Alvaiazere to Alvorge

26.5km

Today was lots of hills. I climbed into the clouds! It was a beautiful day full of flowers, forest ferns and pine trees. I wish I could capture the smells for you all. This morning was overcast and much cooler than the previous days. It started to heat up after lunch. Thankfully I was on my way down by then. My calves are sore tonight from the downhills. My training with Susannah and Corie on Turkey Mountain didn’t cut it. Compared to today, turkey mountain is an ant hill!

Most of the trail was in forested areas, But, part of the trail was on the side of a pretty busy roadway. That part was a bit frightening because the cars do not slow down at all.

More on fear- Today as I was coming out of a forest trail into a little hamlet I could see a man standing just as the trail ended and merged into the town. I could tell he was looking me over, so my guard was up. As I approached he asked, “where are you from?” I responded, “the states”. He relied, “then you are loaded.” I was definitely on alert now and thinking through if I had my credit cards and money spread around enough in my pack to avoid catastrophe. Thankfully he then said, “do you want to buy my house?, it’s for sale”. I was able to relax. I told him no I have kids in the states to care for. He started walking with me telling me of his life. He lives alone and I am likely the first person he has met in a month to have a conversation with. I was cordial and let him talk and talk. He asked me for the time. I opened my phone, and he saw the picture of Steve and me on the screen saver. He asked me if he was with me and I said yes, he is a little faster of a walker but is waiting ahead for me. He asked me to take a bus to shorten my route, but I told him I have to meet my partner. I was glad for the fabricated excuse and also glad he went on his way.

Tonight I had my first “pilgrim meal”. Restaurants on the Camino serve a pilgrim menu before the typical dinner hour of 8pm. Tonight I went into a local restaurant and asked for a regular menu in my best Portuguese. The waitress said, “you need meat!” And began serving me. I had soup and bread and a platter of meat, fries, salad and rice, flan and red wine. It cost only 8 Euro (about $9.50 US). I am only slightly embarrassed to say I ate nearly everything. I have struggled to eat while walking. I leave before breakfast is served and in Portugal, and most of Europe, breakfast is a pastry and coffee. I am walking at 6am and the cafes open about 9:00. It’s hard to eat a pastry at 9 after walking for 3 hours. Today I found a place for lunch that had a sandwich in the pastry case. Otherwise I have been having small snacks from my pack (cookies and fruit) and dinner.

Looking forward to what adventure tomorrow holds!Read more