"Greater is He that is in you. Than he who is in the world."
1 John 4:4
The room we were in at the hostel started to move around 5:15. Instead of blocking out the noise, we went ahead and packed up too. It's very difficult to pack up in the morning when it is still dark. Mostly because I want to be respectful of those still sleeping, but I can't see 2 inches in front of my nose in the dark. Still, there are lots of benefits to leaving early. It's a lot cooler and easier to cover more K/m, the sunrise is beautiful and there is time in the afternoon to chill or get laundry done at the albergue. Today it was still dark when we left and some of the buildings architecture were highlighted by street lamps. The arrows themselves were easier to miss in the dark so we had to pay closer attention to where we were going. Our first 'major' town to walk through was O Porriño. O Porriño is known as an industrial town. Within the last several years, the camino has been rerouted around the town through some woods. The shop and cafe owners in the town were unhappy about loosing potential patrons and an arrow war began. The shop owners would cover up the real camino arrows and would repaint arrows heading towards their cafes. The result is lots of different arrows pointing in different directions confusing pilgrims. I wish I had taken a picture of the all the arrows on the street. On the camino there is a saying, "Everyone walks their own Camino." Just because I am traveling with someone, doesn't mean that I am having the same same experience. Just like life, everyone has their own ideas, needs, relationships with the people around them, or relationship with God. We can plant seeds but everyone should follow their own path and shouldn't be forced into one that they don't need or aren't ready for.
At one point we finally made it through the worst and passed by the town center around 11:30. A band was playing and a market was set up. It felt festive and was a fun break. It was getting hotter and the next section of our walk for the day would be uphill, so we didn't stay long and took more cafe breaks as we passed them.
At 1:30, we arrived in the city of Mos. Dad and mom stayed in Mos when they did their camino. Dad's friend Flora, actually remembered him from 2 years ago and the 2 of them had a fun reunion. Flora has a restaurant across from the albergue and is in charge of checking in the pilgrims. She is a fun lady. It was hot so we stopped for the day. The next section is uphill and we decided that it would be easier to walk that section when it is cooler. We went right to our camino chores. Hot shower and laundry. Right outside the front door was where the laundry gets hung after it's washed. Since we were one of the first to arrive it was nice to have a close spot without going into the high grass. While we were having a bite to eat, more pilgrims arrived and hung their clothes out on the line. It was fun sitting in the cafe watching familiar faces roll into town. At one point someone found a friend that nobody was excited about.....the non-legged, slithering kind. We discovered that their is a family of snakes living under the albergue. Fortunately it was the non-poisoness kind but I was still glad that I had a top bunk.
Around 7:30 the albergue was full and our friends gathered at Flora's restaurant for dinner. One of the best parts of the camino is the companionship. Meeting new people, talking with people and learning from them. It's magical how God puts people in your life along the journey. They share things that you need to hear at the moment that you need to hear it. It's life changing.
Tui before sunrise.
statue of a pilgrim on the outskirts of Tui.
Roman bridge outside of Tui. Do you see the carriage indentions? (below)
Along the river near Porriño. The frogs were so loud. William would have loved it.
Band playing Porriño town center.
No shortage of Roman roads.
Mos. Dad and Flora.
snake....
dad braving the lawn to retrieve his laundry.
Pilgrim dessert. It was yummy!
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