Lourdes
Another hot day, there's been no relief. The mornings are the best as, though they are still very warm, they don't have the sting of the midday and afternoon heat.
We spent most of this morning at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes while the air was comparatively cooler. We walked the Stations of the Cross which are placed up and around on a high hill above the Sanctuary, and a Mass in French was held at the grotto.
The town of Lourdes is an incredibly busy place, the streets are filled with people, and it's full of traffic. Not just private cars but massive double-decker buses keep rolling in on the narrow streets, as do equally massive supply trucks. And this afternoon motorhomes and campervans joined in the mix. We enjoyed watching a large motorhome making a multi-point turn to get itself out of a tight spot.
While the town streets are busy the area of the Sanctuary is equally busy, if not more so. Large group after large group followed their guides around all the Holy places that make up the Sanctuary of Lourdes. Languages of so many countries could be heard, some we couldn't identify. There were several groups of Sisters - their habits and ethnicities all so different. I was fascinated by two French groups being led by priests - at least their priest guides were speaking French. The priest of one of the groups was dressed in a long flowing cassock and a flat black hat looking much like he had stepped out of an earlier decade, whereas the priest guiding the other group was dressed as though he was off on a hike.
We returned to our accommodation to rest from the sun and later in the afternoon we went to the St Jacque de Compostelle (Santiago de Compostela) pilgrim office and got our first stamp in our credentials. We also received our first 'buen camino.'
On our way back to our accommodation from the pilgrim office we popped into the Chapel of the Monastery of the Poor Clare Sisters.
We now have WiFi so I have added photos to my previous post.
