May 30

Day 16

Tui

   Today is a bittersweet day for us. It’s our last walking day in Portugal as we walk to the border of Portugal and Spain by the end of the day. Our plan is to cross into Spain and stay in Tui. Northern Portugal has gotten more beautiful by the day and after a mere 15 days we have gotten the hang of Portuguese life. I’ll miss our daily Bom Caminho but will replace it tomorrow with Buen Camino.  I have to say I am looking forward to Spanish Tart but dreading the missing toilet seats!

   We climbed our highest elevation first thing this morning and even though it was long, the beauty truly took my mind off of huffing, puffing and sore thighs.  One thing I noticed right off the bat was all the huge yellow bushes covered in tiny flowers. We’ve seen them a lot but today they seem more prolific than ever. They are simply gorgeous splashed amongst the many shades of green. 

      The sounds of mountain streams are mostly always present for the past couple of days. We see several waterfalls that no matter how often we see them each time I’m in awe.  The water is crystal clear and you can see vegetation growing on the bottom.  As I walk this morning, the song God of All My Days plays on my playlist and it couldn’t be more perfect:

   “I came to You with my heart in pieces

And found the God with healing in His hands

I turned to You, put everything behind me

And found the God who makes all things new

I looked to You, drowning in my questions

And found the God who holds all wisdom

And I trusted You and stepped out on the ocean

You caught my hand among the waves

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same

You're the God of all my days

I ran from You, I wandered in the shadows

And found a God who relentlessly pursues

I hid from You, haunted by my failure

And found the God whose grace still covers me

I fell on You when I was at my weakest

And found the God, the lifter of my head

And I've worshiped You

And felt You right beside me

You're the reason that I sing

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same

You're the God of all my days

In my worry, God You are my stillness

In my searching, God You are my answers

In my blindness, God You are my vision

In my bondage, God You are my freedom

In my weakness, God You are my power

You're the reason that I sing

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same

You're the God of all my days

In my blindness, God You are my vision

And in my bondage, God You are my freedom

All my days”. 

    Just as the song finishes we see a large stone cross with little stones piled all beneath it. Right in the middle is a stone with a hand painted pink heart on it. Mom always shows up. I feel peace. Piling up little stones is commonly seen on the French Way however we haven’t seen so many in Portugal. The closer we get to Spain the more we see. I’m not sure what the significance of the stone piling is but my guess would be it’s laying your guilt, sin, hopes, dreams at the foot of the cross or on top of other large rocks. It’s a ritual people have been doing not only in Spain but all over the world and specifically hiking trails. It’s a beautiful gesture of someone’s personal thoughts. 

Today we see several crosses, stone and wood.  At the largest one Lorenz placed his straw hat and left it. I didn’t ask why but it was meaningful for him to do that. 

     We all leave the big cross and silently pray.  Such deep prayers and thoughts here in the forest. Nature is all around us.  God is all around us!  It’s calm and quiet with only the sounds of life. I pray for my sister in law, Judi, today. It would have been she and Ronnie’s 37th wedding Anniversary.  This is her first year without him and I can feel her loneliness and missing him.  Also I pray for a sweet friend who has recently lost her husband.  Grief is a horrible feeling. 

       The first cafe we come to after our big morning climb is Bar Roulette.  The cafe com leiti is the best and the waiter serves mine in  an orange saucer.  My favorite color.  We enjoy a ham and cheese with our coffee and sit and watch the cows in a field across the street ring their cow bells as we watch. It’s no surprise this cute place has no toilet seat.  Shortly after we leave we pass an even cuter place that has lots of old shoes filled with flowers. I stop and take pictures and silently wonder if they have toilet seats. An Asian couple with 3 children walk past us up the hill. They are Pilgrims and we see their Compestellas rolled up in their backpacks. Evidence they’ve already made it to Santiago and now walking thru Portugal. Incredible.  

     We walk thru tunnels of foliage next to moss covered stones.  Some stone walls high and some low. I comment on how much work it was laying these stone fences and walkways that are present throughout Northern Portugal. Not to mention ALL the ancient homes were built out of stone. They may be ancient but they are still standing. I think of the 3 Little Pigs story. The crystal clear streams and waterfalls are just gorgeous. Each waterfall playing music of Gods orchestration. I could spend all day here in this incredible art museum of nature. Peace.  Pure peace.  

    Nature brings life and death. Lorenz points out a tiny dead fox next to the trail. A wave of uncontrollable emotion strikes me and I think of Ronnie and my precious Jack Russel of 9 years who died of cancer within weeks of Ronnie. I hold back from walking with the guys and sob for 5 minutes. I think of the post Judi made just days ago:

                          Grief

      “Grief after the initial shock of loss, comes along in waves.

When your driving alone in your car, when your doing the dishes, while your getting ready for work....and

All of the sudden it hits you- how so very much YOU miss someone and your breath catches, and your tears flow and the sadness is so great that it’s physically painful.”- Nicole Gabert 

      It’s reality and spot on. I will always miss Ronnie and it doesn’t help to say “ he’s in heaven”.  It hurts to lose someone you shared your life with forever.  It hurts to lose a pet whose unconditional love brings you happiness every single day. 

     As we approach Valenca, the city just across the river from Tui, our Spain destination, we see the signs of the Camino seashells embedded in sidewalks as we walk. So very reminiscent of our last Camino and a welcoming hand to Pilgrims. There is a gigantic ancient Fortress of stone straight ahead and within the walls a charming village filled with shops and cafes. Our last chance to buy Portuguese souvenirs.  We are Pilgrims so we pass these tempting shops. Church bells are ringing as we sit to have my last Portuguese Sager Beer which is the only beer I’ll drink. It is similar to Stella Artois, back home. All of the sudden I hear singing and a ukulele playing and Dave and Kelsa come up behind us singing! They are the couple from British Columbia we met back on the Lisbon to Porto leg who walked the Coastal Route  while we walked the Central Route. They sit with us and we share stories of our great adventures. They are charming.  

    We walk together across the huge Bridge over the Rio Mino to enter into “Espana”.... Spain.  There are Pilgrims in front of us as we march single file across this vast bridge. I’m a tad disappointed I don’t see the “Welcome Mo” banner! It is a phenomenal feeling making it to this point filled with sadness leaving Portugal and joy of entering Spain. Only 4 more days of walking over 30k a day to Santiago.  We are pushing it but my goal is to walk and meditate and not bus forward. If I still have fat legs by the end of this 375 mile hike I’m gonna chop them off! Kidding.... 

     We immediately change our greeting and say Buen Camino to every Pilgrim we see.  Kelsa and Dave head off to their Hostel and we to ours. A private room tonight with Lorenz and our own bathroom with a toilet seat. Yippee! Life is good. It’s $15 Euro each and we have 5 twin beds in the room, ie NO bunk beds.  Pure luxury in my humble opinion. 

      I hand wash a few things and we walk down the street to a modern cafe where we all have a hamburger and French fries. Weird how I can crave such an unhealthy American food.  It’s mediocre as expected but a really cute place. As I walk back to the hostel in my black tights and pink jacket I’m cold and sleepy. The time changed to daylight savings time as soon as we crossed the river so we will be losing an hour tonight. 

I brush my teeth and crawl in my wonderful twin bed fully clothed and thank God for this glorious day. 

Nitey nite!