After Three Days of Camino Walking ...

After three days of walking about 82 km, we have arrived in Ponte de Lima, Portugal.  No one has escaped the aches and pains that come with this kind of travel but we are all proud of our accomplishment so far.  

First off, generally speaking, Portugal is a relatively inexpensive place to travel.  Once you leave the large cities, it is much cheaper to travel than at home.  Ice-cold beers can be had most places for less than $2 CDN.  Wine can be had in a store for about $2 to $4.  Two people can dine in a nice restaurant, with wine, for under $50.  We have had expensive rooms in Porto and Lisbon but in Barcelos we staying in a modern hotel and it only cost $75 CDN.

Secondly, we have been asked what do we do during the 10 hours on the trail.  Simply put, we take in the scenery and activities at a walking pace.  There are lots of conversations about what things are and why they are there.  There is much speculation about the age of all things.  There are many stops to take pictures of things along the way.  Occasionally, the locals will engage you in conversation.  They have grown up living along the trail and sighting pilgrims is a way of life.  Sometimes we walk alone lost in our own thoughts or walk along side someone and become deep in conversations, completely unrelated to our surroundings.  One thing is certain, at the end of the long days, conversation decreases as folks concentrate on the path in front of them as they wish the end would appear a little sooner.

Thirdly, the trail varies.  Clearly when this trail was established over a thousand years ago it was from village to village, through undeveloped or farmland.  Villages have grown up.  Some of the walking is on busy roads and detours have been created to bypass the busiest stuff.  The road surfaces also vary. 
There is some smooth asphalt, much cobblestone (both compacted and rough), flagstone, loose gravel, and dirt.  We used to favour rough cobblestone when we only had to look at it.  Rough Cobble stone is now our enemy.  It causes the feet to slip side ways and after a long day the nerves of the feet scream in discomfort.  As well, there has been little level walking.  This part of Portugal is very hilly and pilgrims are constantly going either up or down.

Lastly, while the thirty plus km days have been challenging, it has been heart warming to hear and feel the groups encouragement when the days have gotten long and the feet are surrendering.  The “Stinky Beers” at the end of each day are celebrations of endurance and accomplishment.

We are dividing this blog post into three sections to represent the different stretches of walking.

Day One:

Took Transit to Start of Trail

Feeling Pretty Good!

All In!

The Yellow Arrow - Our Friend to Santiago.

And We Are Off. 

Rock Wall Building

Arrived About 15 Km Later.

Quinto das Alfiaias Country House.

Day Two:

 Refreshment Stop

Lunch Break

Farmer's Gift

Discussion About Best Way?

Arbutus Forrest - Active Logging Area.

13 Century Church on Original Roman Worship Site.

Arriving In Barcelos

Day Three:

On the Road Again

First Stop at Market For Fruit

Ducks

Chicken To Go!

I Am Usually the Last Person

Wash Day in the Village

Village Work Crew Rekpacing Tiles

Water Stations Are Plentiful

Corn in the Crib

No English But She Loves Her Cow

Generations Have Washed Their Cloths Here!

Knackered But Almost There

Arrived Ponte de Lima

Our Hotel

Camino Portuguese Passport Filling Up.

Celebration Dinner at the EnCanada Restaurant

Porto

We arrived in Porto after two train rides taking a little over three hours.  Our hotel was a short walk from the train station (it was actually quite long but that was only due to getting a little lost). 

Even the Train Stations Make You Look Up.

Gathering Around St. Sam for Directions

Our hotel was the 137 year old Grande Hotel De Paris (I think it was much grander 80 years ago), the oldest hotel in Porto.  After dropping our packs we immediately left for a walking tour of the city in search of the Fabrica Da Catedral Do Porto, the start of our Camino.  Again, with Sam’s guidance we arrived at the hilltop cathedral.  A church official stamped our passports and after taking a look around we posed for some pictures at the trail markers outside.

We Are Official Pilgrims - Passports Stamped!

Look, its ...

