environment around you as you walk?
How often do you really appreciate the wonders of creation?
We set off with the group very early this morning, in the dark, strolling through the streets of Sarria lit by the streetlights and we all walked up to the Convent still resplendently illuminated. The others (Christine, Nick Angela and Martin) carried on in the dark and I settled down outside the Convent to await it's opening at 8:30am. The sun was yet to rise and as I approached the Convent and stopped it was most apparent that the morning was quite cool. So for the first and only time on the trip I took out my rain jacket and put it on and sat by one of the bright lights for a little more warmth. It was not long after this that I noticed a young lady stopped and waiting by the convent too and so I went across to say hello (Ola). This was the lovely Hana Sparkle - from the Czech Republic and it so happened to be her first day of the Camino and so she needed to get her passport stamped at the Convent before commencing her pilgrimage. So we stayed and shred breakfast cereal bars together before the convent opened it's doors.
I needed to catch up with the others who were at least an hour ahead of us, however I was taken with Hanna and walked much further than I planned - she was extremely interesting and a vwery courageous young lady (same age group as Lisa my daughter). She had originally planned to do this with a friend, but her friend shyed off. Hana bravely decided to do the Comino on her own, not withstanding her own health problems. She had a huge travel pack - it seemed almost as big as her and it was clearly weighting her down as she walked and she was very pessimistic of completing the trip. I encouraged Hana to stand up straight as she walked and the load whilst not being any lighter, would be easier for her to bear. We walked together and met up with an Irishman Damian, Davit, Jane and Darren where we exchanged pleasantries and leaned a little of each-others camino expeiences and intets. I continued with the group through to Leiman, where they stopped for breakfast. I said goodbye to Hana and she promised to text me if/when she made it to Santiago do Compostela.
I pushed ahead and to my surprise I had caught up with the CAFOD group much quicker than expected. Nick was the closest and I past him as he was sending his daily picture to his colleague who was up-dating his twitter and just giving sites. Then Christine, and then the Wills. I pressed ahead and said I'd wait for them at the next church however I go there much quicker that I expected and there was a lovely Cafe - Casa Cruceiro - at Ferrerios where I was tempted for an early break. It was there I met up with the runners from Brazil who'd passed us the previous day, but this time they said they walked with their wives from Sarria to Santiago; they joked that they dare not leave them with the credit cards any longer :-) but in truth is the more sensible way to do the Camino.
Having ordered a beer I sat down to write up my reflections for the day, and within a few minutes was joined by the Wills , Nick and Christine. But even more surprising, Hana arrived a minute or so later too. Hana said she'd done enough for the day and would stop at the Albergue there for the night.
The others didn't say long and pressed ahead to look at the Church. I finished my drink and soon cought up. Nick an I went ahead and we met up with a group of American's from San Fransico and Hawaii who we walked and talked with for a whileas we began the rapid decent from Memiontos. They kindly took Nick and my photo just above Parocha looking toward Portomarin.
The bridge crossing the reserviour to Portomarin was spectacular, and not for those who suffer vertigo!
It was in Portomarin that we expedienced the large 120 bed hostel, that has excellent facilities, but felt as if you were sleeping in a very cramped hospital ward of bunks lined side by side. The others quite enjoyed this experience, I felt it was just too clinical for me and would have preferred something a tad more homely.
Portomarin is a lovely town too, with a wonderfull cobbled main street with colonnades either side which lead to the main square where a castle type structure of the church of San Nicolas XII (sometimes refered to as San Juan/Xoan). I guess the structure is castle like as there are strong links to the Knights of St John. We attended mass again and surprisingly the inside of this structure is very much church is both plain but enchanting with some of the statues
with interesting poises.
Oddly I didn't reflect on creation this day, but on the wonders of God's greatest creation and their works.
CAFOD questions for this day were:
What do you notice about the environment around you as you walk?
How often do you really appreciate the wonders of creation?
We set off with the group very early this morning, in the dark, strolling through the streets of Sarria lit by the streetlights and we all walked up to the Convent still resplendently illuminated. The others (Christine, Nick Angela and Martin) carried on in the dark and I settled down outside the Convent to await it's opening at 8:30am. The sun was yet to rise and as I approached the Convent and stopped it was most apparent that the morning was quite cool. So for the first and only time on the trip I took out my rain jacket and put it on and sat by one of the bright lights for a little more warmth. It was not long after this that I noticed a young lady stopped and waiting by the convent too and so I went across to say hello (Ola). This was the lovely Hana Sparkle - from the Czech Republic and it so happened to be her first day of the Camino and so she needed to get her passport stamped at the Convent before commencing her pilgrimage. So we stayed and shred breakfast cereal bars together before the convent opened it's doors.
