A Tale of Two Cities

Today we spent the beginning of our day in the beautiful town of Tui located along the border of Spain and Portugal. With a late start to the morning, our first stop was the street named after Bishop Rosendo Salvado, Routa Bispo Salvado. Shortly after, we toured Tui Cathedral as well as the rooftop, overlooking the historical town. The group then moved on to a Camino gift store where we all  purchased the Camino shell, a symbol of pilgrimage originating from the belief that St. James’ body was covered in scallop shells. We then took a short break, and sat down at the Oscar Romero cafe and enjoyed a small bite to eat and something to drink. Whilst sitting down, Ms Connor notified us that we would have two hours to explore the small town of Tui on our own! We sat down and read the Camino iBook reflecting on the journey that we would shortly make, and the various reasons why people choose to make these pilgrimages. We then crossed back into Portugal, the two countries separated by a nineteenth century bridge, to visit the Fort in Valenca. Located behind the walls of the Fort, we discovered a small town thriving in the shadows. Full of life, Valenca screamed for our attention and we promptly responded. Despite the excitement of Valenca, there was a constant reminder of the idea of pilgrimage, as we witnessed pilgrims travelling through Valenca. We were prompted with the Camino shells and the yellow arrows on the walls of the historic Fort. The night then finished with a reminder of the Palm Sunday Mass held at the Cathedral tomorrow morning, and the start of our personal pilgrimage as we begin our journey to Santiago de Compostela.