<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SERIF" FACE="Palatino Linotype" LANG="0">Hello you all,<BR>
It had been widely reported that Queen Sofia of Spain would walk the Camino in gratitude for her son's wedding some months ago. (I am sure that most of us mothers can fully identify with the Queen in this respect; her son, Prince Felipe, is in his late thirties, after all).<BR>
The queen spent last night in a very small and austere cell, by choice, at the San Martin Pinario Monastery, from which she started out at dawn for Monte del Gozo where she is expected to partake of the regular buffet pilgrims' lunch.<BR>
Being the queen, however, she will not follow the ordinary route towards the Cathedral, but rather will be guided through a detour which will presumable avoid her having to navigate, and see, the mess that the ongoing massive construction and repairs throughout the San Lazaro district has been causing undue hardships to arriving, tired, pilgrims.<BR>
The queen is expected to leave Compostela right after the 6:00 p.m. Pilgrims' Mass, for a state dinner which the King will host in honor of the newly elected Panamanian president..<BR>
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Queen Sofia is a confirmed vegetarian, as is, reputedly, her new daughter-in-law, and she has sponsored the efforts of a large group of vegetarians presently making the pilgrimage to call attention to the plight and suffering of animals. The collective effort is called "Caminando por los Animales" and some factions, named after famed vegetarians such as Ghandi, Einstein, Socrates, Pitagoras, etc., are offering sampling of meat-free food, "veguinchos", as they traverse some of the larger cities such as Longronho. <BR>
(By the way, members of the U.S. group PETA, People for the Ethical Tratment of Animals, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, during the San Fermines, in their underwear to call attention to the stress visited upon the animals.... none of the PETA members suffered any injuries although more people have been gored this year than in the past seven years).<BR>
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On July 8th an unpleasant incident took place in the Arca albergue O Pino. Around six o'clock p.m. a female pilgrim attempted to jump the line of pilgrims waiting to do their laundry; a male pilgrim protested forcefully upon which objection the female went to the albergue's kitchen to procure a knife with which to attack him. Fortunately the intervention of other pilgrims in the line prevented serious injuries. The police were called and the female was escorted to the local precinct. Later the male pilgrim discovered his wallet and other items missing and filed a complaint. Not surprisingly, the book "Aventura y Muerte en el Camino de Santiago" (Adventures and Death in the Camino), by Valdivieso Ausin, ISBN 84-8991-5-09-1, reports similar incidents occurring in pilgrims' albergues hundreds and hundreds of years ago.<BR>
Warm regards,<BR>
Rosina </FONT></HTML>