I needed to catch up with the others who were at least an hour ahead of us, however I was taken with Hanna and walked much further than I planned - she was extremely interesting and a vwery courageous young lady (same age group as Lisa my daughter). She had originally planned to do this with a friend, but her friend shyed off. Hana bravely decided to do the Comino on her own, not withstanding her own health problems. She had a huge travel pack - it seemed almost as big as her and it was clearly weighting her down as she walked and she was very pessimistic of completing the trip. I encouraged Hana to stand up straight as she walked and the load whilst not being any lighter, would be easier for her to bear. We walked together and met up with an Irishman Damian, Davit, Jane and Darren where we exchanged pleasantries and leaned a little of each-others camino expeiences and intets. I continued with the group through to Leiman, where they stopped for breakfast. I said goodbye to Hana and she promised to text me if/when she made it to Santiago do Compostela.
I pushed ahead and to my surprise I had caught up with the CAFOD group much quicker than expected. Nick was the closest and I past him as he was sending his daily picture to his colleague who was up-dating his twitter and just giving sites. Then Christine, and then the Wills. I pressed ahead and said I'd wait for them at the next church however I go there much quicker that I expected and there was a lovely Cafe - Casa Cruceiro - at Ferrerios where I was tempted for an early break. It was there I met up with the runners from Brazil who'd passed us the previous day, but this time they said they walked with their wives from Sarria to Santiago; they joked that they dare not leave them with the credit cards any longer :-) but in truth is the more sensible way to do the Camino.
Having ordered a beer I sat down to write up my reflections for the day, and within a few minutes was joined by the Wills , Nick and Christine. But even more surprising, Hana arrived a minute or so later too. Hana said she'd done enough for the day and would stop at the Albergue there for the night.
The others didn't say long and pressed ahead to look at the Church. I finished my drink and soon cought up. Nick an I went ahead and we met up with a group of American's from San Fransico and Hawaii who we walked and talked with for a whileas we began the rapid decent from Memiontos. They kindly took Nick and my photo just above Parocha looking toward Portomarin.
The bridge crossing the reserviour to Portomarin was spectacular, and not for those who suffer vertigo!
It was in Portomarin that we expedienced the large 120 bed hostel, that has excellent facilities, but felt as if you were sleeping in a very cramped hospital ward of bunks lined side by side. The others quite enjoyed this experience, I felt it was just too clinical for me and would have preferred something a tad more homely.
Portomarin is a lovely town too, with a wonderfull cobbled main street with colonnades either side which lead to the main square where a castle type structure of the church of San Nicolas XII (sometimes refered to as San Juan/Xoan). I guess the structure is castle like as there are strong links to the Knights of St John. We attended mass again and surprisingly the inside of this structure is very much church is both plain but enchanting with some of the statues
with interesting poises.
Oddly I didn't reflect on creation this day, but on the wonders of God's greatest creation and their works.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Day 3, 2 & 1 - 18th-16th September Toulouse to Sarria
Day 3 Tricastela to Sarria - 18th September
CAFOD questions for today were "As you walk this week, with minimal possessions, what are the things that you really miss? What do you find you can do without? What does this tell you about yourself and your lifestyle?
We all met in a restaurant close by my hotel and had breakfast together and decided to take the route via Samos some 6.5km longer than the traditional route (25km in all). This was a lovely route passing Renche on the way and crossing rivers on six separate occasions throughout the route which meant we were rising and falling for most of the route and the journey whilst very picturesque proved to be quite tiring too.
The route was quite boring to start with as we walked on the path that ran along the main road, that said we were following the rio Oribio valley so it was quite picturesque at times. We soon came to San Cristobo where we left the road and passed down the narrow streets of this village. As we approached the bridge I took the opportunity to take a photograph of the rest of the group walking over the bridge. And to our surprise I disturbed a pair of otters that promptly jumped on to the dam and dived seamlessly into the water pool one after the other. None of us had ever seen an otter in the wild before so this was an experience to treasure.
Samos is town that has a huge monastery. We stopped there to view the outside of the monastery buildings, and had a light lunch together. Time was of essence and so we decided to press on towards Sarria, rather that stay an extra hour to sample the inside of the monastery. But that way we made sure we all could get into the same accommodation. The route took us through many forests all very nice and cool to walk in. Today we experienced the only rain we had on the whole walk - more like a very light shower than rain - which started soon after we passed Cruce. The poncho's were unpacked by some, Angela and I decided to hold just walk in the cooling shower that lasted for no longer than 10 minutes - was quite pleasant really.
