In 2015, our 43 days along the Camino Frances across northern Spain included only one day of rain. So far, of 23 days in Portugal, we’ve had five rainy days, of which three have been walking days and two resting days in Lisbon.

Rain implies MUD, and mud suggests slippery footing. Even though the Portuguese Way has rarely followed its ancient course (unlike the Camino Frances), there have been many stretches of Roman road, marked by uneven stones and cobbles. There have also been (as in Italy) plenty of places where you walk ON the watercourse, picking your way up or down rocks tumbled together by streams of water.

So, we arrived in Baiona, Espana to meet our friends Rafael and Marta needing to take a break from walking to get some rest and to let some injuries heal before we walk the last 4 days into Santiago. 

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.

Yesterday we walked into Olivera de Azemeis when the town just happened to hold their annual Mercado Antiga (Ancient Market). The place was bursting with people, almost all locals, enjoying hundreds of booths and musicians dressed in ancient garb. The music, wind, drums, accordian, voice and more, sounded a bit Irish and definitely Celtic. It was lovely to see how many ancient arts and crafts, including basketry, wood carving, embroidery, baking, etc, are still enthusiastically practised.

While there was food, drink and handicrafts for sale, there was little commercial feeling. Rather, as has been our consistent experience, people are friendly, kind and patient. (Patient with our attempts to speak Portuguese… a very difficult language…)

Although we have heard of Fatima so much we really didn’t know what to expect. We visited for 24 hours the day after Pope Francis was at the sanctuary to canonize Jacinta and Francesco, two of the three shepherd children to whom Mary appeared in an oak tree the site now of a chapel at one side of the enormous plaza. Papa Francesco performed the canonization on May 12 and the 100th anniversary of the first apparition on May 13.

When we arrived in May 14 the huge crowds had gone and the giant spaces were fairly quiet. We attended Sunday mass in the newer of the two basilicas, beautifully decorated with a gilded mural of Our Lady with the three shepherd children and a host of saints. The figure of Jesus on the cross was strikingly muscular and had thick, curly hair like a young Portuguese fisherman.

Our greatest experience was in the quiet and cool evening, when we walked the Via Sacra, which wends through olive trees a short distance from the sanctuaries. Ed and I said the rosary together as we walked. Mary urged the children and the crowds who gathered for her second and third appearances to pray the rosary for peace. Our peaceful experience at Fatima increases our appreciation for this prayer practice. We keep our family and friends in our hearts.

We have been walking for several days and luckily left the rain behind in Lisbon. Initially we took trains and buses for a few days to reach Coimbra, the beautiful university city, and to pay a visit to Peter and Catarina in Figueira da Foz, an oceanside town. We are so happy to have made these new friends!

Stay tuned for more in our next post.

We have failed to post for more than two weeks; our only excuse is distraction and fatigue.

Our last post, Assisi to Roma left us headed for Roma by train on October 6th. Ed found the Casa di Santa Francesco Romana a Ponte Rossi, a well-run convent in the trendy section of Roma known as Trastavere. This great location was our base for eleven wonderful days.

Ed’s brother Bill, from St. Paul, MN and cousin Mary Furey, from Derry, Northern Ireland, joined us for five days which were packed full of walking across the city and enjoying delicious food in the evenings. A couple of rainy days did not dampen our spirits. As we hoped, we visited the four Major Basilicas in a mini-pilgrimage: St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. We also attended a Papal Audience (together with thousands of other pilgrims) and got a personal, although somewhat distant, experience of our charismatic and people-loving Pope.

A highlight was our visit to the levels BELOW the baldequin of St. Peter’s. The “Scavi Tour” is limited to only 12 people at a time and we booked our space months in advance.  We found it surprisingly moving to view the archaeological excavations bravely ordered by Pope Pius XII which subjected the ancient tradition of the burial of the remains of St. Peter’s to modern scientific scrutiny.

We left Rome on October 16 to spend five days visiting cousins Mary & Tony Furey in Northern Ireland and cousins Mary & John Kerins in County Sligo, (western) Ireland. Quite a change of scenery and temperature (20 degrees cooler at least)! We returned to the USA on October 24, with a deepened understanding of the love and peace taught and exemplified by St. Francis of Assisi.

