Jo reports for the last week:
Sunday was a very encouraging day with sixteen pilgrims coming in for drinks, chat or a visit to the toilet. Five were from Lille, and two from Brussels, one of whom had just retired and planned to walk all the way to Santiago, thinking about the next step in her life. Many older pilgrims say something like this. Younger ones seem to be looking to escape from stress or to get to know themselves better. We met a young man who had set off from Germany and was hoping to get to Santiago in October – very fit. Then there was the young woman from Ireland who was delighted to find someone who spoke English. So were we! Our conversations are bits of English, bits of French and bits of sign language, but something seems to work. We have been able to have Mass and evening prayer each day this week. One of the neighbours came for Mass on Monday.