My rate of walking had slowed substantially and I realized that I was becoming tired, and the reason was because I was walking slower (seems very odd but true). But as a group we were all tiring and were pleased to stop for a quick drink at a small cafe at Taberna do Camino where the two Camino paths joined. On leaving the Cafe we came across two very fit Brazilian runners who had ran from Leon in three days (c180km !) and who were keen to meet up with their wives - who as they said had their credit cards - in Sarria before they depleted the card funds too much :-).
Sarria is a lovely little town built on a steep hill, so we found it quite a challenge to walk up the hill to the O'dorminento Albergue where we had diner together, and slept during the night. It was here we met Pam a very interesting American - artisan, who no longer had a home but traveled the world. Again we all attended mass together that evening too where Angela kindly established I might be able to purchase rosary beads from the ancient convent Mosterio da Madalena in the early morning 8:30am. Martin and I took a walk there after church and the whole place was illuminated ; see the slideshow for day 3 below:
I discovered that I really missed my personal friends and family, but I missed my own bed and the comfort, security, and cleanliness that offers, but also some I began to realize that I was missing some of my independence as the being part of a group restricted imposed ways of doing things on the group, such as times to set off in the morning. This would be come more apparent later as the rest of the group wanted to start much earlier - in the dark and I realized that I didn't like (or want to walk in the dark). Walking in the dark meant you miss beautiful sights - and to some extent you may as well have been walking in the dark in England.
Day 2 - Ruitelan to Tricastela - 17th September
Breakfast in the refugio another delightful experience, was followed by a relaxing stroll to Herrerias in the semi dark (c 7:15am)... The CAFOD questions today were: "Can you think of a time when you have been touched by the story of someone you have never met?" Followed by the question how can you make time in your life for others, those you meet and those you may never meet?
About 5km up the pathway the pathway split and I noticed a lady waiting. I decided on the right hand route only to hear Susan - the American lady who´d given me directions the previous day - say "that´s the cycling path you´re taking". Seems like she was acting as my guardian angel, Susan and I walked together up the left track that ran through the woods for a while. I learnt that she was not just a guardian angel but a writer of spiritually-uplifting books too and an expert on the Daniel diet - which I shall find more about in months to come.
As we came to the hills Susan slowed and as I needed to press on, I left her and made my way past a number of other pilgrim groups traversing the path to O´cebreiro. The sun was rising and then I saw the summit as I came out of the trees and what an amazing sight it was too. The clouds were clearly surrounding the village of O´cebreiro, but moving towards me, then as they reached the hill's edge the clouds just flowed down the hillside like a dam overflowing in slow motion - a most amazing sight to behold
Continuing up the hill I caught sight of a figure on horse back coming out of the mist with what looked like a spear in his hand - could this be Don Quixote ? Not so but a local farmer tending his fields in the early morning with a hoe over his shoulder - see photos. But the thought of this and the CAFOD question linked to the stories of Don Quixote with chivalry and quest for justice with the mishaps of the previous day made me smile. Further up the path I caught with Paul from the USA and shared the rest of the way to O´cebreiro with him - passing across the Leon/Galicia border was a land mark on the way. Again my paths would cross Paul's numerous times on the Camino do Santiago:
The rest of the team had started some 3 hours earlier at O'cebreiro in mist and pitch darkness so I was extremely privileged to arrive there just as the mist lifted and the sun came shining through. I met a chap called Colin from Ilkley (Yorks) in the bar there who recommended that I look inside the church, I took his advice and spent an hour praying there. What a place of incredible tranquility and peace.
Again I will cross Colin's path a number of times on the journey too, but never told him how thankful I was for his little bit of advice that day. I eventually left the beautiful village of O'cebrereio and made my way toward Tricastella meeting two ladies from Australia (Melbourne) called Joan and Shirley. I walked with them off and on for about 10 miles passing some wonderful scenery on the way. I learnt that Joan had travelled lots of different parts of paths of the Camino, and had about ten Camino pasports in her posession with various stamps for each route... And more recently she had been doing part of the Camino Norte that runs by the north Spain coast line. She said that this was a very beautiful route, but it has a huge problem - the problem turned out to be that the beaches that the walk passes are so inviting that Joan could not resist going for a swim and so that delayed her pilgrimage enormously. That made me smile and even more determined to try to walk that route next year. I later heard from Shirley that Joan fell ill on the penultimate day so didn't complete the Camino this time - perhaps I might cross her path some other time? But I had to push ahead as I need to catch up with the rest of the CAFOD Group in Tricastela. I put a spurt on as the path was down hill for most of the way, almost running at times. And when I arrived I was disappointed to hear the rest of the team had not been able to book me a pilgrim place in the Albergue they were stopping at and there were no places left now. I tried all of the other Albergs/refugio's in the town but all were full and so I ended up in a 1 Star hotel - with absolutely no redeeming features. But as I was exhausted and I had a really good night sleep so that didn't matter. A big lesson to be learnt - get booked in
before 3:00pm.
