Pilgrimaging to Spain and Portugal

Day 1: HOMETOWN – MADRID

We will arrive at Madrid Airport where we will meet our tour escort and we will take our coach to transfer to our hotel in Madrid for 3 nights stay. We will have dinner in our hotel. Overnight.

Day 2: MADRID

We will have breakfast in our hotel. After it we will start our panoramic tour of Spanish Capital during which we will see La Gran Vía, the most known street full of shops and theatres which we could compare to Broadway, Plaza de Cibeles with a beautiful building of the former Main Post Office with a Demeter fountain in front. We will drive Paseo del Prado and later we will have lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon we will see the Royal Palace (the exterior visit) and Madrid Cathedral, which is known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Almudena, the patroness of Madrid. According to legend, the statue representing Virgin Mary was brought to Madrid almost two thousand years ago by Caloserus who was one of the disciples of Saint James the Great. The image was carved by Nicodemus and painted by Saint Luke. The devotion to Our Lady of Almudena dates back to the 11th century. The tradition says that when the King Alfonso VI of Castile conquered Madrid in 1083, ordered the purification of the Church of Saint Mary that had been profaned by the Muslims. Since the statue had disappeared the King and the religious authorities decided to organize a procession. During it, at a certain moment a part of the city walls fell down and the statue of Our Lady, hidden for three hundred years, was found. On each side of the statue there were two candles, still lighting! And why do the statue and the cathedral are named Almudena? It is easy - this word means "market" or "granary" in Arabic and indeed that was the place next to which the statue had been hidden. We will have our Holy Mass in the Cathedral. Later we will walk down Calle Mayor to arrive in Plaza Mayor with its famous Casa de la Panaderí and after we will follow to Puerta del Sol, named after a gate that had stood there centuries ago. Return to our hotel. Overnight.

Day 3: MADRID – TOLEDO (56 miles) – MADRID (56 miles)

We will have breakfast in our hotel. Today in the morning we will depart to Toledo that lies 56 miles south from Madrid. Toledo is a former capital of the Spanish Empire. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. Many famous people were born or lived in Toledo: Al Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, King Alfonso X the Wise and El Greco. While in Toledo, we will visit the Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria - the primate church in Spain - and we will celebrate our Holy Mass there. The Cathedral was built between 1226-1493 and was modelled after the Bourges Cathedral though it also combines some elements of the Mudéjar style. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon we will have the possibility to admire some El Greco paintings among which one of the most famous - "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz" that is exhibited in the Church of Santo Tomé. We will also have time to sit down for a cup of coffee or tea in the Plaza Zocodover, the most frequented Toledo square and we will visit the San Sebastian Church, Mosque of Cristo de la Luz and Synagogue of El Tránsito - dating from before the expulsion (1492) and still in good conditions - these temples are a perfect proof of the coexistence of three religions that lived in Spain. We will return to Madrid to have dinner in our hotel. Overnight.

Day 4: MADRID – GUADALUPE (151 miles)

We will have breakfast in our hotel and afterwards we will leave Madrid in the direction of Guadalupe where the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is. The Sanctuary is located in the region of Extremadura, 151 miles from Madrid. Upon arrival we are going to have lunch at a local restaurant and afterwards we will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe that was the most important Marian Shrine in the medieval Kingdom of Castile. The tradition attributes the Statue to have been made by Saint Luke the Evangelist and it is said it was given by Pope Gregory I (5-6th century AD) to Saint Leander who was archbishop of Seville. When the city of Seville was conquered by the Muslims a group of priests managed to run away with the Statue and to burry it in the hills near the Guadalupe River. We know that at the beginning of the 14th century the Virgin Mary appeared to one shepherd telling him to ask the priests to dig in the very same place of the apparition. The Statue was found and a small chapel was built there. First pilgrims began to arrive in 1326 and fourteen years later King Alfonso XI did a lot to develop the Shrine since he considered that he had won over the Muslims in the Battle of Rio Salado thanks to the Virgin's intercession. We are going to celebrate Holy Mass in the Sanctuary and after it there will be time for private devotion. We will register in our hotel in Guadalupe for one night stay. We will dine in our hotel. Overnight.

