Salve Regina

Yesterday was one of my favorite Camino days so far. We left Boadilla at 5:30am and walked under the stars. We stumbled upon cafes at the perfect times, the weather was surprisingly cool, and for some reason we just flew as we walked the 26km to Carrion de Los Condes. I wanted to stay in the first albergue because it was attached to a convent where St Francis of Assisi stayed when he walked the Camino. We made it to the albergue before it filled up & everything was perfect. Free wifi at the bar down the street didn't hurt either! Carrion is a bigger town & we were thrilled to find more than one decently sized super mercado to stock up at and after wandering around, napping, and eating a simple dinner we went to Mass. First, we went to explore the convent's chapel and amazingly they were having adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. After some time in prayer we went to the church for Mass where they were also having adoration. It was do beautiful and I really experienced God's loving presence and His desire for us to continue the Camino. It was exactly what we needed and so much more. Deacon Joe was able to serve at Mass as deacon, even reading the Gospel! Pictures to come. A community of sisters provided the music and after a really touching mass attended by many pilgrims the sisters sang a song they wrote while the priest individually blessed each pilgrim. There were over 60 pilgrims present, some Catholic, some not, but it was incredibly beautiful to watch the faces of the pilgrims and see the peace & joy on their faces. God is so good & so loving and He just wants us to let Him love us. After the blessing, the priest & sisters lead us in singing the Salve Regina before a statue of the Blessed Mother from the 13th century. This was the third or fourth time we've sung the Salve on the Camino and it is so wonderful to be able to join in singing a hymn to Mary in Latin with people from all over the world. She is really with us, guiding and protecting us and we are so grateful. Today we walked to Terradillos de Los Templarios and we're happily enjoying the garden (there are kittens!) and waiting for dinner. Today is the halfway point for miles/kilometers and hopefully the rest of this journey will be as fruitful & interesting as the first.