Peregrinacion Juvenil a Lujan 10/2-10/3

Before leaving- we all got lanyards and numbers to keep track of who was in our group

All of the people doing the walk

In the afternoon- millions of people

Approaching night, you can see the Virgin of Lujan being carried by people walking

The Peregrinacion Juvenil a Lujan is a pilgrimage to the city of Lujan which is the faith capital of Argentina. Every year, people make the trek of 70 km. (5o miles) from Buenos Aires to the province of Lujan by foot. By bus, the province of Lujan is about a 1.5/2 hour ride and by foot it is about a whole day. You leave Buenos Aires around 1 in the afternoon on Saturday and embark on a journey that you will never forget. You arrive to Lujan at around 5 in the morning with breaks in between. A friend and I went on this journey with the church that we go to here in Buenos Aires (El Redondo) and there were about 200 of us who participated in the pilgrimage from our church- all younger kids around our age.In total there are about a million or more people who participate in the walk. While walking you see people who are doing the walk alone, families, friends, and people from all social classes. It's just really cool to see how everyone comes together for faith! Our group stopped about every 4 hours to eat and have a bathroom break. Each 4 hours the walk became tougher and tougher. Around 10 at night, we had our 3rd break and I was in so much pain, that after talking with the doctor, she recommended that I call it quits and go into the micro(bus) that was waiting at the side, but that I could still join the rest of the group when they got to Lujan. I was pretty disappointed in myself for not being able to finish the whole pilgrimage, but also looked at what I had already accomplished and how far I had already walked- probably about 35 miles. I went into the micro where other fallen walkers were nestled and tried to just get my body back to feeling good. The man had told me that they would let us know when the mass was in the morning, but when it was time for the mass, but no one ever came and told us on the bus that we could get out, so we drove back to Buenos Aires all without me seeing the Basilica de Lujan or going to the mass. While it may seem like it was a total fail, it wasn't! I was able to participate in one of the most religious movements in Argentina where people of all walks of life come to embark on a religious and faith filled journey. I was a part of that!