Portugal Day 17

We woke up to a surprise this morning be it had rained quite hard overnight and was still raining. We had left our hiking boots outside and water poured out when they were tipped over. After we dried our boots out somewhat, we wore dry socks with the idea of changing them after an hour or two. I was in the fortunate position of having an old pair of socks that were due to be discarded. So at our morning coffee break, I threw out my socks and we both put on dry ones. By 9 am the rain stopped and everything was back on track.
Today we had great walking conditions as we spent a lot of time on dirt paths or quiet country roads. When we entered Barcelos we saw the famous Barcelos cockerell. Legend has it that a pilgrim was sentenced to hanging but he said that he was innocent. This would be proven when the judge eats because the roasted rooster would stand up on the judges table. Sure enough that happens so the judge rushed to the gallows and save the pilgrim. Next we encountered people everywhere and music on the streets. When we arrived at our potential hotel, we learned that rooms were scarce because of the national holiday celebratios. The clerk called another hotel for us then we could relax and enjoy the town. At supper in Cantinho do Peregrinho we had a nice pilgrim meal and met a couple from Wolfville NS.

Portugal Day 16

Today was sunny but not hot, which was nice because we walked out of the city of Porto. The Camino was on hard surfaces of city streets and roads all day. It was not until we were almost at our destination that the scenery got interesting; near Vilarinho there was an interesting church perched on a hill all by itself. There were also some very old stone walls in perfect condition and a few that had been damaged, which allowed us to see how they were constructed. In the village we checked into what was called a private albergue. It's very nice as we have a wonderful room to ourselves overlooking the backyard and pool. I tried swimming but lasted only a minute because the water was cold- even for a Canadian. Four of us had a load of laundry done by our host who even hung it up to dry. What a treat not having to do laundry today.  We walked downtown for dinner and ate at Tasquinha Restaurant; the food was good and the waitress was lots of fun. We had a Portuguese pork dish and salad followed by port wine and very strong coffee. All for  €16. We were asked to write in a Camino book. 

Portugal Day 15

We awoke around 6 am and made our way into the town of Grijo for breakfast. Then we walked the short distance into Porto, 15 km, and arrived at 11am. The first order of the day was to have our credentiales stamped at the cathedral. Then we found our hotel where we dropped our backpacks before heading out for some food and exploring Porto. We found the market and looked at some potential souvenirs should we fly home from Porto in May. Two possibilities arose, cork products such as purses and port wine.
We met Martha and Al Johnston from Kingston for dinner. It was fun walking around with them and sharing a nice meal. This is a picturesque city with tons of history.

Portugal Day 14

Breakfast may have been the best part of the day.
They gave us lots of choices and we fueled our tanks for the day. The walk today was not great as it was on a lot of paved roads and through towns. Eventually we arrived at our destination of Grijo and checked out the Albergue. It was very rudimentary so we considered looking elsewhere but decided to stay. We walked into town to buy a few things and stopped at the cathedral on the way back. This is a small town but the cathedral beats the one in Fatima hands down. At 8 pm we went to our host's home for dinner. It was great.  The food was good and plentiful and we had a ball talking to our French and Canadian colleagues and Portugal hosts and son-in-law in English, French and Portuguese.  In retrospect, dinner was the highlight of the day.

Portugal Day 13

Today is a rest day with plans for about 23 km. Last night in the Albergue was very good because we had the whole building to ourselves. After making coffee and a Continental breakfast, we started walking around 8 am with jackets. It was  only after half an hour that I removed my jacket. This area seems to be quite wealthy because every second car was either a Mercedes or BMW. The yards are full of orange and lemon trees. We walked into Oliveira de Azeima a little after 1 am and looked about for a hotel.  On booking.com the 4 star Dighton Hotel was listed at €53, so we stopped in and asked about the rate. We were offered a room at €58, so I showed them the lower price. They advised me to book it on line, which I did; the end price was  €52.65 with continental breakfast. I will never understand how hotels set their prices. We got a nice quiet room at the rear of the hotel with a huge bed and nice bathroom. The view from the window is interesting as there are chicken in an adjacent yard.  As we walked into town, we came upon an excavation in the gravel road, which turned out to be a section of a road built by the Romans. There is history all over this country.

