Today is day 33 of the Camino. Our destination was Palas de Rei (15 miles). The walk was long and had several hills. We were told by our guide that the worst of the climbs had passed, but I think today's climbs were probably the worst we've encountered thus far. I walked with Padre Benjamin (Speedy) who doesn't understand the meaning of the phrases: "let's rest for a minute" or "let's take a break." We walked so fast that we finished the walk one and a half hours before the others. Mama Mia!
Before I write any further about my day, I'd like to make mention that yesterday was Fr. Mike Gnanaraj's birthday.
Fr. Mike, along with Msgr. Patrick Wells have been covering all the Masses and other liturgical celebrations at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish while I'm on sabbatical. I'm very grateful to the two of them for all their help and support. Happy Birthday Fr. Mike!
As we began our walk in Portomarín we walked through the Plaza Mayor and stopped to take a group picture in front of this statue of St. James.
In case there was any question as to which direction we were to walk in, Padre Benjamin and I decided to help point the way.
Once out of Portomarín, we walked through a beautiful wooded area.
I dedicated my walk and prayers this day for the children and youth of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish. I prayed that they would come to know the love of Christ through our witness of faith, hope and love. I prayed that they be granted strength, understanding, wisdom and self-control when faced with the difficulties of peer pressure. I prayed that they know how much God loves them and is present to them each and every day.
When speaking to an audience of children on Ascension Sunday, the Pope talked about the importance of coming from the darkness into the light. “The light,” he said, “is always inside us. Because the light give us joy, gives us hope.” When people seek light, he continued, they can make the world a better place.
The Pope went on to say, we can’t make the world better with hatred – only with love. “With love. With love. All together, like brothers and sisters, fighting alongside one another with love. And for that reason, I want to tell you one thing: When the Apostle John, who was such a good friend of Jesus, wanted to say who God is, do you know what he said? ‘God is love.’” “God is love,” Pope Francis repeated, “And we go forward together toward the light to find the love of God. But is the love of God within us, even in moments of darkness? Is the love of God hidden there? Yes, always! The love of God never leaves us. It is always with us. Let us have faith in this love.”
Our path led us through several small towns where we saw many cattle, sheep and chickens. Quite often their owners lead them down the Camino path to greener pastures. This is when the path gets quite dirty and difficult to walk on due to animal droppings. One needs to be very careful where one steps.
Today we saw this little lamb and I thought of the passage from John's Gospel (John 10:1-21) about the Good Shepherd and how much we are loved and cared for by Christ.
We continued on our journey and came across this woman who began her walk in Barcelona. She has carried her pet canary and its cage with her all along the way. She told us that they lived together and that it was her pet so she brought it along. One meets many interesting people on the Camino.
Arriving at Palas de Rei, our final destination, we stopped at this church to pray and thank God for completing another day of walking.
I've include a couple more pictures of this church so that you can see the beauty of its interior.
Good night and Buen Camino!
I spent the day walking alongside Sr. Leota, Janice and Peter. "Speedy" (aka: Padre Benjamin) left us behind in the dust at the beginning of the day and we didn't see him again until 5:45pm when we finished the walk. 
