March 21: Santa Croya de Tera to Rionegro del Puente

Today could have been a real coup, but sad to say it wasn't. When we got to Santa Croya de Tera last night, Ana (the owner of the popular albergue Casa Anita) told us that tomorrow and the next day or two were special. The neighboring church in Santa Marta de Tera has this religious depiction near the altar carved in stone. Twice a year (March and September), the light shines through a window in the church and illuminates this carving. 

We arranged to be dropped off at the church shortly before the prime viewing hour (8:45 a.m.). Keep in mind we've had sunshine all week. Today dawned cloudy. About 2-3 dozen people were at the church, including a lot of media. Sadly, nothing special could be seen due to the clouds. Oh well.

Because of the delay, we didn't end up starting our day's walk until 9:45 a.m. The day initially was warm and, ironically, got a bit sunny. But then it got cloudy, windy and cool. 

Thanks to Maura's presence, I was able to check out a few spots where pilgrims can take one of two routes around a town. A fellow pilgrim told us in one town that it was supposed to rain in 2-3 hours. We had about 10 miles left, and tried to hoof it.

Unfortunately, Maura's tendonitis had gotten quite painful, so we couldn't walk too fast. Luckily, we beat the rain. It's hard to believe Maura leaves tomorrow night!