Day Five - Tuy - the birth place of Salvado

If there was ever a day to spiritually connect with Salvado and his life, it was today. Exploring the town in which he lived made not only myself but also the whole group appreciate what kind of person Salvado was and how much impact the town he grew up in,  had on his life. 

We started off by exploring the town of Tuy and visiting the Cathedral in Tuy. When the towns people of Tuy started arriving to the church for the Palm Sunday procession and mass,  the sense of how much the catholic religion influenced their lives became very obvious. The mass started off outside the church with a procession that involved a float with a statue of Jesus riding on a donkey, carried by four local townsmen. Following the float was half of the town including us as a group. The rest of the town were on the outskirts of the streets cheering and waving palms. Let's just say this was a very big celebration for the town. The procession started outside the church and ended back inside the church, which is when the traditional mass we know started. The church was packed, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole town was there. The mass elements were similar to ones we were familiar with: the first reading, the homily, Eucharist etc, however their was one part of the mass that was very different but yet beautiful to me. The three main priests from the church read the passion of Christ and it was so enjoyable for me, even though it was in Spanish. While we couldn't understand the mass you could really feel the sense of spirituality that was alive in the town. 

After mass finished we decided to walk to Portugal. I know that sounds a bit crazy, but what's interesting is that the town of Tuy and the country of Portugal are connected by a bridge, similar to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for example. The walk was long but very enjoyable and the countryside of Portugal is absolutely breathtaking. After a long walk we went for lunch at a local Portuguese restaurant, and let's just say this is when the language barrier was even more challenging. The menu was in Portuguese, and while we did eventually receive a English menu we had no idea what was in store when we ordered our meals. Mostly all of us ordered the veal, but what we expected to be a small piece of meat with a little salad or vegetables on the side, turned out to be a monstrosity of a "whole cow" in sauce with potatoes and a salad on the side. However it was very delicious. After eating probably the biggest piece of veal I've had in my life, we had to walk back to Tuy. And just as I thought the countryside of Portugal couldn't get any more beautiful, it did. 

We explored an old castle that was covered in grass and the view from the top was incredible. Once we arrived back in Tuy we had the incredible opportunity to meet Angel, a priest from Tuy, and his translator Vlanca. Angel was a truly inspiring man, he really had a deep love for Salvado. He told us the story of Salvado and rather than just giving us the facts of Salvado's life, he really had a sense of connection and appreciation for Salvado. We visited the place in which Salvado lived and the monastery in which he became a priest. One influential thing that Angel said to us was that while Salvado was a Spanish man, Australia took his heart.  Today was a beautiful spiritual journey for all of us. Bring on the Camino.