We have arrived in the beautiful city of Porto! After getting off the plane, we got on the metro and headed for Abel's albergue. I am in awe of how far this beautiful place has come since last year. It is becoming a known haven for tired pilgrims, carefully tended to with Abel's incredible hospitality. We took short shifts taking naps while also picking up the remainder of our team from the airport.
We also got to know Susanne and Mark, a couple who has been at the albergue for a while serving the pilgrims each day. They just bought a beautiful house along the Portuguese Camino about 14km away from here, and are so looking forward to restoring it to its original beauty. It will be an extremely convenient place for pilgrims to stop and enjoy their stay at Casa Rosa. Susanne and Mark met on the Camino, so they have much experience in what pilgrims need and search for. Susanne has done a total of 9 Caminos (not just pieces of it) and her passion for this ministry is extremely evident. I am so excited to see how God will continue to bless them as they seek to serve through their albergue.
Abel's albergue and the Casa Rosa are known as "Donativos" because they do not charge for the stay. They provide a bed, bathroom, amazing food, and even better company. Pilgrims are free to donate what they choose in order to keep the place running and help out the pilgrims that follow them. It's such a great way to be able to bless the people who cross our path (literally). Abel said that the most important part of the Camino is love. This is so deeply rooted in Scripture, and is truly something that everyone needs. Loving other pilgrims is exactly our purpose here on the Camino.
Before dinner, we set out to do a little exploring in Porto. As Hannah said after we got back, there is just something about that city that you can pinpoint, but it's just so incredibly beautiful. We took the metro across town to the Trindade stop and walked across a large bridge where you can see the whole port city. ((I took over 100 pictures in less than 2 hours.))
We were joined by 3 other pilgrims and many of Abel's friends for dinner tonight. It was an amazing time of food and fellowship, getting to know people's stories and backgrounds. And of course the food was DELECTABLE.
Tomorrow we will venture into the city for a bit more sightseeing before catching a bus to Ponte de Lima to begin our hike the following day.
Please pray:
We would all get lots of rest in order to be prepared for our walk
Our feet will not be too tired from walking around the city
Our minds to be focused on our purposes here, not just the beautiful city and culture that surrounds us
Sam Schwartz (missionary from Lisbon who is hiking with is) will make it into Porto safely tomorrow to meet up with us
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