We all attend the evening mass at the church of Santiago (take note Santiago's statue above the tabernacle) in the photo see slide pack of photo's taken on day 2 that follow:
Day 1 Toulouse to O´cebreiro - 16th September
My first day (travelling to the Camino from France) could it be a disaster?
The question posed in the CAFOD pilgrimage reflection booklet was strangely pertinent - "What are your hopes and expectations as you set out on your pilgrimage?"
Well having booked my bus ticket on the Internet I never in my wildest dreams imagined there would be 5 buses from Toulouse bus station all going to Spain and leaving at 23:59hrs! But worse still none of these were destined for Bilboa - the place on my ticket...
I can’t speak French or Spanish so it wasn’t boding well. So my answer to the question was forming - "please God just help me get me to the agreed meeting place in O'cebreiro safely!" I was also experiencing perhaps a little of how the illiterate poor of the world may feel not knowing how to communicate and be sure to get what I need.
It turned out that none of the buses were destined for Bilboa, but the driver of the last bus to leave decided to bring us under his wing. One thing after another complication transpired to make the journey ever more complex heading in and out of Bilboa without allowing me to get off and then dropping me off some 100km north of Madrid at 9:00am and told to get another bus in an hours time!
Needless to say I was somewhat apprehensive at times on the journey, but I slowly began to feel the apprehension go and a feeling best expressed by the Spanish when they say "mañana, mañana" in-other-words whatever was to happen would turn out OK tomorrow - I should not worry, but trust that God would make it good.
I ended my bus trip at Ponferrada safe and sound but some 3hrs later than planned. Only to find out that Christine, Angela, Martin and Nick's flights were delayed too and they wanted me to let the hotel know when I arrived of their delay. When I phoned the hotel the hotel denied any knowledge of a booking... It seemed whatever could go wrong was going wrong and this did not bode well for the pilgrimage ahead. It was just as well that my motivation for doing this pilgrimage was strong - to raise funds to help the poorest of the world help themselves out of poverty. The realisation that the minor insecurities that I was facing on this journey were insignificant compared to poverty stricken people in war struck nations that I was aiming to support - perhaps a feeling of solidarity was emerging. That said I knew I had my wallet with me and I could easily hire a car or find a way out of this situation if need be.
After many phone calls to hotels and different Refugio we managed to get booked up in different locations; me in a Refugio in Routelan (Leon district) the others (through the help of the taxi driver) in Triacastle (Galatia district). This meant that I would be setting off some 10km further away from our starting point and roughly half a days walk more to do on the first day of walking.
For-all that heartache the refugio I booked in to was very special; with only 20 beds. It was set off the road and as I walked down the road towards the accommodation I was met by some very friendly American ladies Susan and Erin, who were enjoying a beer outside the local bar relaxing after their days walk. They offered a kindly welcome and directions to the place I would be staying that evening. Little did I know at that time that I would form a close friendship with both of these ladies later in the journey and find that I'd be travelling back to England with Susan at the end of my pilgrimage.
The owner and chef of the refugio, were fantastic, they arranged a filling 4 course evening meal with all pilgrims sitting together, and the atmosphere there was very special full of fellowship and love. Breakfast the next day too for a mere €15. And what an experience to wake-up to the sound of Ave Maria at 6:00am putting us all in the mood for walking.
Looking from my bed on the first evening I had a real taste of the rural life I would experience during my walk to Santiago.
Later I was told by Nick, Angela and Christine that they arrived at a 3 star hotel in Triacastela - as the taxi driver refused to cross the border with Leon. They all had luxurious room for €26, with en suite. They arrived at about 7:00pm which meant they didn't get an evening meal nor breakfast. For all the luxury of the hotel I think I may have had the better experience that night.
We all met in a restaurant close by my hotel and had breakfast together and decided to take the route via Samos some 6.5km longer than the traditional route (25km in all). This was a lovely route passing Renche on the way and crossing rivers on six separate occasions throughout the route which meant we were rising and falling for most of the route and the journey whilst very picturesque proved to be quite tiring too.
The route was quite boring to start with as we walked on the path that ran along the main road, that said we were following the rio Oribio valley so it was quite picturesque at times. We soon came to San Cristobo where we left the road and passed down the narrow streets of this village. As we approached the bridge I took the opportunity to take a photograph of the rest of the group walking over the bridge. And to our surprise I disturbed a pair of otters that promptly jumped on to the dam and dived seamlessly into the water pool one after the other. None of us had ever seen an otter in the wild before so this was an experience to treasure.
