May 30

Day 16

Tui

   Today is a bittersweet day for us. It’s our last walking day in Portugal as we walk to the border of Portugal and Spain by the end of the day. Our plan is to cross into Spain and stay in Tui. Northern Portugal has gotten more beautiful by the day and after a mere 15 days we have gotten the hang of Portuguese life. I’ll miss our daily Bom Caminho but will replace it tomorrow with Buen Camino.  I have to say I am looking forward to Spanish Tart but dreading the missing toilet seats!

   We climbed our highest elevation first thing this morning and even though it was long, the beauty truly took my mind off of huffing, puffing and sore thighs.  One thing I noticed right off the bat was all the huge yellow bushes covered in tiny flowers. We’ve seen them a lot but today they seem more prolific than ever. They are simply gorgeous splashed amongst the many shades of green. 

      The sounds of mountain streams are mostly always present for the past couple of days. We see several waterfalls that no matter how often we see them each time I’m in awe.  The water is crystal clear and you can see vegetation growing on the bottom.  As I walk this morning, the song God of All My Days plays on my playlist and it couldn’t be more perfect:

   “I came to You with my heart in pieces

And found the God with healing in His hands

I turned to You, put everything behind me

And found the God who makes all things new

I looked to You, drowning in my questions

And found the God who holds all wisdom

And I trusted You and stepped out on the ocean

You caught my hand among the waves

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same

You're the God of all my days

I ran from You, I wandered in the shadows

And found a God who relentlessly pursues

I hid from You, haunted by my failure

And found the God whose grace still covers me

I fell on You when I was at my weakest

And found the God, the lifter of my head

And I've worshiped You

And felt You right beside me

You're the reason that I sing

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same

You're the God of all my days

In my worry, God You are my stillness

In my searching, God You are my answers

In my blindness, God You are my vision

In my bondage, God You are my freedom

In my weakness, God You are my power

You're the reason that I sing

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same

You're the God of all my days

In my blindness, God You are my vision

And in my bondage, God You are my freedom

All my days”. 

    Just as the song finishes we see a large stone cross with little stones piled all beneath it. Right in the middle is a stone with a hand painted pink heart on it. Mom always shows up. I feel peace. Piling up little stones is commonly seen on the French Way however we haven’t seen so many in Portugal. The closer we get to Spain the more we see. I’m not sure what the significance of the stone piling is but my guess would be it’s laying your guilt, sin, hopes, dreams at the foot of the cross or on top of other large rocks. It’s a ritual people have been doing not only in Spain but all over the world and specifically hiking trails. It’s a beautiful gesture of someone’s personal thoughts. 

Today we see several crosses, stone and wood.  At the largest one Lorenz placed his straw hat and left it. I didn’t ask why but it was meaningful for him to do that. 

     We all leave the big cross and silently pray.  Such deep prayers and thoughts here in the forest. Nature is all around us.  God is all around us!  It’s calm and quiet with only the sounds of life. I pray for my sister in law, Judi, today. It would have been she and Ronnie’s 37th wedding Anniversary.  This is her first year without him and I can feel her loneliness and missing him.  Also I pray for a sweet friend who has recently lost her husband.  Grief is a horrible feeling. 

       The first cafe we come to after our big morning climb is Bar Roulette.  The cafe com leiti is the best and the waiter serves mine in  an orange saucer.  My favorite color.  We enjoy a ham and cheese with our coffee and sit and watch the cows in a field across the street ring their cow bells as we watch. It’s no surprise this cute place has no toilet seat.  Shortly after we leave we pass an even cuter place that has lots of old shoes filled with flowers. I stop and take pictures and silently wonder if they have toilet seats. An Asian couple with 3 children walk past us up the hill. They are Pilgrims and we see their Compestellas rolled up in their backpacks. Evidence they’ve already made it to Santiago and now walking thru Portugal. Incredible.  

     We walk thru tunnels of foliage next to moss covered stones.  Some stone walls high and some low. I comment on how much work it was laying these stone fences and walkways that are present throughout Northern Portugal. Not to mention ALL the ancient homes were built out of stone. They may be ancient but they are still standing. I think of the 3 Little Pigs story. The crystal clear streams and waterfalls are just gorgeous. Each waterfall playing music of Gods orchestration. I could spend all day here in this incredible art museum of nature. Peace.  Pure peace.  

