Last Day in Portugal

Today I walked from Rubiaeus to Valenca, the last city in Portugal. It is separated from Tui, Spain by the Minho River. The walk was pretty uneventful after our hike yesterday. It was fairly flat with lots of towns with cafes to stop and some bits of forest walking to keep us reminded of the beauty of nature. Portugal truly is a gorgeous country. We met a few people we have met frequently along the way, and it is nice recognizing faces and learning bits about them. The only drawback to the day, in my opinion, was the heat and humidity. It is exhausting to walk in. I do miss the rain.
When we arrived in Valenca, we found Kenny waiting by the fountain of the town center. He is the last to join our group and will finish the walk to Santiago with us. We are staying within the walls of the Fortress of Valenca. I always love these walled cities, but this one feels special. Maybe it is the 2000 year history of the fortress, or maybe the sentimentality of knowing tomorrow I will say goodbye to country that has welcomed me and supported me on this journey. Or maybe it is just my really comfy bed for the night! Whatever it is, I am very happy and grateful we get to spend the night here.
Tomorrow we are only walking to the north end of Tui. I have walked carrying my backpack for over somewhere around 255 miles and almost a month now. I am tired. So tomorrow we will only go about 5 miles and just rest a bit. And Noelle and Richard seem to be getting colds so it will probably be good for us all. Oh, and we lose an hour when we cross into Spain.Read more