Samos is town that has a huge monastery. We stopped there to view the outside of the monastery buildings, and had a light lunch together. Time was of essence and so we decided to press on towards Sarria, rather that stay an extra hour to sample the inside of the monastery. But that way we made sure we all could get into the same accommodation. The route took us through many forests all very nice and cool to walk in. Today we experienced the only rain we had on the whole walk - more like a very light shower than rain - which started soon after we passed Cruce. The poncho's were unpacked by some, Angela and I decided to hold just walk in the cooling shower that lasted for no longer than 10 minutes - was quite pleasant really.
My rate of walking had slowed substantially and I realized that I was becoming tired, and the reason was because I was walking slower (seems very odd but true). But as a group we were all tiring and were pleased to stop for a quick drink at a small cafe at Taberna do Camino where the two Camino paths joined. On leaving the Cafe we came across two very fit Brazilian runners who had ran from Leon in three days (c180km !) and who were keen to meet up with their wives - who as they said had their credit cards - in Sarria before they depleted the card funds too much :-).
Sarria is a lovely little town built on a steep hill, so we found it quite a challenge to walk up the hill to the O'dorminento Albergue where we had diner together, and slept during the night. It was here we met Pam a very interesting American - artisan, who no longer had a home but traveled the world. Again we all attended mass together that evening too where Angela kindly established I might be able to purchase rosary beads from the ancient convent Mosterio da Madalena in the early morning 8:30am. Martin and I took a walk there after church and the whole place was illuminated ; see the slideshow for day 3 below:
I discovered that I really missed my personal friends and family, but I missed my own bed and the comfort, security, and cleanliness that offers, but also some I began to realize that I was missing some of my independence as the being part of a group restricted imposed ways of doing things on the group, such as times to set off in the morning. This would be come more apparent later as the rest of the group wanted to start much earlier - in the dark and I realized that I didn't like (or want to walk in the dark). Walking in the dark meant you miss beautiful sights - and to some extent you may as well have been walking in the dark in England.
Day 2 - Ruitelan to Tricastela - 17th September
Breakfast in the refugio another delightful experience, was followed by a relaxing stroll to Herrerias in the semi dark (c 7:15am)... The CAFOD questions today were: "Can you think of a time when you have been touched by the story of someone you have never met?" Followed by the question how can you make time in your life for others, those you meet and those you may never meet?
About 5km up the pathway the pathway split and I noticed a lady waiting. I decided on the right hand route only to hear Susan - the American lady who´d given me directions the previous day - say "that´s the cycling path you´re taking". Seems like she was acting as my guardian angel, Susan and I walked together up the left track that ran through the woods for a while. I learnt that she was not just a guardian angel but a writer of spiritually-uplifting books too and an expert on the Daniel diet - which I shall find more about in months to come.
As we came to the hills Susan slowed and as I needed to press on, I left her and made my way past a number of other pilgrim groups traversing the path to O´cebreiro. The sun was rising and then I saw the summit as I came out of the trees and what an amazing sight it was too. The clouds were clearly surrounding the village of O´cebreiro, but moving towards me, then as they reached the hill's edge the clouds just flowed down the hillside like a dam overflowing in slow motion - a most amazing sight to behold
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Looking the other way... | |
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Continuing up the hill I caught sight of a figure on horse back coming out of the mist with what looked like a spear in his hand - could this be Don Quixote ? Not so but a local farmer tending his fields in the early morning with a hoe over his shoulder - see photos. But the thought of this and the CAFOD question linked to the stories of Don Quixote with chivalry and quest for justice with the mishaps of the previous day made me smile. Further up the path I caught with Paul from the USA and shared the rest of the way to O´cebreiro with him - passing across the Leon/Galicia border was a land mark on the way. Again my paths would cross Paul's numerous times on the Camino do Santiago:
The rest of the team had started some 3 hours earlier at O'cebreiro in mist and pitch darkness so I was extremely privileged to arrive there just as the mist lifted and the sun came shining through. I met a chap called Colin from Ilkley (Yorks) in the bar there who recommended that I look inside the church, I took his advice and spent an hour praying there. What a place of incredible tranquility and peace.