    Nature brings life and death. Lorenz points out a tiny dead fox next to the trail. A wave of uncontrollable emotion strikes me and I think of Ronnie and my precious Jack Russel of 9 years who died of cancer within weeks of Ronnie. I hold back from walking with the guys and sob for 5 minutes. I think of the post Judi made just days ago:

                          Grief

      “Grief after the initial shock of loss, comes along in waves.

When your driving alone in your car, when your doing the dishes, while your getting ready for work....and

All of the sudden it hits you- how so very much YOU miss someone and your breath catches, and your tears flow and the sadness is so great that it’s physically painful.”- Nicole Gabert 

      It’s reality and spot on. I will always miss Ronnie and it doesn’t help to say “ he’s in heaven”.  It hurts to lose someone you shared your life with forever.  It hurts to lose a pet whose unconditional love brings you happiness every single day. 

     As we approach Valenca, the city just across the river from Tui, our Spain destination, we see the signs of the Camino seashells embedded in sidewalks as we walk. So very reminiscent of our last Camino and a welcoming hand to Pilgrims. There is a gigantic ancient Fortress of stone straight ahead and within the walls a charming village filled with shops and cafes. Our last chance to buy Portuguese souvenirs.  We are Pilgrims so we pass these tempting shops. Church bells are ringing as we sit to have my last Portuguese Sager Beer which is the only beer I’ll drink. It is similar to Stella Artois, back home. All of the sudden I hear singing and a ukulele playing and Dave and Kelsa come up behind us singing! They are the couple from British Columbia we met back on the Lisbon to Porto leg who walked the Coastal Route  while we walked the Central Route. They sit with us and we share stories of our great adventures. They are charming.  

    We walk together across the huge Bridge over the Rio Mino to enter into “Espana”.... Spain.  There are Pilgrims in front of us as we march single file across this vast bridge. I’m a tad disappointed I don’t see the “Welcome Mo” banner! It is a phenomenal feeling making it to this point filled with sadness leaving Portugal and joy of entering Spain. Only 4 more days of walking over 30k a day to Santiago.  We are pushing it but my goal is to walk and meditate and not bus forward. If I still have fat legs by the end of this 375 mile hike I’m gonna chop them off! Kidding.... 

     We immediately change our greeting and say Buen Camino to every Pilgrim we see.  Kelsa and Dave head off to their Hostel and we to ours. A private room tonight with Lorenz and our own bathroom with a toilet seat. Yippee! Life is good. It’s $15 Euro each and we have 5 twin beds in the room, ie NO bunk beds.  Pure luxury in my humble opinion. 

      I hand wash a few things and we walk down the street to a modern cafe where we all have a hamburger and French fries. Weird how I can crave such an unhealthy American food.  It’s mediocre as expected but a really cute place. As I walk back to the hostel in my black tights and pink jacket I’m cold and sleepy. The time changed to daylight savings time as soon as we crossed the river so we will be losing an hour tonight. 

I brush my teeth and crawl in my wonderful twin bed fully clothed and thank God for this glorious day. 

Nitey nite!

May 29

May 15

O Comforto Albergue

To The Morning 

             by 

Dan Fogelberg

“Watching the sun

Watching it come

Watching it come up over the rooftops

Cloudy and warm

Maybe a storm

You can never quite tell

From the morning

And it's going to be a day

There is really no way to say no

To the morning

Yes it's going to be a day

There is really nothing left to

Say but

Come on morning”

Yes! I feel it... it’s going to be a day!  Drizzling rain and 34k to walk today as we are going past Ponte de Lima, the suggested stop. Lorenz has figured out if we push for next 6 days we can walk all the way to Santiago on this last leg instead of moving by taxi. The guide book suggested 11 plus days and we only had 7.  Today will be our longest day so I’m carrying my smaller pack and moving my big bag pack forward. At this stage there are several well organized backpack transporters for 7 Euro. Much cheaper than the 30 Euro I paid twice from the Lisbon leg. Thank goodness Michael shared that fee with me.  