Day 5: GUADALUPE – LISBON (256 miles)

Breakfast in our hotel. Today in the morning we will leave Guadalupe heading to Portugal, to Lisbon, ancient and beautiful capital of Portugal. Lisbon is recognized an alpha city because of its importance in finances, media, entertainment, commerce, international trade, education, tourism and arts. Lisbon is also one of the oldest cities in the world since it was Julius Caesar who in the 1st century BC made it a municipium. Upon arrival we will have our lunch at a local restaurant and later we will start our guided tour of this charming city. We will see the Tower of Belem standing in a Lisbon district that carries the same name. It was from here many famous sailors set off: Henry the Sailor, Bartholomeu Dias, Ferdinand Magellan and Vasco da Gama and Columbus stopped here coming back from America. The Tower of Belem is an architectural jewel of the Portuguese Art known as El Manuelino Style and which was a mute witness of the First and Great Lusitanian Empire in the whole World. In the 15th and 16th centuries Lisbon was the richest and the most cosmopolitan European city. The impressive Geronimo’s Monastery rises in the very same district. During our tour we will visit also Lisbon Cathedral dedicated to Our Lady - the Cathedral is the oldest Lisbon church and its beginnings date back to 1147. Afterwards we will go to the birth house of Saint Anthony, born in 1195, known as Saint Anthony of Padua for the place where he died and where his tomb is. He was canonized shortly after his death in 1232. We will celebrate our Holy Mass at the Cathedral of Lisbon or at the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua. We will register in the hotel for one night stay. We will have dinner in our hotel. Overnight.

Day 6: LISBON – FATIMA (81 miles)

Breakfast in our hotel. Today in the morning we will depart to Fatima and to Aljustrel to visit all the places related to the pasthorinhos whose names were Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia and apparitions of Virgin Mary that took place in 1917. We will visit the houses where they were born in the humble village of Aljustrel and the Parish Church of Fatima where they were baptized. We will see also the Chapel of the Apparitions - an open - air chapel built at the place where the Fatima apparitions were reported. We will visit Great Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima where the bodies of Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia lie. We will celebrate our Holy Mass in the Our Lady of Fatima Church or in the Chapel of The Apparitions. Lunch at a local restaurant in Fatima In the afternoon we will have time for a private devotion. Registration in the hotel for one night stay. Dinner in the hotel and afterwards we will have the possibility to assist the Candlelight Procession. Overnight in our hotel in Fatima.

Day 7: FATIMA - SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (260 miles)

Breakfast in our hotel. After it we will head to Santiago de Compostela. When we arrive we will have lunch at a local restaurant and afterwards we will have our walking tour of this incomparable city, one of the most monumental and extraordinary cities of Spain. We will visit the Cathedral where we will have our daily Holly Mass. In the Cathedral we will assist and watch the ceremony of Botafumeiro, but, of course, the most important place in the whole Cathedral is Saint James's Tomb. Yet in the 9th century pilgrims coming from the whole world began to visit the Tomb of the Apostle, whose remains had come to these Galician coasts proceeding from Palestine. “El Camino de Santiago” became world famous as the Saint James's Tomb was turned into a religious and cultural centre of Europe. It is a custom to visit the Tomb of the Apostle. His relics lie in a Silver Urn with a representation of Christ's anagram (Crismón) in the covers. Afterwards we will walk down narrow streets and little squares of the old town passing near the university colleges and we will visit the Carmelite and Franciscans’ Cloisters. Arrival to our hotel in Santiago and check in for one night stay. Dinner in our hotel and overnight.

Day 8: SANTIAGO – COVADONGA (248 miles) – LEON (119 miles)

Breakfast in our hotel. Today we will leave Santiago to reach Covadonga that is placed in the province of Asturias. We will have our lunch there. After lunch we will visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Covadonga, the patroness of Asturias and we will have our Holy Mass there. This Sanctuary is located in a natural enclave of the National Park known as the “Picos de Europa" (Peaks of Europe). The name of the Sanctuary - Covadonga - comes from two words - cova for "cave" and donga for "deep". The image of the Virgin is called by the local people “La Santina". According to legend, the Virgin appeared to Don Pelayo the first King of Asturias and his soldiers in the historic battle between Christian troops against the Muslims in 722 AC. After the victory the cave in which the soldiers had taken refuge was converted into a place of Christian worship where King Alfonso the Catholic built the very first chapel. This victory laid the foundation of the Asturias Reign and also gave beginning to what we know as the "reconquista". Late in the afternoon we will take our coach to go towards Leon for registration in our hotel, dinner and one night stay.