Again I will cross Colin's path a number of times on the journey too, but never told him how thankful I was for his little bit of advice that day. I eventually left the beautiful village of O'cebrereio and made my way toward Tricastella meeting two ladies from Australia (Melbourne) called Joan and Shirley. I walked with them off and on for about 10 miles passing some wonderful scenery on the way. I learnt that Joan had travelled lots of different parts of paths of the Camino, and had about ten Camino pasports in her posession with various stamps for each route... And more recently she had been doing part of the Camino Norte that runs by the north Spain coast line. She said that this was a very beautiful route, but it has a huge problem - the problem turned out to be that the beaches that the walk passes are so inviting that Joan could not resist going for a swim and so that delayed her pilgrimage enormously. That made me smile and even more determined to try to walk that route next year. I later heard from Shirley that Joan fell ill on the penultimate day so didn't complete the Camino this time - perhaps I might cross her path some other time? But I had to push ahead as I need to catch up with the rest of the CAFOD Group in Tricastela. I put a spurt on as the path was down hill for most of the way, almost running at times. And when I arrived I was disappointed to hear the rest of the team had not been able to book me a pilgrim place in the Albergue they were stopping at and there were no places left now. I tried all of the other Albergs/refugio's in the town but all were full and so I ended up in a 1 Star hotel - with absolutely no redeeming features. But as I was exhausted and I had a really good night sleep so that didn't matter. A big lesson to be learnt - get booked in
before 3:00pm.
We all attend the evening mass at the church of Santiago (take note Santiago's statue above the tabernacle) in the photo see slide pack of photo's taken on day 2 that follow:
Day 1 Toulouse to O´cebreiro - 16th September
My first day (travelling to the Camino from France) could it be a disaster?
The question posed in the CAFOD pilgrimage reflection booklet was strangely pertinent - "What are your hopes and expectations as you set out on your pilgrimage?"
Well having booked my bus ticket on the Internet I never in my wildest dreams imagined there would be 5 buses from Toulouse bus station all going to Spain and leaving at 23:59hrs! But worse still none of these were destined for Bilboa - the place on my ticket...
I can’t speak French or Spanish so it wasn’t boding well. So my answer to the question was forming - "please God just help me get me to the agreed meeting place in O'cebreiro safely!" I was also experiencing perhaps a little of how the illiterate poor of the world may feel not knowing how to communicate and be sure to get what I need.
It turned out that none of the buses were destined for Bilboa, but the driver of the last bus to leave decided to bring us under his wing. One thing after another complication transpired to make the journey ever more complex heading in and out of Bilboa without allowing me to get off and then dropping me off some 100km north of Madrid at 9:00am and told to get another bus in an hours time!
Needless to say I was somewhat apprehensive at times on the journey, but I slowly began to feel the apprehension go and a feeling best expressed by the Spanish when they say "mañana, mañana" in-other-words whatever was to happen would turn out OK tomorrow - I should not worry, but trust that God would make it good.
I ended my bus trip at Ponferrada safe and sound but some 3hrs later than planned. Only to find out that Christine, Angela, Martin and Nick's flights were delayed too and they wanted me to let the hotel know when I arrived of their delay. When I phoned the hotel the hotel denied any knowledge of a booking... It seemed whatever could go wrong was going wrong and this did not bode well for the pilgrimage ahead. It was just as well that my motivation for doing this pilgrimage was strong - to raise funds to help the poorest of the world help themselves out of poverty. The realisation that the minor insecurities that I was facing on this journey were insignificant compared to poverty stricken people in war struck nations that I was aiming to support - perhaps a feeling of solidarity was emerging. That said I knew I had my wallet with me and I could easily hire a car or find a way out of this situation if need be.
After many phone calls to hotels and different Refugio we managed to get booked up in different locations; me in a Refugio in Routelan (Leon district) the others (through the help of the taxi driver) in Triacastle (Galatia district). This meant that I would be setting off some 10km further away from our starting point and roughly half a days walk more to do on the first day of walking.
For-all that heartache the refugio I booked in to was very special; with only 20 beds. It was set off the road and as I walked down the road towards the accommodation I was met by some very friendly American ladies Susan and Erin, who were enjoying a beer outside the local bar relaxing after their days walk. They offered a kindly welcome and directions to the place I would be staying that evening. Little did I know at that time that I would form a close friendship with both of these ladies later in the journey and find that I'd be travelling back to England with Susan at the end of my pilgrimage.
The owner and chef of the refugio, were fantastic, they arranged a filling 4 course evening meal with all pilgrims sitting together, and the atmosphere there was very special full of fellowship and love. Breakfast the next day too for a mere €15. And what an experience to wake-up to the sound of Ave Maria at 6:00am putting us all in the mood for walking.
Looking from my bed on the first evening I had a real taste of the rural life I would experience during my walk to Santiago.
