Arrival in Porto

It is quite different to be beginning a second pilgrimage and in a different place, with a different destination and in a different style. I am already missing Sophie who inspired me for her fortitude of walking to Rome for six weeks with horrific blisters for most of the way. I do not have the sense of great inner need this time - partly due to the working out of camino in my life and soul since that time.
What I do carry is a sense of quiet expectation. Not of any particular personal goal or outcome that I am aiming for. Rather, a sense of calm, gratitude, openness to be present to the moment, to take the next step towards Santiago, to rest well along the way and to look to share the journey with fellow pilgrims and others along the way.
There is a confidence that comes from having walked a camino before, ajoy in having the gift of another camino and an excitement in stepping into the unknown as well.
Yesterday we arrived in Porto, to glorious weather, and caught up with our friends Peter and Lynne Grant who have been tourists in Spain and Portugal for three weeks already. It was special to hear their Top Ten stories and to collect our Pilgrim credentials at the Porto Cathedral, the Se.
We happened upon a couple of great places to eat.  The highlight was our evening meal of local Portuguese specialty cheeses and cured meats run by a trio of dynamic young people whose passion for sharing their produce with their customers was contagious. Juan, our waiter, commented that we have come to his beloved city at the right time, before it is made mediocre by the influx of big money.
Today, we have the privilege of wandering this beautiful city, tomorrow we begin our camino.