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  • Day 11

    Apulia Praia to Esposende

    May 24, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Up nice and early even though I was only walking 12 kms. The food and beverages manager at the hotel was very nice. Normally they do not serve breakfast till 8.00 but I had asked for an early breakfast and was served at 7.00am. As a special treat he had a custard tart for me. A few days ago Shan had asked me if I had eaten any of these yet. I had not. She said mum it is a speciality you have to eat these. So here you go, I got given one without even asking for it. it was very nice too. It's called Pastel Belem. It is a trade name that can only be used in Lisbon. So out side of Lisbon it is called Pastel but the second name is different.

    On the beach side were these buildings which looked like silos, but they were actually houses, and also the Pohutukawa tree are presently starting to flower. Along the route you see yellow arrows and at times the scallop shell image. This shell image signifiers the different roads that meet in one final destination which is Santiago de Compostela. Some others also say that when the body of St James was brought back to Spain the ship got caught in a storm. When his coffin got washed ashore it was covered in shells. Hence the reason most pilgrims have a shell on their pack. Others also say that in the medieval times it was versatile as it could be used as a spoon, and a scoop for water etc.

    Today too I ignore uncle Google and kept to the ocean on my left. It started to spit a bit of rain, but not enough for me to put my poncho on. After about 5kms I hit the same road the bus had taken yesterday. Saw a church and went in and boy it was so nice. So beautiful to look at, but so peacefully and serene. There was only one other person in the church.

    After praying for a while I thought I would go to the café and have a cup of tea, and of course the famous toilet stop. After that I went back to the church which was just across. 10 steps at the most. And I stepped in and took off my pack sat and talked to God. I was on my own, in my father's house. Could have stayed there for a long long time. It was so very nice, balm to the soul, peace to the mind, and I did not want to leave.

    After a very long time I had to tell my self well you better make a move. So onwards and forwards I went. I saw a lady with a pack in the distance by the bridge which I had to cross. I thought my first sighting of a fellow pilgrim for that day. When I got to the bridge she was seated and was looking up Google making sure she was on the correct route. Stopped to talk with her. Her name was Catrin and she was from Germany. She spoke good English. So we started walking together. She was going to the same destination as in the area as me, but she had not booked her accommodation yet, was hoping to find a place once she got to Marinhas.

    As we walked she explained how she had done the French Camino last year. Walked 799 kms. But this year she had a problem with her legs and she was taking it slowly. So I asked her if she wanted to come and stay with Shyama and I. Shyama was joining me on my Camino walk from today on. We had a 2 bed roomed apartment for the night. She was very happy with that. So we kept walking and stopped for lunch and to give her leg a rest. Then it started raining and there was quite a bit of thunder too. No lightning at all, or maybe just couldn't see it, though it was a gloomy kind of day. Before leaving the café we had to put our ponchos on and I even had my back pack cover on.

    After a few more kms we found our place of accommodation. It is a very nice place . Catrin was very happy that she had decided to stay with us. We had plenty of time to get sorted, and then have cups of tea etc. Shayama was due to arrive around 4.00pm , ( Syama is my cousin's wife and she was joining me, and was flying in from SL). but her plane had got delayed for the sector from Lisbon to Porto, so she came in around 6.00pm. And now my walking buddy had arrived.

    Catrin had gone out and brought dinner rolls and fillings, I had a bottle of port that had been purchased 2 days ago. We had a simple but lovely dinner, and now winding down after a relaxing day. The other two have gone to bed. I will follow them very shortly.
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