Day 9: LEON – AVILA (164 miles)

Breakfast in our hotel. Afterwards we will visit the city of Leon that lies along the banks of the Bernesga River. It is the last big city in El Camino de Santiago. The place was founded in the 1st century BC by the Roman Legion Victrix but it was Legion VII who in 68 AD created a permanent military camp - and it was the origin of a later city. Its name comes from the Latin word - Legio meaning exactly the Roman Legion. The city resisted attacks of the Visigoths till 583 AD - only then it was taken by Leovigild - a Visighotic King of Hispania - famous for his Code of Leovigild which unified law giving equal rights between the Visigoths and Hispano-Roman population. Later there were Muslims who arrived and only Alfonso III of Leon made the city the capital of the Kingdom of Leon that officially started as an independent structure in 910 and as Empire reached the Rhone River in the 12th century. In 1188 Alfonso VIII of Leon summoned the first parliament - Cortes of Leon - held in the Basilica of Saint Isidore, before the parliament of England was created in the 13th century. The city of Leon offers a lot of monuments. The old historic part of the city conserves a big part of the medieval walls and also some remains of the walls from Roman times. The most ancient church in the city is dedicated to San Salvador de Palat de Rey (Holy Saviour of the King's Chapel) and was built in the 10th century. The most important monument is the impressive Cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary even if it is called the Pulchra Leonina. It is a masterpiece whose construction started the master architect Enrique. Works lasted more than three hundred years. In the Cathedral we will see astonishing stained - glass windows from 13th - 15th century, the tomb of King Ordoño and a silver urn with the relics of Saint Froilán - the Patron of Leon. During our stay in the city we will visit also the Basilica of Saint Isidore of Seville. Inside we will see not only his tomb but also much more tombs of the Kings of Leon buried in the Royal Pantheon. Lunch in local restaurant and afterwards we will go by coach to Avila for dinner and one night stay.

Day: 10 AVILA – MADRID (72 miles)

Breakfast in our hotel. Today in the morning we will have a guided tour of Avila – a beautiful town famous for its complete Romanesque city walls and for a high number of churches especially in Romanesque and Gothic Style. It was populated in pre - Roman times by the Vettones who called the place: Obila that meant 'High Mountain', since the settlement was built at 1131 meters (3665 feet) above sea level. Avila was mentioned by Ptolemy as Abula. It was one of the first cities in the Peninsula to be christianised. Saint Secundus arrived there in the 1 st AD, during the Apostolic Age - he had been ordained in Rome by Saints Peter and Paul and sent to evangelize Hispania as one of the group of the Seven Apostolic Men. Saint Secundus evangelized the town and became its first bishop. He was martyred and his body lies in Hermitage of Saint Secundus in Avila. Never less, the most known Saints related to Avila are Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross. Saint Teresa who lived in 16th century was a Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, theologian and writer of the Counter Reformation. Now she is Roman Catholic Saint since she was canonized forty years after her death (1582) by Pope Gregory XV and named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970. She is considered, along with Saint John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. While in Avila we will visit the place where Saint Teresa was born. Her house was transformed in Church and we will have our Holy Mass there. After we will go to the Convent of the Incarnation (La Encarnación) placed just outside the medieval walls of Avila where Saint Teresa spent thirty years of her life. We will also enter the 12th century fortress - like Cathedral dedicated to Saint Salvador known as the first Gothic Style Cathedral in Spain. Lunch in local restaurant. Late in the afternoon we will take our coach to go to Madrid for dinner and overnight in our hotel.

Day: 11 MADRID – HOMETOWN

After having breakfast in our hotel we will have time for leisure until the hour to leave the hotel in the direction of Madrid Airport to take our flight back home. End of our services.

SINGLE ROOM SUPPLEMENT IN 4 STAR HOTEL: 363 €

DISCOUNT THIRD PERSON IN THE ROOM: 15%

THE PRICE INCLUDES

10 nights in 4* hotels: 4 in Madrid (3 at the beginning and 1 at the end), 1 in Guadalupe, 1 in Lisbon, 1 in Fatima, 1 in Santiago, 1 in Leon and 1 in Avila.

10 breakfasts and 10 dinners in the hotels.

10 lunches in local restaurants.

Still water included during lunch and dinner.

Luxury coach throughout the trip.

Tour escort service throughout the trip.

Guided visits: FD in Madrid, FD in Toledo, 2 hours in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, HD in Lisbon, HD in Fatima, HD in Santiago, HD in Leon and 1 HD in Avila.

Travel Insurance.

Cancellation insurance.

THE PRICE DOESN´T INCLUDE

Flight ticket.

Extras such as telephone calls, tips, etc.

Everything that has not been mentioned in the programme or in the leaflet concerning the trip.

IMPORTANT: THIS PROGRAMME IS ONLY A SUGGESTION AND IT CAN BE TAILORED AND PERSONALISED ACCORDING TO GROUPS WISHES.