I had a bad internet connection last night and couldn't download these pictures. This church is a Parish church. Gretchen and I attended the 8 p.m. mass. After the mass, the priest asked all pilgrims to come forward and stand together before this very ornate altar area. He gave each of us a St. James prayer card, said a bunch of really nice stuff in Spanish which most of us couldn't understand, but appreciated, and then he gave all of us a blessing. It was really special.
It also had a really unique organ with blue pipes. Gretchen took a picture of it for Betsy and Claire to see.
Today, we are staying in an Albergue in Viana which is a pretty good sized village. We are in a room was with two other couples. One is from the Cleveland area. Diane and her husband have done the Camino twice and the Portuguese Camino once. Diane has been a wealth of knowledge on places to stay which we gratefully listened to.
We must be getting stronger and healthier, because the walks go quickly, even though hilly. The trails are wonderful. We have learned under fire and certainly appreciate the Camino system. That, and walking without backpacks has made all the difference. Sending our backpacks ahead is a very efficient system and works beautifully.
Tomorrow we go to Navarrete.
How wonderful! Very special to have had all pilgrims attending Mass received a special blessing. It's also great that you have ditched the heavy backpacks and are traveling lighter and more easily.
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Not having the backpacks has to be a HUGE help! Plus you have to feel a lot more comfortable with clearer signage and more pilgrims.
ReplyDeleteIt all falls together so much more easily
DeleteBeautiful church. Your special blessing was a wonderful moment for you two.
ReplyDeleteThank you to Gretchen for thinking of us and taking a picture of the organ. The only thing better would have been to see it there ourselves with you in person! The European execution of "parish church" is so different from ours, isn't it? :) Looks gorgeous. I'm a pushover for church interiors.
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