Portugal Day 12

Last night we stayed in a very nice hotel and were provided with a nice breakfast to fuel our engines today. This is our last 30 km day for now. Also it was the coolest day since we arrived so walking was easier. The most notable things today were the flowers. People seem to grow anything and everything here.  The orange and lemon trees are loaded with fruit much of which is allowed to fall on the ground and decay. We even picked up a few from the road and ate them.
Last night we were the only ones in the hotel and tonight we are the only ones in the Albergue. It is very nice and clean, and is very well equipped. Tomorrow will be a short day as we have to stop at 23 km.

Portugal Day 11

Today we walked from Coimbra to Anadia. We were up around 5 am thinking that we could beat some of the heat by leaving our hotel just after 6 am. It was kind of comical because we had asked for a breakfast basket to accommodate our leaving before they served breakfast. When we arrived at the breakfast room there was no food put out for us. So we looked around and found the kitchen open so that we could help ourselves. It turned out to be a decent breakfast. When we left our room, Susie locked the room and front door key inside. Then we found that we were locked in the building.  In order to get out, I had to figure out how to open the permanent side of the double doors.
Our walk today was through city then farm land then a series of small towns then wooded hills and back to small towns. Today was impressive for the flowers and citrus fruit. Many people have trees in their yards that are laden with oranges, lemons or pumalow. So much that there was a lot that had fallen to the ground and were left there.

Portugal Day 10

Today we walked from Rabacal to Coimbra in warm and sunny weather with little wind. We are definitely out of flat farmland and in wooded hills. After leaving our friends yesterday we saw very few pilgrims today.  In fact we were hailed by a couple of Aussies as we entered Coimbra and were told that we were the first pilgrims that they have encountered. While we walked through countryside, we have encountered small villages where we didn't expect them. We also experienced generosity unexpectedly.  Thus, an elderly man on a bicycle stopped in front of us, reached into his bag and gave a couple of the tastiest oranges. We are also on the Camino that leads southward to Fatima so we have seen many blue arrows pointed in the opposite direction.

Portugal Day 9

Today we started to get up at 6am which is the earliest day yet. After having breakfast with our Camino friends from Almonte, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Germany we started walking in perfect conditions. Today we walked on a mixture of small roads and foot paths. The up and down made it more interesting. By early afternoon our Camino friends reached their destination for the day at Alvorge so we left them and continued on to Rabacal.  On entering town we came upon a nice looking albergue and checked in. It was equipped with an area to wash clothes so I did that while Susie had a shower. Instead of a shower, I took advantage of the above ground swimming pool for about 15 minutes; it was excellent.

Portugal Day 8

We have not been eating breakfast on the Camino because our experience in Spain was not great. Usually we got just coffee and bread. But we decided to try a Portuguese hotel breakfast and were pleasantly surprised. Cavaleras de Cristo gave us freshly squeezed orange juice, toast, coffee, cold cuts, yogurt, fresh fruit, tarts and boiled eggs. That's fuel for the engine. We walked through lots of wooded hills today with flowers and other vegetation interspersed. In  Susie's books this has been the best hiking on this Camino.  Alvaiazere we decided to stay at the albergue just to experience a hostel in Portugal; it's been great. We are in a room with double bed and shared bathroom; no dorms here. Four people who we met earlier on the Camino are here as well. In a way we are lucky that there is little to see in this village so we can spend more time resting. The picture shows our host with our embossed stamps as well as our wax stamps. 