We left Assisi on Settembre 29, a Friday morning, after visiting the Basilica di Santa Chiara. Our goal today is to walk 20 kilometers to Spello down from the top of Mt. Subasio. While there were some uphill sections to the walk(approx. 1,000 ft in total) the slope was much less severe than on the paths that we walked before we arrived in Assisi. In Spello we stayed at the Albergo Il Cacciatore. Spello was a very nice medieval walled town built on the side of a mountain.We went to Messe at an 11th century chiesa- Santa Maria Maggiore. We secured a timbro there for our pasaporta. There are some 2,000 year old remains in Spello- Porta di Venere and Porta Consulare – that we visited. We enjoyed our afternoon and evening in Spello.

On Ottobre 1 we walked from Spello, through Foligno, to Trevi. Since it was Sabado (Saturday) there were crowds of people in Foligno’s town square. There was an Italian TV cooking show being set up in the central piazza which attracted lots of gentile (people). We continued beyond the city for another 2 hours on the floor of the valley. Then we started to climb uphill (1,300ft) for the last 1 1/2 hours of the 26 Km walk into Trevi. We had a reservation in the “center of Trevi”, but learned that the albergo was located 6Kms out of town with no restaurant near it. No problem if you are driving, but a big problem if you are walking. Neither Anne or I were up to the additional walking so I walked round town until I found another albergo that had a room available. Later that day we had some difficulty and confusion on where the 6:00 Messe was offered that night. We walked around the town square and eventually found the correct chiesa and went to Messe. After Messe we had cena (dinner) and went back to our room for the night.

On Otttobre 2 (Dominga) we walked 27 kms to Spoletto. This was the most unpleasant walk on the whole Camino. WHile the terrain was mostly fairly level, the path took us for several miles next to a river and a sewage treatment plant. There millions of gnats that couldn’t be escaped. Then the path took us along a heavily travelled autostrada with two feet of shoulder to walk on next to speeding cars and lorries. The road was under repair and soon concrete barriers further Narrowed our walking path. For the last hour,  the walk was also steeply uphill.  Our albergo was at the farthest, uphill corner of this famous town, and we were glad to reach it and then eat a nice cena at a neighborhood ristorante.

After walking about 80 Kms. in three days while seeing very few places specifically significant to San Francesco, we decided not to walk to the next two towns on our original itinerary and instead to take public transportation to Rieti, in order to continue to focus on San Francesco’s life. So, on Ottobre 3 we started our day by visiting the Spoletto Duomo and Museo which house some beautiful frescoes and paintings.  We rode the ascensore up to the castle and Museo overlooking the town and valley below. On our way back we visited a church devoted to Saint Philip Neri. We went in and said a oray r for our friends and for Father Richard and Msgr. Andrew who are followers of this Saint at our home parish of Saint ThOma’s Apostle in DC.

On our way from Spoletto to Rieti, we had an exciting Trenitalia experience. We were standing at platform 5 waiting for the train, with only one minute before departure,  there was a load speaker announcement and everyone started to dart for the stairs.  We followed them to platform 1, where a tiny rail car, covered in graffiti, left the platform just after we clambered aboard. It climbed a winding route through the mountains, mist and clouds. According to the step counter, we walked 15 Kms even though this was a “non-walking” day!

We received a message to call home and learned that a very close friend had fallen seriously ill. We went to Chiesa Arcangel Michael to pray for our friend.

Ottobre 4 is the Memorial of St. Francesco in the church calendar, who died on October 3, 1226. Our commemoration included a visit near Rieti to Sanctuario Fonte Columbo (Fountain of the Doves). Like so many of the sites beloved by St. Francis, it was a mountaintop, wooded and quiet. Fonte Colombo was a place of rest and medical attention for Francesco toward the end of his life.  The Bishop of Rieti ordered a doctor to treat Francesco’s eyes. The doctor used a hot poker to cauterize the optic nerves, rendering him almost blind.

Toward the end of the day, we went to Mass at Rieti’s Chiesa di San Francesco, an ancient and beautiful church in bad repair. For the Memorial of St. Francesco, the bishop and dozens of Franciscan priests concelebrated, with a full choir. It was good to see the large church filled with happy local people. 