Later I was told by Nick, Angela and Christine that they arrived at a 3 star hotel in Triacastela - as the taxi driver refused to cross the border with Leon. They all had luxurious room for €26, with en suite. They arrived at about 7:00pm which meant they didn't get an evening meal nor breakfast. For all the luxury of the hotel I think I may have had the better experience that night.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
24km walk to Bruniqel & Penne
Today I did a 24km grueling walk with a fully loaded backpack in hot but overcast weather. The terrain was vey difficult, but I managed the walk ok.. Here are a few photos.
Tomorrow is my last day with Ross and I make my way to Spain, leaving at midnight and expecting to arrive at 3pm.
Tomorrow is my last day with Ross and I make my way to Spain, leaving at midnight and expecting to arrive at 3pm.
Puyclesi Choral Concert
Day four with Ross and family - Sunday 11th September.
This was the day of the annual choral concert in Puyclesi - the long hours of preparation and practice ended and the real event commenced at 6:00pm at the Church of St Corneille.
The choir was to sing Valdi's Gloria followed by the very popular 5in France at least) Faurè's Requiem with some professional singers taking on the solos
It soon became apparent the event would be sold out and a number of late arrivals had to be turned away. The event went swimmingly with both audience and chorists enjoying the event.
Some photographs follow:
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| From Puycelsi Concert 2011 |
The choir was to sing Valdi's Gloria followed by the very popular 5in France at least) Faurè's Requiem with some professional singers taking on the solos
It soon became apparent the event would be sold out and a number of late arrivals had to be turned away. The event went swimmingly with both audience and chorists enjoying the event.
Some photographs follow:
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Is Puycelsi one of the most beautiful of all French villages?
Undeniably yes! Here's a few photos I've taken from Ross and Ginny's house that prove the case:
The first morning as I looked out
Same view after the mist dispersed
Here are a few more in a slideshow:
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Alban's Pilgrimage starts - 8th September
Alban begins his trip to see his BT colleague, boss, and great friend Ross Jenkins and his wife Ginni at their home in the French village Puycelsi. The trip to France was planned to sample the delights of Puycelsi, help with the annual concert and plan the 2012 pilgrimage c1000km - starting in this village. It was arranged before Alban became aware of this year's Camino pilgrimage organised by CAFOD, however the two arrangements fit very nicely together and this is why Alban leaves before Angela, Martin, Christine and Nick.
Ross and Ginni became Franco-files sometime between the late 1980's and the mid 1990's when they fell in love with this charming place and decided to buy and renovate a large house with views to die for there.
Needless to say Puycelsi is one of the most beautiful of all French villages, situated atop of a hill surrounded by the forest of Grésigne (c4000 hectares of trees and the most important forest of Midi-Pyrénées - mainly oak trees, with some chestnut trees and conifers).
The photographs and video above give a visual appreciation of Puycelsi and are courtesy of the tourist site which contains the history of the village click here to see more..
Alban plans to travel from Puycelsi to O'Cebeiro on the 15th September. Here is a flavor of the pilgrimage from O'Cebeiro in March/April last year, some stunning scenes but a tad cold - for those interested click the play below and then load to full screen - enjoy...
Look out for more from Puycelsi in the coming few days.
If you’d like to help Alban then why not sponsor him on this journey and in doing so help the poorest of the world out of poverty by visiting his fundraising page by clicking here (if that doesn't work then copy http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CAMINO-Sept2011 into your internet browser).
More posts will follow this covering some of our reflections and pictures from each day of the pilgrimage - please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...
Ross and Ginni became Franco-files sometime between the late 1980's and the mid 1990's when they fell in love with this charming place and decided to buy and renovate a large house with views to die for there.
Needless to say Puycelsi is one of the most beautiful of all French villages, situated atop of a hill surrounded by the forest of Grésigne (c4000 hectares of trees and the most important forest of Midi-Pyrénées - mainly oak trees, with some chestnut trees and conifers).
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Alban plans to travel from Puycelsi to O'Cebeiro on the 15th September. Here is a flavor of the pilgrimage from O'Cebeiro in March/April last year, some stunning scenes but a tad cold - for those interested click the play below and then load to full screen - enjoy...
Look out for more from Puycelsi in the coming few days.
If you’d like to help Alban then why not sponsor him on this journey and in doing so help the poorest of the world out of poverty by visiting his fundraising page by clicking here (if that doesn't work then copy http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CAMINO-Sept2011 into your internet browser).
More posts will follow this covering some of our reflections and pictures from each day of the pilgrimage - please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...
Friday, 26 August 2011
26th August - the training begins
In September 2011 several pilgrims - Nick Gibbs (Cardif), Angela & Martin Wills (Portsmouth/Reading), Christine Johnson (Newcastle & Hexham/Peterlee) and Alban Macdonald from Northampton diocese (St Peter’s, Biggleswade), set off to walk the final 100 miles of the Camino “The way of St James” in aid of CAFOD.
