Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Travel Day: Arriving in Porto

When I completed my last Camino, I knew I'd return to the path someday -- although I must say: I had no idea it would be so soon or that it would be with the man I will call my husband in just eight short months. If two years ago someone had told me that this is where my life would be at this point in time, I wouldn't have believed it -- but to carry on the message from my first Camino: it isn't always the path you thought you would take, but it is always the path you were meant to be on. And I must say, my path has been blessed many times over, mountains and forests and potholes and all. 

We left St. Louis (thanks again Kathleen and Charlie and Jason for the ride!!) around 10:30; our flights were as follows: St. Louis to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Madrid, Madrid to Porto -- lots of flight time! We didn't spend too much time in the Philadelphia airport, but we had about a three hour layover in Madrid; which ended up being a really good thing because they changed our gate after we had already spent all the time getting to it  -- for anyone who's been to the Madrid Airport: we were originally at satellite gate M (a train ride away) and got moved to gate K81 (two more trains away in the opposite direction). Luckily we were on time for every flight and every flight was on time for us! 

Once we arrived in the Porto airport, it was time to figure out how to best get into the city; our plan was to go straight to the Sé (the cathedral) and register as pilgrims and get our passports. The metro was super easy to understand and we were in the city center at the steps of the cathedral in no time. Last Camino I started in small towns and arrived in big(ger) cities after a week or so getting assimilated to the Camino way of life -- this was much different; aside from Santiago, Porto is the largest city we will be in. The cities are always a little more congested and full of people who aren't pilgrims and not as well marked with the yellow arrows the pilgrims follow; but they also have more food options, more churches, and more sites to see. When we arrived at the cathedral, we went inside and registered and received our passports and first stamps; then we went to pray at the main alter of the church. 

I love the intricate details and immense beauty of the churches here in Portugal; also their special attention to Mary. After thanking God for our safe travels and praying for a beautiful and safe rest of our journey, we explored all the side alters and devotional areas. (And of course took pictures ...) Then we left the cathedral in search of a place to stay for the night and food; by this time it was about three in the afternoon (though that would be about nine am at home, and we had slept MAYBE two hours total since leaving St. Louis). Finding food was not an issue -- we passed cafe after cafe; finding the yellow arrows and albergues -- now that was the tricky part. For about an hour we searched for the yellow arrows, continuing to return to the place we had seen the last one and picking new routes to find the next. We pulled out the maps. We pulled out the Eguidebook. We looked for other pilgrims to follow. About the time we thought we were going the right way, we'd hit a dead end. And then, as if to add salt to our wounds, it began to rain -- not a drizzle; a torrential downpour; we looked like we swam through town instead of walked. BUT it was really quite a blessing that the rain began when it did, because it forced us into the steps of a church where the caretaker encouraged us to come in out of the rain; and then told us exactly how to get back on the Camino path and where to go to find a place for the night. We followed his directions to the Carmo church and found the Pensão França where we are staying tonight. (There are no albergues in Porto, only pensãos, so CJ will have to wait one night for his albergues experiences to begin ...) Once we got our room, we took a well deserved nap! And then ventured out for dinner. 

And now we are tucked into our beds, showered and warm with our clothes drying in front of the heater. We've already mapped out tomorrow's route (no guessing and errors tomorrow -- we have fifteen miles to trek!!) and can't wait to hit the trails. Especially because tomorrow's trail follows the coast! 

Here are a few pictures from today:


Coffee: check. Passports: check. Boarding passes: check. Good to go! 


First flight of the day! And our first flight together 😍


It's Portugal!!!! 


First picture on Portuguese soil!


This is the view from the cathedral steps. 


Main alter of the cathedral 


Beautiful mother Mary 


And another alter for Mary. 


Blue goes to Fatima; yellow goes to Santiago!! #santiagobound #yellowarrowfanatic #wheredidallthearrowsgo?! 


Dinner -- steak with mushroom sauce, rice, and (of course) patatas fritas. We also had sopa and shared croquetas. 


And our beds for tonight. 

Today could have been a disaster -- a little lost, a lot of rain, tired and hungry and wandering about; but thanks to God's push in the right direction, help from a kind stranger, and patient teamwork, we found our way. And now it is time for sleep -- someone is already out ... 


All in all, today was wonderful, and tomorrow should be even better. I can't wait!! The hiking begins in the morning -- please keep us in prayer as we continue our journey. 

Buen Camino. 





4 comments:

  1. Glad you made it safely!! Hope you get a good nights sleep and are well rested for tomorrow's adventure! Love you! ❤️

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  2. Prayer for safe travels to Spain answered. Let the journey begin! Look forward to tomorrow's post. Love you both!

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    1. Thanks!! Now pray for strong feet!! ☺️

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