    Last night I was still laughing inside about the Oreo story. Just before we tucked in, a German lady next to Greg asked him to please move his stinky sandals out of this room! Ha. I was trying to hold back the laughter as he explained he lost his sense of smell over 12 years ago. She goes on to tell him she has the strongest smeller in the world and cannot stand the smell of his sandals. Quite frankly I don’t even smell them but he quietly takes them outside. We aren’t allowed to have our hiking shoes in rooms because they do smell but sandals are permitted. Laughter is good for the soul! I’m so glad it was Greg and not me!

     The rain today is more like a constant cool mist that gets everything we own wet so we have to break out the rain gear. I tell Lorenz the story Frances told me on my 1st Camino about the rain. He said, “ you can’t have rainbows without rain”.  That makes us all realize it’s a blessing to be able to walk in the rain. Regardless of rain, I don’t want my time walking to end. The younger Pilgrims last night couldn’t believe the distances we have been walking. They all started in Porto and are licking their wounds of sore muscles and blisters. Specifically they cannot believe that I carry my backpack and am able to keep up with the guys. It’s the first time I’ve ever really felt I was looked upon as older but I don’t let it bother me.  So many women older than me are much better walkers. 

    Last night I had a dream that my eyesight was failing. I went to the doctor and he told me it was because I was fat and I’d  have to lose 10 lbs to see again. I’m w thinking I must have dreamed that because before I fell asleep I was thinking about all the food we consume! Ha. Crazy

    As we walk in the rain I’m listening to nature. Running streams, chirping birds, bells of goats, and an occasional rooster.  I look at all the beautiful flowers, trees and grapevines and realize today God is watering his garden here on earth. The raindrops that once in a while hit my face as I look up to heaven are simply wiping away my tears. Greg senses I’m deep in thought and kisses me. Above us on a wire a perfect white dove sits and coos.  We round a corner and see 3 large stone crosses on top of an ancient church.  My playlist plays “Praise You in the Storm”.  God is so good. 

     As the rainy mist let’s up my rain suit is making me swelter. I feel like I’m in one of those old outfits people would wear to lose weight. At our first stop (at 13k) I take off the jacket and risk getting wet. My fleece is so much more breathable.  We see so many at the 1st cafe and almost all are German. On this leg of our walk this has been the longest we’ve gone without provisions available. The trail this morning takes us close to other villages but mainly on gorgeous paths thru Forest and farmland.  I’m not complaining at all. It’s heaven on earth. 

    A few hours after we leave we run into the 2 Brazilians who were in our room last night. They are the younger couple, Orlane and Guillherme. They are so cute, he’s very tall and handsome and she’s tiny. I learned yesterday that she is Vegan as she was cooking her own dinner at the Albergue while we ate Pizza. They have travelled a lot around the US and have seen more National parks than I have. She’s a lawyer and he left a job as an IT worker after 17 years because he didn’t like it. He decided to take a year off and travel and figure out what he wants to do. They actually met in New Zealand on a vacation by chance on a bus. Darling couple!  The funniest thing is he calls her Houston! He tells us when she doesn’t pay attention to him he says “Houston, we have a problem”.  Ha I just love stories like these. Lorenz laughs at me that I ask so many questions and better yet remember the smallest details about people I’ve met even from my Camino 3 years ago.  I’m fascinated by people and their stories and I’ve learned that you only need to ask one question and people often will bare there souls.  

    I take tons of photos and conveniently have my cell phone in my right pocket.  Music playing and every once in a while I dance as I walk. How often do we get to dance in the rain?  Life is too short not to. We pass by Fernanda Casa which we’ve heard so much about. It’s an Albergue that you have to reserve in advance. I had tried but they were booked. I’ve heard on the trail of Pilgrims  booking months in advance. I take a photo of the sign to send Nick and Lou who stayed there last year. It’s a very special place where the owners totally cater to the Pilgrims.  

    Last night Lorenz shared this with Greg:

    “Do you know Antoine de Saint-Exupery? He is the author of a known book entitled The Little Prince (a book that I love) He actually wrote this prayer in one of the roughest periods of his life. ( I just actually saw this while browsing the internet and why not share it with all of you) ....If you are also in your roughest period of your life, read this and it will actually give you strength and it will definitely make you feel lighter.

    Lord, I’m not praying for miracles and visions, I’m only asking for strength for my days. Teach me the art of small steps.

