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Salamanca was a welcome sight at 2.00 am on Thursday morning when, after an enjoyable ferry crossing and a tiring coach journey, we reached our residence. As much sleep as possible was taken before breakfast at 9.00 am. Everyone stocked up on bottled water, ready to venture into the city.

Salamanca is an historic city founded in Roman times. Today it boasts two universities – the Civil University, which is the fourth oldest in the world, and the Pontifical University. As a result, it is home to tens of thousands of students who make it a young and vibrant place. We began walking through the University buildings to the Patio de Escuelas Menores into the square where the old Civil University facade can be seen. It is said that if you can spot the tiny carved frog on this facade you will have success in education or love. None of our group spotted it themselves! We toured the historic classrooms and learned anecdotes about the figures that taught and learned there.

A block away stand the two Cathedrals in the city, one begun in the 12th century and the other in the 16th century. This morning we had time to visit the New Cathedral. The group was impressed at the scale and beauty of the architecture and decoration, but also admired the statues, carvings, and painted dome. Equally impressive was the spaceman carved around the side doorway – a contemporary replacement of damaged carving and a reminder of when the new detail was carved!

The heart of the city is the Main Square or Plaza Mayor. It was bustling with people in the bright sunshine. After pausing to appreciate the Square we visited a bar for a cold drink and a Spanish snack – the famous ‘tapa’. The pilgrims were adventurous, sampling salmon, prawns, spicy potatoes, tortilla, chorizo, panceta; Gavin and Raymond went for the meat marinated and grilled on a skewer. Just the thing to whet the appetite for lunch!

Portsmouth

You can drive the length of England at a comfortable speed in 6 1/2 hours. We took a little longer with stops for breakfast and lunch. An hour ahead of schedule we reached Portsmouth Harbour. The check-in operator told us of the 1 1/2 hour ferry delay but, on this sunny afternoon, we cheerfully passed the time sitting in the car park chatting and playing cards.

After boarding the bus when we were called to approach the ferry, we found ourselves stranded. The battery on the coach had discharged and it wouldn't start! Tony, our driver, turned the key again and again but in vain: and it just wasn't powerful enough to turn the engine. The emergency repair team were called, but time was of the essence. We had only 45 minutes to get the vehicle roadworthy and meet the ferry before she set sail. Although a port truck came to offer a jump start, a mechanic's expertise was required to get access to the battery. It wasn't looking good. Time was moving faster than the repair plan was unfolding. All our luggage was stowed in the boot of the coach and we needed transport from Santander to Salamanca on the other side. What's more, the car park was full of cars who needed to board, but only after our coach was on the ferry - the drivers were very patient with us! We prayed a decade of the rosary together.

The next ferry would be Friday, and it was probably fully booked. We made the decision to take the luggage we both needed and could carry and board as foot passengers, and that the coach would follow when possible.

Only 35 minutes remained to unload the coach, check in as foot passengers, be shuttled to and board the ferry. It was going to be tight but this was our only option if we wanted to avoid being stranded in Portsmouth. With military precision every member of the group followed the instructions and carried many more suitcases that people up the ten or so ramps to the sixth deck of the vessel. It really became a race against time and there were heroic dashes up and down the ramps to make sure everyone else's luggage got aboard. We were within the last minute of the harbour staff having to drop the gangway because of the change in tide level.

With every pilgrim and their luggage aboard and only seconds to spare, we heard the news that the coach had been repaired and was also aboard and with Tony our driver. All would be well. Deo gratias.

There were lots of red faces at dinner - not because of the Portsmouth sun but rather the result of a temporary rise in blood pressure! There will be plenty time on the crossing to recover.

A dramatic moment at the start of our pilgrimage has brought our group closer together because we faced adversity as a team and with hope. From now on our pilgrimage will build on strengthened foundations.

Well done mums and dads for helping us squeeze all the luggage into every corner of the coach - maybe next time we'll add on a trailer.

Thanks to the Wilson family and Catriona and Seonag's mum, who made bacon rolls for the pilgrims to eat in Cumnock, the weary travellers didn't have to make a first stop for food and a stroll until just north of Birmingham. The journey has been painless with no traffic jams so far. In fact everyone has been sleeping!

There was, however, one moment of high drama when Paige woke up to see a spider the size of her fingernail crawling across her pillow! When she couldn't find the eight-legged monster, we found a new seat for her on the coach... let's hope he doesn't follow her there! Stories often change in their re-telling: by the time we got to Carlisle, the spider was the size of a golf ball, and when we reached Birmingham the spider was the size of a hand. By time we reach Madrid will it be so big that it takes up the whole bus?