Day Four

Can't say I slept as well but still managed to drag myself to breakfast, make some lunch and go retrieve my rain coat, which in the end I didn't need. We all met in the entrance hall again and made our way to the coaches to begin our adventures to Avila.

Along the way Fr Bob regaled us in stories about St Teresa and we learnt that she once ran away with her brother Rodrigo to go to Africa to convert the moors and die for Jesus. Now that is dedication to the faith on her part, and total trust in her on her brother's part!

Fr Phil then put on a dvd about the World Youth Day cross. It was a little dated because it was obviously pre-Cologne, and before JP2 had died, but it was interesting none-the-less. It was a lovely dvd and really gave you the sense of how the youth really owned this cross and how hard it was for them to hand over the cross when WYD was over in their country.

Shortly after this we approached Avila itself. It was a shame the coach couldn't pull over because we would have had some beautiful pictures of the walled town in the distance. Eventually we parked up and ended up with quite a hike up the hill to the walled town itself. Fr Phil was in the wheelchair at this point and Fr Augustine was pushing him. I don't know how he managed it I wouldn't have had the physical fitness to do it, because that hill was steep and it was hot.

At one point we had to go up some steps so Fr Phil had to get out of the wheelchair and pick it up with Fr Augustine. It was quite a comical sight and did hark back to when Jesus said 'pick up your mat and walk' to the paralysed man.

We made our way to one of the squares and whilst we were waiting to find out the plan of action Alan and I sampled some of the cheeses on offer at the market. They were really good and had I thought they would survive until we got back to the UK I would have bought some.

From here we walked to Puerto De San Vincente, and told we were to meet back here later. Jane, Anne-Marie, Laura, Marie and I decided we'd like to have a look in San Vincente Church and so we went in, after the volunteers checked it was ok, because there were some French people in there having catechesis. It was a very ornate church, and I was really glad that we managed to get inside.

Laura, Marie and I ended up separating from Jane and Anne-Marie because we fancied scaling the walls. Unfortunately we would have to pay for the pleasure so we just had a walk around instead. We saw a lovely statue of St Teresa we wouldn't have seen otherwise so I guess it worked out in the end.

We met up with everyone after stopping off at a souvenir shop, and then we all walked to the monastery that St Teresa had at one stage been Abbess of. The walk there, although exhausting, was nothing short of entertaining again, because as Fr Augustine was wheeling Fr Phil along, he pretended to head straight for a tree, made a sharp right turn and the treads came off both wheels of the wheelchair. This then became a 'how many Catholics does it take...' moment with all hands to the deck to get them back on. After a struggle they were worked back on and the journey to the monastery recommenced.

We had a little wait at the monastery before we were able to go and have a wander around the little museum that they had in honour of St Teresa. We saw loads of her things, a painting she commissioned, and even her chamber pot! Also the drawing that St John of the Cross did of Christ that inspired Dali's painting of Christ.

We had to make a sharp exit out of there to get in for Mass. By this point in time I was really in need of water and felt quite ill. I managed by the grace of God, to get through Mass, get an extra bottle of water from Marie, see the confessional St John of the Cross would use to hear the sister's confessions, see St Teresa's original cell, and get to the gift shop before the coaches came to take us back to Valladolid.

After resting in the hotel for a few hours it was time to meet again. And to my surprise when I came downstairs there were Ste and Lizzie. It was good to see them and hear about how things were going for them in Valladolid. They were telling us they'd been fighting bulls in the bull ring there and Ste showed me the wound on his arm. We were then all to get our Magnificat's and go out to the plaza for evening prayer.

We gathered in our groups and played the song pictionary game, and if you didn't sing or sang the same song as someone else you would have water poured on you. It was quite comical, we got the water treatment once. After this fun and games we said evening prayer together and it really was a beautiful moment shared together.

We then made our way inside for food and I sat with Becky, Bridget, and Sophie, and some of the Leeds boys: Steve, Daniel, Dom and Ben. It was fantastic, though that couldn't be said for the food. We had a good laugh and were actually crying with laughter when Steve was talking about breakfast.

After food, we headed to the Plaza Mayor, had a few photos, and then we split off into groups and people went for a drink. The Leeds lads had mentioned a prayer vigil and I had that in mind for the evening. As we were wandering around the Plaza a Spanish couple saw our ID and started talking to me, and Lizzie. We couldn't understand too much but I understood enough. Alan ended up translating a bit for us. It was quite a strange moment.

After a little while sat with a group on the Plaza I went to the Cathedral to check out the vigil. I was really late so I had no idea what was going on. They were just reposing the Blessed Sacrament and then a bishop began to speak in Spanish to us. After a little while, I left and went to take some photos of San Pablo Church beautifully lit up, before making my way back to the bar we had been to yesterday. I stayed there for a little while before I headed to bed as it had been a really long day.