Make me clever and resourceful, so that I can find important discoveries and experiences among the diversity of days.

Help me use my time better. Present me with the sense to be able to judge whether something is important or not.

I pray for the power of discipline and moderation, not only to run throughout my life, but also to live my days reasonably, and observe unexpected pleasures and heights.

Save me from the naive belief that everything in life has to go smoothly. Give me the sober recognition that difficulties, failures, fiascos, and setbacks are given to us by life itself to make us grow and mature.

Send me the right person at the right moment, who will have enough courage and love to utter the truth!

I know that many problems solve themselves, so please teach me patience.

You know how much we need friendship. Make me worthy of this nicest, hardest, riskiest and most fragile gift of life.

Give me enough imagination to be able to share with someone a little bit of warmth, in the right place, at the right time, with words or with silence.

Spare me the fear of missing out on life.

Do not give me the things I desire, but the things I need.

Teach me the art of small steps!’ 

    At 28 years old Lorenz is wise.  He also enlightens me to the history of the Fanta orange drink story.  It was a drink invented in Germany in 1940 by the German Coca Cola bottling company during WWII because there was no shipping between America and Germany. They have Fanta drinks all along the Camino.  I’m so used to Americans sitting at a cafe ordering a coke but here quite often Pilgrims are ordering Fanta.  Interesting fact!

     We have lunch in Ponte de Lima where most Pilgrims are stopping today. We eat at a beautiful outdoor cafe called River View. The owner greets us. Darling guy in purple slacks and a blue jacket. He tells us he is Portuguese and worked on Wallstreet but gave it up to come back home and have his restaurant. We feast on a Pilgrim meal for 9 Euro.  I eat delicious vegetable soup, fish, rice, salad, nata for dessert and coffee. It’s our big meal today and tonight we will eat very light. We are all famished and clean our plates. As we leave we walk over the long ancient bridge over the river and pass the Hostel where so many we’ve met are staying. Their colorful backpacks are lined up against the wall waiting for 4pm when it will open. We chat with Orlane and Guillherme and exchange numbers for WhatsApp.  When we see them we yell “Hello Houston!”

   The walk towards our home tonight at O Comforto is an additional 10k. The path is thru forest, grapevines, farmland and birds singing melodious tunes. There are the biggest wild Hydrangea bushes and most are lavender blue....my favorite color for them. I see a dove perched on a roof watching our every step.  We meet a guy walking the opposite way. He is tall and cheerful. His name is Antonio and he’s Brazilian. He’s walking 2200k.  He’s walked from the middle of France to St Jean, Santiago, Finisterre, Muxia, Santiago and now to Lisbon. Wow! We are amazed and I take Greg and Lorenz’s  photo with him. What an inspiration he is and so happy!

    As we walk up to our Hostel for the evening we stop at the last mini market and buy bread, tomato, wine and chips.  Lorenz has sausage and bread he’d already bought and we are having small sandwiches for our dinner.  I’m a sight walking uphill with a bottle of wine under my arms, my sticks tucked under and holding a bag of BBQ Potato chips.  Up, up, up 1K.  Seems like 5. 

    The Hostel is perched high looking down on the beautiful countryside and a church in the distance. We share a room for 5 with 2 women who are travelling together. Patricia is from a Northern Ireland and Aya is from Germany.  The luxury of this place is not only the breathtaking view but the toilet has a seat!!!! The bad news is there is only one bathroom which includes the shower to be shared by 12 people.  This should be interesting. 

     We meet new Pilgrims tonight... mostly Germans, 1 Irish girl and 3 older men from Switzerland. We all sit under a covered area and make our food for dinner. The German girls, Aya, Sylvia and Anjelica and Patricia from Ireland make a big salad of fresh vegetables they’ve bought at the market and have 3 bottles of Green Wine. It’s famous in this area. Patricia laughs and says it smells like Caw so she won’t drink it. After several attempts to ask her what Caw is we finally realize she’s saying Cow. We all laugh. We both speak English but our dialect is far from close. She is a hoot and I love watching and listening to her tell stories. 

   I go to bed tonight on a top bunk, window open with cool air pouring in, snuggled under a real sheet and warm blanket. What a Blessing today has been. I pray for peace for a dear friend, peace for our country, the world, families and all prayer request sent my way. 

