Blogs from Northern, Portugal, Europe - page 9

And off to Portugal I go - Sue had booked us into this quirky hotel in Porto - Zero box lodge, where all the rooms were basic wooden cubes with a door through to a bathroom. Every room was the same and encased in what looks like Pine, all off a long corridor with a mirror at the end so it looked longer than it was. Getting the key was interesting as they were all kept in a huge glass fronted fridge behind reception and hung over a bottle of beer which you got with the key. Opposite reception was a glass cube with a bed in it which you could stay in for free as long as you were happy with everyone looking on! Someone was staying there that night! A theatre critic, this wasn’t ... read more

Today was intended to be a ‘catch up on rest’ day, wander around, and go on our boat ride. We took the rubbish out - 50 metres up the street, turn left and the bins are another 50 metres - and walked back to the main road down some different streets. I think we found the real local shops. A cluster of tidy cafes sat at the top of the street, followed by a butcher, fruit shop, two strangely stocked hardware shops, and an op shop/ curios business. A recommended restaurant was open and I went to enquire about the hours. Do you speak English? No. And that was it. These weren’t restaurant people, but rather tradesmen who looked displeased to see me. That conversation was over. Portugués people are loud. They yell and argue in ... read more

Last night we walked down to the main road leading to Ponte D Luis, aided by the clever web site established by our hosts for their business. It has a google map link that highlights the essentials to get us around. We had dinner at a local cafe, an empañada and coke , and while waiting for Sue to finish - I know, I eat too fast; I wish it was an Olympic event - I spotted a trail of people heading up a very steep path to something. At my suggestion to find out what ‘something‘ is, Sue gave me the , look at the hill look, but I was not to be denied. After glowing compliments about how well Lisbon’s trekking had gone, and how she’d even surprised herself, l led and she followed ... read more

I started today hoping everything would be a better/easier day. Well, it was in some ways. I saw and spoke with a good many other pilgrims from places like Norway, Germany, and Canada. I wasn’t getting as tired, sore or uncomfortable as before. Also, I’d learned my lesson about stopping at available cafes, instead of figuring there’d be another just a bit further… there usually wasn’t! Finally, I’d made reservations at my next stop, Casa da Carolina. What I hadn’t planned on was the HILLS! Soon after I left the coast, the trail started climbing and climbing. After the first hill, there was a nice trail through the woods, followed by a cute little creek crossing over concrete, followed by the never ending hill from Hell! When it wasn’t ridiculously long and steep, it was just ... read more

After yesterday’s trials and tribulations, I was hoping for a better day. It was, in most ways. I didn’t have to walk nearly as far.. only something like 27 kilometers. Also, I made sure to eat lunch along the way. The only real problem was upon reaching Fao, my destination for the day, I found out pretty much all the inexpensive lodging was full! When I left Vila do Conde around 7:30am, I quickly got lost again. This time it worked out because I accidentally took the not-well-marked river route and ended up getting ahead of a number of pilgrims that had left before me. I stopped for a coffee to celebrate, and left my trekking poles behind, walking several blocks before I realized it. Just before I got back to the café, a lady who ... read more