Chronicle of Thursday 21 August

Dear parents, grandparents, friends and all the rest of the pilgrims,

Last night there was a downpour worthy of Singin’ in the Rain. Lightning lit up the sports hall where we were sleeping, flashing through the window, and woke more than one of us before the planned time. Some wondered how others seemed to sleep on, unmoved by the din all around us. By 3:00 the storm had stopped, but dark clouds could still be seen in the sky, foreshadowing an uncomfortable route for the way we had to cover today.

Rain cape in hand, our way began with the uncertainty of not knowing when the first drops would fall on us. At first all went well: we were walking on tarmac, with the odd puddle crossing our path now and then, but our feet were staying dry, at least for the moment. Then came a point where a tough test lay ahead: a path of wet earth. The track stuck to our feet and turned into great mud baths as we went. For some, the mud didn’t just coat their soles, but climbed up their feet, creating a second skin over their shoes. Even so, the pilgrims didn’t lose their positive attitude, and someone remarked: “at least it’s not uphill”.

A little stony path made the going easier and some took the chance to knock the mud off, but it didn’t help much. A winding track uphill filled our soles with mud again. Some pilgrims, like Clara or Rocío, came to the conclusion that it was better to walk barefoot through the mud than to carry the weight of the mud on their boots.

Leaving that heavy-going stretch of the way behind, we made the traditional refreshment stop to recover our strength, both of body and of soul, but during the spiritual reading it began to drizzle and we had to set off again earlier than planned. In the end it came to nothing since, thank God, it was just a few spots of rain, and only an hour or so later we finally arrived in Montecastrilli.

After a shower and a good nap, some great news awaited us... we were having lunch in a restaurant! We were celebrating Núria Holtman’s 22nd birthday and we sang her “Cumpleaños feliz” the Spanish way, banging on the tables to the delight of the waiters and the other diners around us.

In the afternoon, we had a time of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and read In Conversation with God all together. Today’s Holy Mass was especially beautiful. People from the village joined us, and Don Piero and Don Antonio, the local priests, who welcomed us so warmly today in the parish rooms of St Nicholas, also concelebrated with us. The Mass was in both Spanish and Italian. How beautiful it is to glimpse the universality of the Church in such a simple gesture.

In the evening, we had some delicious fajitas with mince and vegetables. With the leftover tortillas, we made some Nutella wraps for dessert. As usual, we had our get-together, in which Nacho Campmany delighted us with a very particular version of Venezia, by Hombres G, under the astonished gaze of Don Piero, who couldn’t believe what he was hearing from that very likeable lad. Finally, the priest spoke a few warm words to us and encouraged us on our way, before praying Compline with us and heading off to bed, getting ready for a stage tomorrow that also looks set to be a wet one.

P.S.: Fr Ferran has a few words for you to end this chronicle: “Your children are amazing”.