Vitorino to Ponte de Lima: A shorter day & a swim

After an excellent night’s sleep (perhaps aided a little by the wine and port!), we were treated once again to the generous hospitality of Fernanda and Jacinto at breakfast.

Jacinto ushered us all into their kitchen, where a large table was laid, ready for breakfast. There was freshly brewed coffee, boiling water for a selection of teas, hot and cold milk, cereals, yoghurt, melon, bread cheese and chouriço (similar-ish to chorizo), an array of jams and similar, and freshly made scrambled egg. Everything was plentiful and we soon tucked in!

Once I’d eaten my fill, it was time to put my boots on and prepare to leave. I had a farewell hug from Fernanda and hit the road a little after 8am.

Partly to facilitate a stay at Casa da Fernanda, I (and most of my new friends) had a relatively short walk to Ponte de Lima, some 13-14km away.

I began walking alone, enjoying the cooler, fresh morning air, as well as the peace amongst the sounds of the local farms and especially the cockerels who seemed to be competing with one another!

After a few km, I stared to see ads for a particular padaria (bakery) in Seara, which said it was initially 4km ahead, and then counted down 1 km at a time. It therefore appeared that the bakery would be close to today’s halfway point and it seemed a suitable stopping point.

As I arrived in the small village of Seara, I spotted some of my new friends from Casa da Fernanda in a different cafe & bakery, and so I joined them there. A few minutes later, a number of the others also arrived to join us! This turned out to be a few doors down from the one advertised, but this one was supposed to be nicer!

After a coffee top up, and a stamp for the credencial, it was time to get going, and this time I walked with some of my new friends.

The path was very pleasant, mostly on tracks and quiet roads between fields, vineyards and lots of chestnut trees. It was also almost all shady, which was most welcome.

Before we knew it, we were entering the town of Ponte de Lima, alongside the Rio Lima and before 12.45.

The local legend, since before the Romans came to these parts, is that entering the river would erase their memories forever! When the Romans arrived under the command of Decimus Junius Brutus in 132 BC, the soldiers initially refused to cross the river (there was no bridge at this point) because of the legend. Brutus therefore rode across the river, and then called out the name of each soldier, demonstrating the falsity of the legend. This is remembered with a sculpture, of the general Brutus on one side and Roman soldiers on the other side.

Our Dutch friend assured us of a little beach just beyond the old bridge, which is part Roman and part medieval reconstruction. We headed to the river bank, and this tiny beach, and decided to risk the legend by jumping into the clear waters of the Lima to cool off. It wasn’t very warm at first but I eventually ventured far enough to dive into the water for refreshing break!

Once dried off, we headed for a bar for lunch. I had intended to stay at the Municipal Albergue but many of my new friends were staying at another Albergue, which had room for another 5 of us.

Once checked in, we were given a wax stamp in our credentials and then set about the usual routines.

I decided to head back into the town to explore a little before my new friends had arranged to meet for dinner.

I also needed to acquire some new ferrules for my walking poles, to replace the brand new ones I’d bought specifically for this trip, but which had already warn through. The first outdoor shop I encountered had what I needed, as well as another stamp for my credencial.

I then found the main church, the Igreja Matriz de Santa Maria dos Anjos, and went to have a look around. Shortly after my arrival, some sort of service began, led by 3 nuns sitting in the pews at the front. I took a seat and listened in. With my extremely limited Portuguese (even armed with the Mass liturgy on Portuguese and English), I am pretty this wasn’t the Mass (which was not due to start for an hour) but it appeared to be a ‘warm-up’ service, involving the display pre-consecrated host and potentially the Rosary. I was able to join in with some of the repeated refrains of the sung worship, but it was hard to follow.

At the appointed hour, the nuns then started to lead the Mass liturgy which I could follow in part. However, I was only able to stay for half of the Mass before it was time for dinner.Read more