This famous route “route of the stars” takes pilgrims along the beautiful and peaceful countryside across the north of Spain, ending at the extraordinary Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The route has existed for over a thousand years, offers a physical, mental and spiritual challenge to all that take it on.
A CAFOD training event run by Sian Hughes & Kit Lewis and past pilgrims Tony McNicoll & Greg Clark took place in late August at the Savio House Retreat Centre, Bollington. An ideal place on the edge of the Peak district and covered a mixture of spiritual, practical and physical training to prepare the prospective pilgrims for their journey ahead. The picture taken on the hillside looking down to Savio House from White Nancy - some 900 ft above sea level.
From left to right: Tony McNicoll, Alban Macdonald, John Freeman#, Christine Johnson, Marian Courtney#, Siobhan Bryant, Carmel# and Charlotte# Freeman, Nicholas Gibbs and Kit Lewis
A slideshow of photographs taken on the last day of training follow:
Each pilgrim is tasked with raising funds for CAFOD and, by walking in community with other supporters of CAFOD.
Alban aims to raise over £6,000, to make a real difference and transform the lives of some of the poorest people around the world. When asked why CAFOD? He said “every pound raised through CAFOD counts – it doesn’t get lost in the coffers of foreign governments, but goes to those in need through CAFOD’s local partners and focused where it can achieve the biggest benefit. Sponsorship will go to items that will help these people, help themselves, out of poverty; for example:
£ 1.35p - can by a plate and food for a malnourished child in El Salvador
£ 3 - can buy a school kit – pens, pencils, books, and a school bag for a child in Mozambique
£ 12 - can buy a hygiene kit for a family affected by floods in Pakistan
£ 20 - can provide training in ceramics production for five women in Peru
£ 25 - can buy an emergency shelter kit for a family made homeless by an earthquake
£ 50 - can buy a bicycle in Zambia allowing them to support people living with HIV/AIDS
£125 - provides training in sustainable techniques, helping small scale growers in Nicaragua support their families & the environment
£520 - provides a new cyclone-resistant house for a family who’ve lost everything in Bangladesh.”
If you’d like to help Alban then why not sponsor him on this journey and in doing so help the poorest of the world out of poverty by visiting his fundraising page by clicking here (if that doesn't work then copy http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CAMINO-Sept2011 into your internet browser).
More posts will follow this covering some of our reflections and pictures from each day of the pilgrimage - please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...
This famous route “route of the stars” takes pilgrims along the beautiful and peaceful countryside across the north of Spain, ending at the extraordinary Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The route has existed for over a thousand years, offers a physical, mental and spiritual challenge to all that take it on.
A CAFOD training event run by Sian Hughes & Kit Lewis and past pilgrims Tony McNicoll & Greg Clark took place in late August at the Savio House Retreat Centre, Bollington. An ideal place on the edge of the Peak district and covered a mixture of spiritual, practical and physical training to prepare the prospective pilgrims for their journey ahead. The picture taken on the hillside looking down to Savio House from White Nancy - some 900 ft above sea level.
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| From El Camino |
A slideshow of photographs taken on the last day of training follow:
Each pilgrim is tasked with raising funds for CAFOD and, by walking in community with other supporters of CAFOD.
Alban aims to raise over £6,000, to make a real difference and transform the lives of some of the poorest people around the world. When asked why CAFOD? He said “every pound raised through CAFOD counts – it doesn’t get lost in the coffers of foreign governments, but goes to those in need through CAFOD’s local partners and focused where it can achieve the biggest benefit. Sponsorship will go to items that will help these people, help themselves, out of poverty; for example:
£ 1.35p - can by a plate and food for a malnourished child in El Salvador
£ 3 - can buy a school kit – pens, pencils, books, and a school bag for a child in Mozambique
£ 12 - can buy a hygiene kit for a family affected by floods in Pakistan
£ 20 - can provide training in ceramics production for five women in Peru
£ 25 - can buy an emergency shelter kit for a family made homeless by an earthquake
£ 50 - can buy a bicycle in Zambia allowing them to support people living with HIV/AIDS
£125 - provides training in sustainable techniques, helping small scale growers in Nicaragua support their families & the environment
£520 - provides a new cyclone-resistant house for a family who’ve lost everything in Bangladesh.”
If you’d like to help Alban then why not sponsor him on this journey and in doing so help the poorest of the world out of poverty by visiting his fundraising page by clicking here (if that doesn't work then copy http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CAMINO-Sept2011 into your internet browser).
More posts will follow this covering some of our reflections and pictures from each day of the pilgrimage - please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...
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