15 September 2016, Thursday, Day 17, Povoa de Varzim to Esposende Hotel Suave Mar. 14.37 miles by Garmin 12.67 miles by Fitbit. Today it is overcast with a few 'blue breaks' in the sky to the east. Way far to the north, along the coast line, a headland with some buildings on it, appear and disappear in the mist. There is not a route for today in the Brierley book. But we follow the yellow arrows and the coastline Boardwalk north. The first part of the day is by the sea on the lovely boardwalks. We see the sea weed spread to dry before it is collected and chopped to spread onto the fields for fertilizer. Eventually we turn inland and spend a large part of the day walking through truck farms. They are spectacular. The ... read more

12 & 13 September 2016 Porto And why is Porto special? The three of us have declared it to be our favorite Portugeuse city/town!! - incredible location on the Rio Douro (River of Gold) near the sea - home of port wine - wonderful mix of old and new in architecture, food and life style - one of most beautiful bookstores with Harry Potter connection - where we meet our Australian friends, Moira and Julian, who now join us on the Portugeuse Camino Our weather is holding and we enjoy walking up and down the city streets, including the old medieval quarter near the Se, (old cathedral.) Also, the city is known for its fabulous buildings with the tile azuelo scenes, both inside and out. We ride the Hop-On/Hop Off bus to get a good overview ... read more

10 September 2016, Day 15, São Joao de Madeira to Grijo. 19 km or 12 miles. This relatively short day allowed us to leave around 0810 and walk at a leisurely pace. After self service breakfast at Hotel AS on the central commercial plaza we got right on the Camino track through town. At the Oliva factories we took photos of the two statues: one of a shoemaker and another of hat making. Our morning was spent wandering the mix of suburbs and industrial areas as the route undulated up and down almost all on pavement. As we stopped to take some photos we saw a pilgrim behind us. When he caught up I learned he was Kevin from Cairns, Australia. We enjoyed our day walking with him. We learned his wife is with a group ... read more

Day 13, Agueda to Albergaria a Velha. Today is just a little over 17 kilometers or 10 miles, and breakfast is not until 0730 so we sleep in and take our bags to reception before going up to the roof top bar for breakfast. The Hotel Conde de Agueda has been nice. They sent us to a restaurant last night with great ambiance and good food. And they have been helpful with every request. Agueda is a beautiful little town of 12,000, and very festive. Yesterday we walked down several streets with umbrellas of every color of the rainbow strung above the street between the buildings. Lots of colorful painted objects like electric boxes and very neat. The very modern Tourist office is across the street from the very old municipal building. There is a large ... read more

5 September 2016, Monday, Rest day and exploring Coimbra. Still walked 4.62 miles. Karen here. Today's blog is long and deals with the wonderful university with its stunning library, reflections on books, keeping in shape when your university is at the top of a hill, and the old cathedral with few Biblical scenes to be found. Our rest day in the lovely university town of Coimbra will be spent traveling up the hill to the university - and then down the hill. These students must be in very good shape!! We saunter back to the main plaza that welcomes travelers crossing the Ponte Santa Clara Bridge. Harlan finds a narrow, straight up alley way and off we go. We arrive, huffing and puffing, in a square, that fronts the entry portal into the original palace grounds, ... read more