Nitey nite!

     

    

May 28

Day 14

Tamel

  “I only went out for a walk...and finally concluded to stay out til sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in”.  John Muir

I woke up this morning dying to tell Greg about my exciting night.  Even though he was on my lower bunk he had no clue.  Before I went to bed last night I thought I’d better go to the bathroom since the only one in this building was at the other end of a long hall.  Not to mention crawling down from a top bunk in the middle of the night is scary and hurts the bottom of my bare feet on metal bars. I was just too tired to go so I chose to chance it.  Just before bed Lorenz passed by and handed me his last Oreo in a bag as a gift.  I was grateful and put it aside on my bed to pack tomorrow.  Sure enough 2am rolls around and my bladder is about to explode.  I carefully crawl down in excruciating pain on my feet and try to quietly exit the room.  Every single step I took made a squeaking noise from the wooden boards on the old floor. I found the bathroom but the door wouldn’t open! Or so I thought. I had one contact stuck to the side of my eye and couldn’t see that the door slid and didn’t actually push open. Finally I figure it out and walk in to find a memory of the Spanish Camino.... the missing toilet seat! Do you have any idea how painful it is to hover and pee with thighs that are as sore as a Pilgrims?  Pure torture.  I noisily walk back to bed and cringe as my feet are climbing up the skinny metal rods and flop my body onto the plastic covered mattress.  Lo and behold my Oreo flies out from the package across the room and hits some German guy in the face.  It’s like a scene out of Saturday Night Live.  I started hysterically laughing and trying to hold it in. My eyes were crying with laughter. It was a miracle nobody woke up.  They were all too busy snoring. Needless to say I got no sleep. I’m still chuckling now... what a dweeb! 

   The Albergue we stayed in had 50 beds.  It was full last night and everyone was up early to get a start on the day. We were lucky coffee was available right across the street. A blessing as my eyelids don’t want to open. Greg plays “Taps” outside on his phone before we leave in honor of Memorial Day.  Everyone listens.  

   Today’s walk is on a gorgeous countryside trail. It’s refreshing to be off the main roads like so much of our first leg was.  We walk on the dreaded cobblestones in little country villages and nice soft dirt through the forest trails.  At one point we are walking by an old stone fence and there are 3 big rocks sitting on top of the fence. Two of them are large and on top of each other and a smaller one sits beside it.  I’m in the middle of listening to Whitney Houston’s “I Look to You”.  I’m singing to myself “after all my strength is gone, in you I can be strong”.  I think of God carrying me through losing my dad, mom and brother and here in front of me are 3 rocks sitting on top of a stone wall all by themselves.  Thank you God for this reminder.  

   Greg is walking just ahead with Lorenz. Some people have thought he was our son until he speaks and you realize he’s from Hungary.  He’s 28 yrs old and has walked from the tip of Portugal.  Over 700k already.  He and Greg have deep discussions every day.  Paola, from Italy, is walking with the 4 Brazilian girls behind us. We’ve met so many new people and the majority are Germans.  Every age, young and old. As I walk alone I pray for peace for our world, our country and our families.  

    We stop for our 2nd coffee and before we pack back up I cannot find my headphone for my music. Greg and I look everywhere until I realize it’s in my ear! It’s one of those days! Guess I need a 3rd coffee! Ha. We get back into countryside trails and as we pass thru a forest I think of the Pooh song.... Christopher Robin.  It’s just childhood storybook beauty and reality is nowhere to be found. I love it. This is my first real day to be in utter peace. 

    The countryside is sprinkled with white stucco homes with red tile roofs, big farms out huge palm trees. As we enter the suburbs of Barcelos the traffic picks up and we are walking again on roads and under a freeway with graffiti written on the walls.  The city is a larger city and has more Parrishes than any other area in the country.   The city is on a river and has huge historical churches, modern shopping, restaurants and giant roosters sporadically placed around town. 

