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Well I have mostly stopped walking for a few days now and I am pleased to say that my feet are on the mend. I have been in Barcelona since Friday what a busy city and I am told it is quiet at the moment. I guess after a month of often being the only ones on the track at times and mostly away from the larger cities it feels strange. But I am also feeling lonely if I am honest I knew the prospect of travelling alone would not be fun. That is why it was great to connect with the crew on the Camino so much better to have a group to share the experience with. I have always travelled with others either for church, mission, with friends or family. Fiona loved to travel and she would organise adventures for us to go on, that brought her a lot of joy. We had a whole lot of places that we were going to go together as the kids got older, without them! But those dreams died with her, well that is what I thought. When I met Yona and we started getting to know each other one of the things that we both found in common (there were so many) was places that we wanted to travel. Yona had a top 10 and all of the places she wanted to go to were on my list, it would have been great to have her on this journey because Barcelona was on her list in fact right at the top. But it wasn’t meant to be this time, so we will come back here together and it will be so much Moore enjoyable having someone to take in all the wonders with. 

Barcelona is an incredible city but I have been warned so many times to be careful of pickpockets, we I have been and I have negotiated my way round the city using the Metro and haven’t had any issues. I am staying about 150meters from a stop on the Metro called Liceu it is very central and there are all sorts of things just near by. i stumbled on some amazing markets on the day I arrived Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria it was crazy busy and they had just about every kind of food you could ask for. Then i went out to explore Sagrada Família the Gaudí Cathedral, to say that it is incredible doesn’t do it justice. It took my breath away when I came out of the Subway and saw it. Unfortunately I couldn’t get inside all the tours were sold out so I did an outside tour which included some other buildings in the city as well. I tried to go to mass there this morning got there and 1:45 before it started and the cue already went half way around the Catedral, needless to say I missed out on getting in. I will have to do that next time. It was supposed to be completed this year, but it will be at least another 10 years with all they have to do and the problems they have to work through about land usage. 

However I did get to go to the other Barcelona Cathedral the more traditional one still very impressive. I also went to El Park Güell with is a park in the hills devoted to Gaudí. Then I just had a bit of a wander around but I am very tired and my feet are still pretty sore. Tomorrow I am catching the fast train from Barcelona to Paris I am really looking forward to this about 7 hours to taken in the countryside even though the train will be travelling somewhere around 300 kmph. You have to look in the distance because stuff up close is blurry. Fiona and I caught it years ago to Paris from Switzerland when we went to stay with David and Lyn. I will be in Paris till Thursday when I board the first of my flights back towards home. I am very excited to be heading home to see everyone. 

Anyway that is it from me at the moment, hope you are well where ever you are reading this.

Oh yeah one last thing to share on our last night in Santiago, Bryce, Rory and I were out for dinner and a drink and we bumped into a South African woman called Sue who we had meet in the last week of our Camino. She was travelling by herself and ended up being in the same places as us a few times. I waved to her and said congratulations on finishing your Camino. I had been told by the others that she had lost her son who was 16 two years earlier in a car accident and was struggling so badly with her grief. Someone had told her that i had lost my wife a couple of years ago to cancer. So when I said to her Sue I am really sorry to hear about your son she said I was hoping to talk to you. So I just took it as a God appointed time to talk with her about grief and what I have learnt and to encourage her that God can help her if she will let Him. The others guys just sat there watching it unfold and I spoke from the heart and told her some truths that she needed to hear. I pointed her to Kate Bowler and we also briefly unpacked some unhelpful interpretations that she had of some scriptures. I got to pray with her and really encourage her that this doesn’t need to be the only thing that defines the next few years of her life. I sent her some stuff in a message and she messaged me the next day thanking me for my time and words to her. I am learning more and more that if we are willing to listen to the Spirits lead there are many people he brings accross our paths who he wants to share with and minster to. Anyway I was thankful for the chance to share with her. 

That really is it for me for the time being anyway.

Nga mihi 

Mike