Camino de Santiago Portuguese - Day 11

Daily Overview

• We started the day with a FREE breakfast at the little hotel we were staying in near São Pedro da Torre. For us these days, any kind of free food is a big deal. We loved it. We had big rolls with meat and cheese, bananas, hard-boiled eggs, orange juice, and some kind of apple pastry. There was a tour bus at the hotel in the morning with a large contingent of elderly people, so the dining room was pretty chaotic. We pretty much had to risk our lives getting to the hotel last night because we had to walk fifty yards beside a busy highway and then cross it to get to the hotel. Clearly, the prevailing sense among most motorists in the area is that one less pilgrim or two is not a big deal. We were glad for Sunday! Much less traffic. We walked three miles into Valenca on a cool, beautiful, sunny morning and stopped at a big grocery store on the outskirts of Valenca to get a drink and a couple of other items. After that, we walked up to the fortress in Valenca and explored. It is sprawling. Watching cars combined with people going in and out through the narrow arched entrances is harrowing. Also, I’m happy to report that Americans are not the only ones who take parking liberties, as you can see here.

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  We also managed to show up just at the right time to get a stamp at the tourism office. Those stamps are especially coveted. Walking around the old city inside the fortress was extraordinary. Hundreds of people and interesting shops, and restaurants. So cool. We’ve been taking every opportunity to go and sit in the churches we encounter, and we spent almost an hour there today. It was precious.

  When we booked the place we are staying in, I had no idea it was right here in the old city, just a block from the Camino, which runs right through the fortress. We spent some time in the square earlier this evening, people watching and listening to this young guy play American music on the electric guitar. Our last stroll of the day was back though the square after dark, now completely deserted.

  

• What we planned to do: Today we did a short three-mile walk into the city of Valenca where we will stay until tomorrow when our son Jonathan arrives.

The Day's Focus

• Topic: Finding God in stillness:

  There couldn’t be a greater contrast in the world than between the bustling old city, Fortress Square at midday, and the interior of the Capela do Bom Jesus church just twenty yards away. An island of peace in the midst of total cacophony, a doorway into a place of stillness and peace. But you can’t just look in. You must come in and stay awhile. The invitation is always there..

• Word for the Day: Stillness

• Scripture: "Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

• Spiritual Practice: Find a quiet spot in the midst of all the activity around you and simply sit in silence for five to ten minutes, not speaking, but just being present with God. Listen for His gentle voice.

  
  

Moments and Images

• Images from the Way Today: 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

• Beautiful Spot of the Day: 

  

  Looking across the ramparts of the old fortress to the city of Valenca and the mountains beyond

  

  And a picture of the fortress after dark

• Spiritual Meditative Moment: Sitting in the church, Sandy said, “It’s such a simple thing, but I felt the love of God.”

• What Church We Visited: 

  

  

  

  https://video.wixstatic.com/video/ed6b9a_c37d7d9f5b7248dd966ee967ccaa23af/360p/mp4/file.mp4

  This beautiful little church dates back to the 13th century. We spent almost an hour sitting there. There are two churches here in the old city. The church in general is not just a place where people go to worship God. Ever since the tabernacle, it has been a place where God comes to meet with his people. This church is surrounded by the new commercialized modern-day culture all around it, yet it remains a portal to the kingdom, an open door to heaven for those who are able to see in. Here, the fortitude and the long-suffering goodness of God are on display. This church is not a relic…….it is still alive.

• People we experienced: A trio of Canadians we met at the hotel we were staying at, a man and two women. He has done the Camino 15 times. One of the ladies gave Sandy a necklace with the Camino scallop shell because it is our first Camino.

• Unexpected Surprises: 

  Discovering that the little apartment we are staying in is right in the middle of the old city, that is inside the fortress, and only a block from the Camino

• Animal/Nature or local life: 

This street musician playing his heart out on the square for hours

Reflections and Learnings

• Reflections from Today: The intent of my heart is for me to be a habitation for God, while the world around me shouts incessantly for my attention every moment. In this place, I alone must choose what and who I will be present to. As for God, he joyfully and patiently awaits my decision, for he is wise and good, and time is on his side.

• "Well, that was hard.": Finding our little apartment was the only challenging thing today; the old city is a bit of a maze.

• "What helped me today":  The young waiter at the cafe in the hotel who helped Sandy get hot water for her tea. He was so attentive.

• "Something I learned": Over here, fish comes in a lot of different ways, dried and salted is one. But how do you eat it? Like beef jerky?

  

• "Insight for the day": You always hear it said that the church is “people” and that the building is just a building, but what about the Tabernacle, and what about a building that people have been worshiping in and praying in for eight hundred years?

• "Mystical occurrences":  Sitting in the church in the old city for almost an hour.

  This may sound trite, but a phone booth is still a phone booth if it’s connected to the phone lines, even if no one is making calls there much anymore.

Daily Conclusion

• A View of Our Compostela

  

  The stamp from the tourism office here at the fort is especially cool

• Gratitudes (1–3 things I'm thankful for):

  A beautiful, cool, sunny day to walk

  Finding a wonderful grocery store on our way into the city

  Just sitting and listening to a street musician while people-watching