Making Sure We Are Headed the Right Way - Santiago

Not wanting to let the day slip away, we embarked on a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour of the city.  As is our usual pattern, it was a Hop On only tour of both the city of Porto and across the Douro River to the neighbouring city of Gaia.

So Close to the Sea - Fog Rolling In

We ended our first day sipping port on an outdoor patio watching the young people emerge to fill the city streets, as we got ready to head home to bed.

We were up early on day two and enjoyed a full breakfast seated outside in the garden courtyard.

Once again, with Sam leading the way, we headed out on another, closer up walking tour of the city.  We headed down to the river.  This area is always bustling with activity.

Your Neck Tends to Get Sore Always Looking Up

and you can be surprised by what you see.

One of our stops was to take a tour of the five major port wineries of the city.  Port is a trademarked name for the fortified wines of this region.  There are many makers of fortified wine in the world but like Champagne, the only ones who can legally use the name port, are those from Porto.

The grapes are grown approximately 150 km up the river and back in the day, the barrels were shipped down river in the replica boats you see on the river today.  Today the wine is shipped by truck and placed in containers for ageing.  Stainless steel for the whites and amber (tawny) and oak for the middle to dark rubies.  We had a guide that explained to us the difference between wine and port and how the addition of pure alcohol stops the wine fermentation process.   Further she explained two different ageing processes.  Their oldest barrel was made in 1937 and is only tapped when the market demands it.  This port sells for 650 Euros a bottle.

Interestedly the large oak casks can be used for 100 years to make port but then they are sold/shipped to Scotland to continue their lives making whiskey.

Oak Casks for the Aging of Dark Ports

Burmester Winery

It is a beautiful city and one could spend more time here but we start our Camino in the morning so it will be an early night to repack our packs and ready ourselves for the warm up Day One walk.  (Only 15 km tomorrow, two 33+ days to follow).

PS.  I did manage to enjoy one of the local delicacies - Francesinha.  Bread, topped with sausage and bacon, layered with four types of cheeses. (and as always in Portugal, Super Bock Beers.

Francesinha Sandwhich.

PSS - Kids being Kids

Kids Hitching Rides on Street Car

I Don't Think He Can See Me.

Lisboa

Lisbon (Lisboa) is a great place to visit.  Considering we only had 2 nights and 1.5 days, we managed to see a great deal of the city.  As mentioned in our last post, as soon as we arrived at the hotel it was shower, change clothes, lunch, and then off for a walking tour led by Sam and inspired by Rick Steeves.  The tour took us through many side streets leading us to great view points and small squares filled with tourists and locals alike enjoying the sunshine, refreshments and listening to local musicians.

These Two Joined Us For Our Walk

Lisbon, like many cities; is comprised of many neighbourhoods, with the oldest nearest the sea. The oldest neighbourhood is the Alfama.  This area survived the damage caused by a great earthquake years ago.  The Avenida Da Liberdade is the grand, tree-lined main avenue that runs through the city to the sea and is the main artery connecting all the parts.  Our hotel was just off the Avenida and only a few steps to the Metro.

The Alfama District 

Getting around is easy using public transport.  A Lisboa travel card can be purchased for 6eu and is good for all public transit for a 24-hour period.  It is good for the buses and the trolley streetcars.  The trolley cars were a highlight for us.  The system dates back to 1885 and I think much of the equipment is original.  There are lots of them and wait times are short.  There are also two steep-incline Funicular cars to carry folks up the steepest streets to access the fabulous views. 

Our stay involved lots of walking, watching street performers, enjoying Portuguese cuisine, drinking great coffee and quenching our thirsts with Super Bock beers.  Our only other visit to Lisbon was in November 2008 to watch our son play an international rugby game.  I must say that while this visit had many more tourists, the city itself was much more enjoyable with all the things that were going on.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

Oldest Continuous Beer Bar in Lisbon - 170 Yrs.

Daily Gelatos

The Pilgrims

I am writing this while riding the train to Porto. We are prepositioning for the start of the Camino bright and early Tuesday morning.

Lisbon to Porto - 3.5 Hours by Train.