Portugal Day 7

After yesterday's heat, we hoped for a cooler day today. We were lucky as the forecast was for 30C but it turned out to be cooler with a nice wind all day. For the first half of the day we walked through more farm land and we changed to walking through eucalyptus groves on rolling hills. We stopped for coffee around 1pm in Asseiceira  in a small bar. We were treated to more Portuguese friendliness as one of the customers started telling me about his friends who were working in Montreal and what we should see in Tomar. Then he brought in another fellow who was 94 and attributed his longevity to milk and honey. We walked into a hotel at 3:30 and had time for showers, laundry and a rest before heading out to see the sights and finding dinner.

Portugal Day 6

Today we left one of our nicest hosts in Carlos, who did everything possible to make our stay pleasant. He brought fresh warm bread to go along with everything else. We started walking around 7:35am, which was our earliest start yet. Others started much earlier because the temperature forecast was for 30C. That was accurate as it was almost as hot as 2 days ago;  the difference today was a nice breeze.
About mid-afternoon we made contact with Celia who had invited us to stay with her in Golega. We sat and had drinks at the Café Central and saw Frank & Dagmar walking into town. Celia toured us around Golega, is all about horses; they claim to be the horse capital of Portugal and the world. She showed us around her condominium home and had to leave for Alhandra where she works. Unbelievably she left two strangers with the keys to her home and had to leave.

Portugal Day 5

Today was a different day as we decided to take a side trip to Fatima by bus rather than by foot. We awoke to cool weather and an overcast sky. the highest it got today was 24C.  Fatima is a really interesting place as its main purpose is to serve the shrine and all the people who visit it. We managed to see the various churches and the sites where the children saw the apparitions. The new cathedral is amazing; we were told that it holds almost 10000 people; I mentioned to Susie that it was large enough to hold 4 ice surfaces. We also got to attend a mass in English so I was able to pray for all my hockey sinners. We also burned nice long candles for our non-hockey folks.

Portugal Day 4

We have experienced going from winter into summer directly as the temperatures have been 24 to 29 every day. That made today quite a challenge as we had little shade to protect us from the sun. After arriving in Santarem we decided to take a side trip to Fatima by bus tomorrow. When I tried to pay by my  Scotiabank credit card, it was rejected; then it happened again at a restaurant. We just finished a long long-distance call trying to get this resolved. We will find out the next time we try to make a purchase.
Our walk today featured a lot of crop fields with the majority being devoted to tomatoes. The other main crop was grapes.

Portugal Day 3

We had a good sleep and got up after 7. The walk today was a mixture of road and off road walking. When we stopped for coffee around 10 am, we were helped by a local lady who joined us for coffee. Later she invited us to stay with her in Golega. We will try to see her there. Eventually we made our way into Azambuja and stopped at the hotel Flor da Primavera and found no one home. Luckily the couple that we met yesterday were staying there and called on our behalf so that we were able to have a room. We had dinner with them later. This is the nice part of the Camino, meeting nice people. Tomorrow we plan to be in Santarem.

Portugal Day 2

We slept very well and started to stir after 7. We really felt that we were on the Camino when we saw some Camino markers and 3 perigrinos in the Vasco da Gama area. We walked with a couple from Holland and Germany today. We didn't find a place to eat until noon so we had brunch just off the Camino in Alpriate. The path leaving Lisbon was a great walkway along an estuary and then they did a good job of keeping us off the roads. We booked ahead at the Silvina Maria Ferreira in Verdelha. It is very nice and clean with plenty of room and an en suite.

This has to be the most economical day in Europe; brunch was €6, our room was  €30  and dinner was €10.63.  The latter included fish for me, steak for Susie and wine for both of us. We came upon this cafeteria in a supermercado. 

Portugal Day 1

Our flight to Lisbon was great as  we used the airport lounge and sat in spacious seating. Everything was very smooth to start, getting Euro and data for the cell phone. Then we walked to our hotel. We arrived to be told that they didn't have the right license and we were being booked downtown.  When we got to the second place there was no reservation; that was the  bad. Then came the good; the owner called a friend who rented us a room. After that we walked to the Cathedral and then to a second church where we got our credentiales for the Camino. Downtown Lisbon was busy, busy, busy. The locals have been so nice as they keep asking us if we need help.