2025 Camino de Peñafrancia (Day 8)
Day 8 – St Marten de Porres Parish, Goa, CS to St Paschal Baylon Parish, Tinambac, CS
Distance: 28 kilometers
Yesterday’s weather was terrible all day, with intermittent rain and heavy downpours at times. Today, Wednesday, we usually leave around 3:30 AM due to expected bad weather, but this time we decided to leave later at 5:00 AM.
I spent the whole night anticipating a heavy downpour, but it turned out to be just cloudy, with the moon shining brightly. I woke up four times to check the weather, but there was no rain. Now, I regret my decision to postpone our walk. At 5:00 AM, we set our goal to reach St. Paschal Baylon Parish with some skepticism. Rain or shine, we must continue to our next church.
When we left St. Martin de Porres Parish Church at 5:00 AM, the mood was upbeat, but once again, the pace was fast. The distance between the pilgrims spread out within the first 2 kilometers. There were a few changes from last year’s route. One of them was that the canteen in front of the church was gone, so everyone was scrambling to find a good breakfast to continue the long journey.
Thankfully, the parish church generously prepared some bread and hot coffee for the pilgrims. After a brief message, the pilgrims continued to the next parish church, which is St. Niño Parish Church. At this time, we still had another 10 km to reach the next church, and the increasing heat was taking a toll on each pilgrim.
Once we reached Santo Niño Church, we noticed more people had fallen behind; some were struggling with foot injuries, while others chose to walk at their own pace. We took a lot of time waiting for everyone to arrive at the church. One pilgrim decided that no matter how long it took, he would stick to his devotion and not ride any vehicle. The early pilgrims arrived around 9:00 AM and waited until the last pilgrims arrived after 12:00 noon.
After the last group was treated to lunch, sponsored by Errol, a friend of my sister, Aires, I finally convinced some of the OLPA members to join us for the pilgrimage or at least to walk with us to the next parish church, which is St. Paschal Baylon Parish, another 7 kilometers ahead. By this time, the local government units (LGUs) of Tinambac had sent us their ambulance, security vehicles, and health unit to administer blood pressure checks for those who needed it
After lunch, we proceeded with our pilgrimage. As soon as we left the church, the rain started pouring, sometimes heavily. Even with umbrellas, many pilgrims got soaked. Some decided to take shelter, while others chose to continue holding their umbrellas. One thing we missed was the Consulta family, who always treated us to fresh ‘buko’ (coconut juice). We ended up hauling coconuts to our transport jeep since it was impossible to eat at their coconut farm due to the rain.
By the time we reached our final destination, Tinambac town, the local government greeted us with their response team and provided treats (candies, crackers, water, etc.). As soon as we arrived at the church, everyone scrambled to find a good location inside, particularly near an electrical outlet to charge their devices. It seems we can’t get rid of our dear cell phones and power banks
At 7:00 PM, we were treated to a delicious dinner. Every year, they serve us great food, including a variety of dishes and ice candy (avocado).
Lights out were at 9:00 PM, and lights on were at 2:30 AM.
¡BUEN CAMINO!
¡VIVA LA VIRGEN!
¡VIVA DIVINO ROSTRO!
About the Author
DENNIS T. MARPURI graduated from Ateneo de Naga High School. He was an independent IT consultant in the US and worked in nine different states doing contracts primarily with Federal government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. He also became a professional photographer covering NCAA college sports. Now retired, he and his wife love to travel to Europe. They divide their time between Northern California with their immediate family and Ocampo, Camarines Sur, his hometown, where he promotes mountain biking for the local youth. He is the founder and principal advocate of Camino de Penafrancia.
