Thanks to the recommendation of friends, we are staying at the Pousada (historically significant inn) within the Fortalezza of Valenca, Portugal looking across the Rio Minho at Spain.

We have been so fortunate on our Camino. The lady who threw open her second floor window to tell us we were going the wrong way… Saturday in Braga when the Tourist Office told us there was no 4 pm vigil mass anywhere and we happened to peek into yet another church in that ancient capital city known as “Little Rome” just as a 4 pm mass was beginning!… Yesterday, when we walked into Valenca to learn that our reservation has been mistakenly made for the previous day, but the manager honored it anyway…

And also yesterday we were fortunate when we sought a medical consultation for Ed’s increasingly painful back. It started after an exercise session back in DC. At first, it seemed to get better, but in recent days the lump on one side of his back got more and more painful. So, we had our first encounter with Portuguese medicine, involving walking in to a clinic with no appointment, a 2 hour wait, a consultation with a doctor and an English translator, two prescriptions and an assurance that the lipoma is not a serious condition. And today, at the same clinic, Ed had his first-ever chiropractic adjustment. It turns out that the clinic houses the only chiropractor in northern Portugal! 

Ed should be feeling better in a few days, and he already reports some relief. But in future photos, you won’t be seeing him carrying a back pack…

We give thanks for our many blessings, and for all of you. Praise be to God.