Spain Day 21

Today was predicted to be hot at 27C and it was in the afternoon. Tomorrow is predicted to rain a lot, up to 50 mm; we are hoping that the forecast is wrong. With this in mind, we planned to go asfar as is reasonable today. One place that is a bit on the short side was Arcade at around 24 km. Today's walk was nice with a good amount on paths through the woods. We arrived in Arcade about 12:30 so we pushed on to Pontevedra, which is a sign town about 36 km from Porriño where we stayed last night. Much of the walk today was through eucalyptus groves and small villages with tons of flowers. There were also some beautiful centuries old bridges. We got to see how they build stone walls these days; they use a Cat to lift rocks and power drills to cut them to size. As we were entering Pontevedra around 3:45 pm we booked a room in a 3 star hotel on line. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were ready for showers.  The next item on our agenda was supper; we cannot eat like last because a heavy Russian salad followed by half of a chicken with roasted vegetables and fries was too much. We just got back from supper where I tried to get salmon, which came as pork loin. Nevertheless it was good and this time they left the wine bottle at the table. 

Portugal - Spain Day 20

Today was another wonderful day of walking the Camino. It was clear jacket weather for the first half hour and then warmer the rest of the way. Although we passed through two large towns, the walking wasn't onerous at all. In fact one of the nicest parts of the day was at the old fort in Valenca that overlooks the river dividing Portugal and Spain. Once we were in Spain, we had to pickup a SIM card for the Spanish system. We ended the day in Porriño after walking on shady woodland paths for the afternoon.

Portugal Day 19

This was perhaps the best day of walking yet. When we arrived in Ponte de Lima, we were told that breakfast would be served at 8:30 am , which was much too late for us. Then they said that we could have a modest breakfast much earlier if we wished. We accepted that and were pleasantly surprised by the food they put out for us and all the other peregrinos. We walked to the Camino and into town where we took pictures and got euros. Then we spent the rest of the morning walking over a hill, 470 metres, to Rubiaes. Even though Susie was tired due to lack of sleep, she was given a caffeine beverage by mistake, we decided to carry on. When we arrived at our potential hotel, some 11 km further, no host was available.  So carried on another km to a place that wasn't even in the guidebook and checked into a great double room for an excellent price.
Today's walk was great because it was mostly through the woods and it took us high enough to have some excellent views. There were many peregrinos on the Camino until noon; many probably stopped at Rubiaes because it was the end of the stage in the guidebook. Tonight we plan to have a pilgrim meal at the restaurant

Portugal Day 18

It's May 1st and we left Barcelos and walked to Ponte de Lima. This was probably the best day of walking on the Camino Portugues as it took us on backroads and dirt paths for much of the way. We really noticed an increase in the number of peregrinos after Porto. In many ways it has made it more fun because we encountered the same people several times and have extended our conversations. Thus, we had a pilgrim meal with Ambrose, a Canadian, Carlo, an Italian and Nora, a German. We had lots of laughs. Although the walk was over 34 km it was not particularly taxing and we were checked in,  showers and laundered by 5 pm. Today we saw lots of flowers, grape vines with fruit just set and granite fence posts

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.