On the following day we took a taxi to Poggio Bustone. This is another Sanctuario that Francesco visited when he was going to or coming from Roma. The photo on this page was taken at Poggio Bustone and shows the valley and hills that Francesco walked over while he lived and the same hills that Anne and I have been walking for the last 3+ weeks. you can understand why Francesco loved to stop and pray on the top of the mountains, looking  down on the scenes below. Poggio Bustone is the Sanctuario where Francis finally believed that God forgave him his sins, after many years of penance and prayer. Accepting forgiveness is difficult for many of us, even someone like Francis. We walked the 28 Km back to Rieti and finished the day with Messe at the Chiesa Arcangel Michael, dinner and back to our albergo for the night. 

We decided to go directly to Roma from Rieti by TrenItalia since there were no important Franciscan sites to visit on the way to Roma. 

Anne and Ed walked up Mount Subasio to the top of Assisi on a beautiful  Wednesday afternoon. The Papal Basilica San Francesco was the first place we visited after we had finished walking up to the top of the mountain. We walked into the basilica through the Santa Porta (Holy Door) and then went to the pellegrino office to get the official timbro (stamp) on our Charta Pellegrini (Pilgrim Passport). We also received our Testimonium Pellegrinatum for completing the first part of our pilgrimage Camino di San Francesco. We went back into the Basilica in to visit the tomb of San Francesco which is located in a crypt below the lower church. His tomb is in the center of a small space, constructed of simple field stones. The tomb is in a column surrounded at its four corners by the tombs of his closest companions, the four brothers who lived with and helped Francesco in his mission. nearby is the tomb of a woman he called ‘Brother Jacoba.’ These friends seem to be ‘guarding’ him for all of eternity. We prayed at San Francesco’s tomb. We left the Basilica and walked to the monastero that was to be our home for the next 2 days. 

We went back to the Basilica for a special 6:00 pm Pellegrino Mass at which the names of all Pellegrini arriving in Assisi that day were to be announced from the altar. The Pelligrino Mass turned out to be very special. It started with a long procession of about 50 Franciscan priests and brothers along with about 50 Franciscan nuns walking into the lower church. There was a full choir with musical accompaniment at the Mass. After Mass we went out to eat and the went back to our monastero and to bed.

On our second day in Assisi, after having breakfast in a room overlooking the valley below we walked down to the lower part of Assisi to the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli. It contains within its walls a small structure that was built to the same size as the original hut that Francesco and his first 11 followers built to provide some shelter from the elements. Francesco called it the Porziuncola (the little piece). It was built from sticks and tree limbs with mud to fill in the open spaces. Francesco and his brothers slept on the bare earth. The small Porziuncola Capella which now is inside the degli Angeli is built of much sounder materials. We were fortunate to arrive at the degli Angeli when there were no crowds of tourists and were able to get inside security and the basilica very quickly. We said prayers to ask Francesco to help us on our pilgrimage and asked him to look down on our family and friends, especially those who need his help now. After leaving the degli Angeli we took the bus back to the upper part of Assisi.

In the afternoon we walked down to the San Damiano church which is where Francesco was first visited by Christ, who spoke from a painted, wooden crucifix with the instruction to “fix my church.” Francesco began to repair San Damiano which was quite run down. In order pay for the repair of San Damiano he sold some of his father’s inventory of expensive cloth, without his father’s knowledge or permission. His father was very angry with Francesco and took him to court for theft. The ecclesiastical court decided that Francesco must return the money that he had received from the sale. Francesco did as he was ordered by the bishop/judge. Francesco also decided to return to his father the clothes that he was wearing to symbolize his new path in life – his commitment to follow the path that Jesus took to serve the poor and outcast. San Damiano was later to become the home of Santa Chiara (Clare) who was one of Francesco’s lifelong friends and the person who founded the Order of Poor Ladies which follows the Rule of the Franciscan Order. They are now known as the Order of the Poor Clares.

Later in the day we walked back to the Basilica di San Francesco and walked through the upper church with its wonderful Giotto frescos. We went back to the lower church for Confession (in English) and that day’s 6:00 Pellegrino Mass.

On the next morning, on our walk out of Assisi, we first went to the Basilica Santa Chiara to view Saint Clare’s grave and a large collection of reliquaries of both Santa Chiara and San Francesco. The Basilica Santa Chiara is beautiful and the exhibits were interesting and gave us some insight into Santa Chiara’s life. 