   “The town's famous symbol is a rooster, in Portuguese called o galo de Barcelos ("the Rooster of Barcelos"). One of the many versions of this legend goes that a rich man threw a big party. When the party was over, the rich man noticed that his sterling cutlery was stolen by a guest. He accused a pilgrim and let him go to court. He protested his innocence, but the judge didn't believe him. The judge was about to eat a roasted rooster when the pilgrim said: "If I am innocent, this rooster will crow three times." When the pilgrim was about to be lynched, the rooster crowed. The judge released the pilgrim. The story ends a few years later when the pilgrim returned and made a statue over the event. The town remains on the Portuguese Way path of the Camino de Santiago.”

   We find an outdoor cafe to have lunch.  I’m excited to get a Tuna salad and when lunch is served they have forgotten my order. It takes another 20 minutes to get it and everyone else has already eaten. I quickly eat and then go to the restroom which inconveniently is on the 3rd floor.  I’m delighted that they at least have a toilet seat! However the lights are on timers and I’m caught in the dark until they come back on. It’s evident we are getting closer to Spain and their system of controlling the electricity.

    Our afternoon walk is as beautiful as the morning. The guidebook tells us the stretch for the next 34k will be the most beautiful of this Camino. We meet a Young German named Flo. He tells us he recognizes us from our Albergue last night.  He shared a room with one other man and 15 German girls. Lucky guy!

We also meet a Swiss couple who’ve walked the Frances 4 times. 

   We see a church with a pretty stone cross that has beautiful real flower petals in rows leading up to it. There is an upcoming festival but we aren’t sure what it is.  Greg thinks it could be the Feast of St Anthony. Shortly we pass an old man watering his vegetable garden. Hello daddy.  Just after that as I’m taking a photo I notice one bicycle glove strung up on a wire. I think of Ronnie stretching out his hand to help me up this accent for the last 2k of my day.  Up, up, up...   At the end of today’s walk there are 3 more large rocks stacked identical as the ones I saw earlier today. 

    The Albergue de Peregrines is situated by an old small church and as we walk up the bells are ringing. The Albergue looks like an ancient stone home but the interior is very modern.  Carlos is our host and very happy and friendly. Because this town is so small Carlos orders Pizza and other meals delivered to us.  We get our clothes hand washed, eat Pizza and retire to bed. 

I lay here tonight grateful I’m in the bottom bunk and there are no Oreos anywhere around.

Nitey nite!    

May 27

Day 13

Sao Pedro De Rates

Last night just before I fell asleep, Caro in her sweet German voice  quietly said, “Goodnight mom and dad”.  We all laughed as even she grew up in Germany with her mom saying the same thing she had heard on the show, “The Walton’s”.  Then she said, “Goonight Jim Bob”.  Too funny...  

    The Room we were in at the Alburgue was so loud I didn’t sleep at all. Greg didn’t snore for a change but the plastic covered mattresses and squeaky beds were a killer. Every move anyone made I heard.  Not to mention every time someone climbed out of a top bunk to go to the bathroom. I sure do miss having a group that we know in a smaller setting. Caro found an Italian/American girl to walk with in the Alburgue. She’s an Italian girl whose doing her Internal Medicine Residency in Ohio. Both are solo walkers.  

    We have our dreaded goodbye breakfast with Michael. He will stay in Porto for the next 7 days and sightsee.  Starting today it’s just Greg and I.  Our plan today is to eat breakfast then Metro out of the city to a smaller village past all the industrial roadways and begin our walk. At breakfast we realize we need some additional information from our Alburgue Hostess and it’s a good thing because I’ve left all of my wash on the clothesline!  That could have been a disaster for me.  We walk just down the street to the Metro Station and tell Michael goodbye.  It’s been fun reconnecting and so nice having a European expert with us.  He will be missed. 

    We get on the Metro with our packs and Greg is looking dapper today in his new Panama hat he bought yesterday. Porto and surrounding villages are known for hats so he on a whim bought a new one. 

   We start our walk on the outskirts of Porto and immediately meet an Italian girl and 2 Brazilians who have had the same idea.  Paola is from Milan and is travelling solo. She’s early 50’s, married and has a friend whose done the walk. I didn’t catch the Brazilians names but he just finished the Francis Camino on bike and now his wife has met him in Porto to walk to Santiago. They are a darling younger couple.   We chat for a while then we stop for our 2nd cafe com leiti. 

