#21 I'm in Lisbon, Portugal

Hi Everyone, Thanks for the comments, I have received them and they made me feel so good that so many of you believed I was going to do it. I heard only 40% of pilgrims who start in St. Jean Pied de Port make it to Santiago but it's not a good statistic because there really isn't any way to prove it. There are many people who continue after a while that you can keep on going as time permits. I met one person that did it in 4 years - 2009, 2010, 2011 and finished it this year. That's determination! The Camino is so well known, and respected in Europe that I met some young people who said they are going to list it on their resume. So what have I been doing since July 10th? That's when I received my Compostela. I went to Finisterra, then to Muxia, then back to Santiago for 2 more days with Tricia. Then I was advised to visit with a Canadian Pilgrim who has been living in Spain for 16 years now and opens her home to Pilgrims after they finish it, kind of an After the Camino Retreat. I stayed at her home for 4 days and it was great. Then I went to Porto, Portugal for two nights. Porto is beautiful. I could have stayed another day or two but I wanted to get to Fatima on Sunday so I could experience the candlelight processions, etc. They do that every night but the crowds are bigger on weekends. I also met a priest-in-training that walked the Camino with us. He saw me during the day and told me he was carrying the statue of the Blessed Mother Sunday night for the procession. That was nice, especially the group he was with had an American flag that they led the procession with. So I am now in Lisbon. Nice city but in an economic situation that there is a lot of begging and signs everywhere warning of pick-pocketing. The Office of Tourism found me a nice hotel and I got $5 off the normal price since they booked it for me. I'm connected through my hotel so I hope this is going to work. I'm going to start backwards and give you a photo of Lisbon to see if it works. It's late already,almost 11:00 P.M. and I can't seem to do it. I'll try again tomorrow. Love, Marie