Today we woke up a little later, at 3.30 in the morning. The morning was peaceful, as is now the custom. The pace is still fast thanks to the cool nights.
At the breakfast stop people were hungry: some even ate the chicken left over from the day before. At that hour, and with 20 km in your legs, no food survives. At one point in the stage, the band known wherever it goes, the “Rolling Smokes”, led today by Del Pozo, decided to drop to the back of the group with the stragglers, cheering them on and singing all sorts of songs with their two guitars in hand. What a joy to see how everyone helps each other on every stage.
We arrived quite early, and it was a day of rest. When our arrival in Ciudad Real was imminent, Father said a surprise was waiting for us. Everyone started guessing, and Nacho Campmany bet that the surprise was a Telepizza waiting for us the moment we arrived. The arrival didn’t live up to his hopes: instead of Telepizza, it was air conditioning. Different priorities among pilgrims after a hot stage.
Between them, the priests decided to have an afternoon of prayer. They exposed the Blessed Sacrament and for 2 hours we could go and pray. The truth is that it was a good moment for each pilgrim to pray quietly and give thanks for what this pilgrimage is turning out to be and for the people we are with, and, above all, to remember all the people we keep meeting.
Today we were welcomed at the Salesian school in Ciudad Real. The truth is they’ve looked after us brilliantly from the very first moment. As always, the welcome never ceases to surprise us. The school’s reception and maintenance staff were amazed by the pilgrimage. They cheered us on, saying: “How brave! What a joy to see young people like this!”. They were all very happy to have us at the school.
Today the Torrelles parents came to spend the afternoon with us. We really want to thank them for how well they are looking after us these days with the food they bring us for dinner. Eating well-cooked, quality dishes brightens any pilgrim’s afternoon. Even more so if the menu is like today’s: summer salad and pork loin with chips. They found out that Ana Gomar loves chips, so they made her a plate full of them just for her; in the end she decided to share a few.
For dessert, ice cream again! We give thanks for this free flow of ice creams that come and go. Today the caterers brought them, and lots of people went back for thirds and even fourths. They are truly appreciated, because today, while we were having dinner at 7 in the evening, it was 41 degrees and you had to eat it quickly because it was melting.
After a while chatting with the Torrelles parents and a few songs, we’re off to bed. We’ve been told tomorrow’s stage is short, 27 km; let’s see if that’s true and we can go to the pool and rest.
Good night, parents!