    As soon as we start walking again I see the biggest pink single bloom on a hydrangea. One of mom’s favorite flowers.  My playlist starts playing Lonestar’s “Not a Day Goes By”.  It’s so fitting because reality is not a day goes by that I don’t think of her.  I miss my mom more than anything. I will always have a picture of her I carry in my heart. 

   The terrain this morning has been gently rolling hills and cobblestone streets. The uneven streets are so hard on our feet. An ankle could easily turn and the bottoms of our feet get so sore.  I hope this isn’t how our entire day will be.  My blister between my toes went away several days ago. I figured out that I had to do exactly my foot regime I did last camino to not get blisters. I just cannot wear the newest greatest 2 in 1 liner socks I bought. I’m so glad I brought 2 pair of my thicker socks and silk liners. Wearing those with feet covered in Vick’s is my ticket  to happy feet.  Greg has faired so much better than his last Camino as he has breathable lightweight shoes and the thinner double layer socks. It works for him but not for me.  It’s so personal and the single most important thing to get right before the Camino begins. Blisters ruin the experience.  

    We climb up and we climb down these cobblestones.  At one point entering a village we see 4 Brazilian  girls. They are happy and chatty and we take photos together. Today is their first day and they are carrying not only backpacks but duffle-bags to the closest post office to mail forward.  They are dressed in brightly colored tights and shirts. 

   As we begin one decent the ground changes to hard packed dirt and I’m elated. It feels so much better than cobblestones. Unfortunately it doesn’t last long and the bumpy road returns.  

    We stop at Vilarinho and have lunch. I’ve been craving a hamburger and get the nerve to order one.  It’s lettuce, tomato, ham, hamburger meat, fried egg and mustard. In the weirdest way it’s kind of good.  As we are sitting eating outside, Greg says “there’s another Pilgrim”.  I recognize it’s Lorenz.  Greg runs over and gets him to join us for lunch. I recognize his small straw hat! I cannot believe our paths have crossed since Porto. He’s already walked over 700K  from the bottom of Portugal.   He eats with us and we walk together the remainder of our day.  

  We have already seen more Pilgrims since Porto than we did the entire Lisbon to Porto leg. We knew this section would be busier but it doesn’t compare to the numbers seen on the Frances. We are walking the Central route which is supposedly more supported than the coastal. There are sections where the 2 paths meet.  

   We walk over ancient Roman bridges.  I huff and puff up the hillsides and cautiously walk the cobblestone streets down on this so called “flat terrain”.  Let’s just say this is definitely not the Texas definition of flat! There are several areas with the Camino seashell official emblem which say “detour”.  It’s a prettier, safer way but is usually a bit longer. We take them all. It’s very windy this afternoon and the wind seems to pick me up as I drift off into deep thoughts... I can only imagine...  The scenery is very much like Tuscany.  Pretty homes with beautiful flowers and lots of grapevines and gardens.  Picturesque at its best. 

    Paola, our new Italian friend we met this morning is sitting at a cafe alone. We join her and invite her to walk with us to Sao Pedro de Rates. Even-though there are more Pilgrims on this stretch, the idea of a woman walking alone just isn’t ideal. I never thought that way on the Frances. So many people always around. 

   The town of Sao Pedro de Rates is gorgeous in a sterile way. A Romanesque Church greets us and we go inside to pray.  The streets are empty, the buildings all stucco white and the religious symbols throughout are ancient. It’s Sunday and you would think we were walking into a deserted town. Literally no one is outside.  2 old people sit on the church steps but don’t utter a word.  The Alburgue is Donitivo which means donation. We simply pay what we want. It’s a nice layout with rooms of 10 beds each. I get stuck in an upper bunk of course.   

   After a Pilgrim dinner of soup, salad, rice, potatoes, steak, fried egg, bread, red wine and cream brûlée we go back to the Alburgue to crash. Our Pilgrim dinner was a whopping $7 Euro.  It always seems strange to me that rice and potatoes are always served together.  Mom would have said that was just not right! Ha. One starch per meal! Guess that’s how she always kept her girly figure. I better start following her example or I’ll be gaining weight after meals like these! 

Stuffed, sore and happy in my sleeping bag on a top bunk with wet hair and half dried socks, bras, underwear, shirts and shorts hung all around me. If you could see me now! 

Nitey nite!