As we left Assisi to walk to Spello we were thinking of San Francesco’s ‘Simple Prayer ‘:

                 Lord, make me an instrument of your peace   

                  Where there is hatred……… Let me sow love    

                  Where there is injury………. pardon

                   ……………

                  For it is in giving ……………..that we receive

                  It is in pardoning……………..that we are pardoned, and 

                  It is in dying ………………….. that we are born to eternal life.

The journey that we are walking is called the Camino di San Francesco. We are following the steps of San Francesco and also trying to understand his message and what it means to us today. After visiting and experiencing the Sanctuario Della Verna and Assisi we have much to contemplate and consider during the second part of the Camino as we journey to Roma.

Leaving the Sanctuario DellaVerna to continue our Camino was difficult.  The Sanctuario is such a special place — so quiet and sacred. Our next destination is Pieve Santo Stefano. Now both Anne and Ed have colds. This walk is similar to the other stages, uphill for 2 hours with some very steep slopes – up to 30° +, and then down hill for the next 3 hours with some short up hill segments.  Arrived in Santo Stefano around 2:00 (17 Kms) and then walked another one half hour  to our albergo. 

The next day’s walk to Sansepolcro is long (30 Kms). It began by having us follow a “hidden ” path transversing the mountain side. The path is no more than 2 feet wide, slippery and muddy and canted down hill toward the Tiber hundreds of feet below  and was very rough. Again we walked up hill for 2 hours,  and then down hill for another 2 hours.  After lunch we were on fairly level ground for the last 10 Kms.  Anne’s hip started to hurt but we finished the walk to town.  The room at the albergo was nice but it was on the tre piano  (third floor) 66 stairs up to the room. Anne’s hip was more painful.  We went out to the Civicio Museo and the Catedrale.  Anne’s hip continued to get worse. Anne walked up the 66 stairs to the room and went to bed while Ed kindly went out to bring back pizza.

In the morning we decided to take a taxi to our next destination – Ctta de Castello, another walled city.  It took about 30 minutes to cover the distance that it would would take us 5 -6 hours to walk. Anne is feeling a little bit better.  We did a little walk around the town to the Pinacoteca (paintings) and then walked to the Catedrale. We went to Messe at the Chiesa San Francesco.  It tutns out that the service was an Italian charismatic one with song, guitars and percussion, testimonials from parishioners,  women speaking from the ambo, a long homily, and then after the Messe was finished everyone danced around the altar in celebration.  We felt very welcomed by the congregation which was like a big famiglia.

Anne and I disagreed about what to do to help minimize Anne’s hip problem, if we are going to be able to continue to walk the Camino.  I thought it was too much weight in the backpacks.  Anne thought that it that the distances were too long. After sleeping on it we decided the next morning to act on both theories.  We put together a small box of things from both backpacks of consisting of 6.5 Kilos of weight and mailed it to our hotel in Roma. We also revised our Camino itinerary.  We will take a taxi,  train, or bus to avoid the longer and more difficult stages.  We will also skip some of the recommended route and spend more time in the most interesting places, significant to Francis.

Our first city that we went to by taxi was Gubbio. It is a medieval town and is a wonderful city with many interesting things to see. Gubbio is built on the side of a mountain. Gubbio was the first city that Francesco reached after the event that changed his life. He and his father had a dispute that went to court. The ecclesiastic court decided in the father’s favor. Francesco had to return money that he had taken. Francesco decided that he was no longer just a son of his father but would serve the poor and outcast  (who would become his family). Francesco returned the money to his father,  and also returned the clothes that he was wearing to symbolize his commitment to his new life. A friend gave him a robe to wear. He started walking north and began his new ministry in Gubbio.  

We saw many things in Gubbio in addition to visiting Franciscan places. We took a ride to the top of the mountain on a funivia  (funicular) and back down again. 

We took the bus on Settembre 27 to Valfabbrica which was the first village that Francesco reached after his split from his family. He was robbed and beaten and the robe was stolen from him. He was not discouraged. He kept going north to his destiny. We went to Messe at a small Cappella off the main church which has a Cimbue fresco over the main altar. 

We decided to walk to Assisi on Settembre 28 to resume our, now changed,  Camino di San Francesco.  We rested and prepared to walk to Assisi in the morning.