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2024: Morocco & Camino Torres2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
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A 79-day adventure by Tina Read more

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  • Morocco
  • Spain
  • Portugal
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  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
    2

    To Gallegos de Argañon - Camino Torres

    May 1, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    Another cold day on this Camino and another day without any intermediary towns or villages, but we only had 17 km to walk today so it was not a big deal. My blister, well covered with moleskin, didn’t bother me much today, but I could still feel it. Still hoping it heals without me having to take an entire day off.

    When we arrived at Gallegos, they had just had a town festival, but it was finished and the people were all gone. Finally, we found the hospitalero and he showed us to the very nice albergue which is located in the back of a nice old house in town. There’s a bar next to it where we were able to order a dinner even though they don’t usually serve dinner. The wife was the cook and what a cook she was! Julia provided us with the most delicious food we’ve had so far. I had a great salad and a French cheese omelette with delicious fries.    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres

    Camino Torres to Aldea del Obispo

    May 2, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres

    Entering Portugal (Almeida)

    May 3, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    Today was Roel‘s birthday, 74th!! Fortunately we were able to plan a short day because there was a town about 10 to 12 km away where we could go and therefore shorten tomorrow also since this is a 34 km stage. (we mostly know our limits and anything past 25 km is past that limit!)

    But today I didn’t walk anyway, because my blister had re-emerged and the extremely hospitable hospitalero in Alda Del Obispo, Felipe, volunteered to drive me to the 10 km destination so I could wait there and give my blister the day off. In fact, he drove me to the first town in Portugal, where Roel and Connie had just arrived and we stopped to have coffee with them before we headed on, it was very nice!

    I had reserved a nicer lodging in honor of Roel‘s birthday. It was a two bedroom house in the center of the old town, gorgeous place in a great location! The owners, Americo and Grace, are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. They met me there and let me in early while they cleaned from the last tenant and then gave me all sorts of helpful information. Lovely people, I would not hesitate to return there just to visit them.

    The last town in Spain, Aldea del Obispo, had a defensive fortification that we had not weren’t able to see because it was closed. The first town in Portugal, Almeida, also had a defensive fortification, this one we visited. Both towns touted their forts for their roles in the Napoleonic invasions rather than their original role (against each other).    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres

    Camino Torres day 9: to Pinhel

    May 4, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    This day for some reason we had thought was going to be 15 km but I had obviously written it down wrong, it turned into about 23 or 24 km. Roel got about 10 km in and wasn’t feeling too well so he decided to have his short day and taxied to check into our hotel.

    We passed through a village that had a small market at about that time and we decided to buy a drink and snacks. The market was closed, but the proprietor opened it up for us and let us buy what we needed and then opened a closed café and told us to stay as long as we wanted to eat our snacks. he even offered to give Roel a ride into Pinhel, but by that time the taxi was already on the way. We have found that you can’t beat Portugal and Spain for helpful and friendly people!!

    Connie and I continued on and did not arrive into Pinhel until 6 PM. There were lots of ups and downs on the road but overall it wasn’t too difficult, I think we were just being a bit slow, plus Connie’s leg was bothering her.

    That evening we stopped at a bar that used to have a restaurant but found it was closed. The bar owner left his bar to drive us to a burger place that was about 800 m away since we were so tired. Another hero!!

    Tomorrow is a rest day for us. It is a 34 km stage that cannot be broken into smaller stages so we are going to Taxi all the way to Trancoso. All of us could use the break for the day anyway.    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
    21

    Camino Torres days 10 and 11

    May 6, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    Day 10 was always planned to be an off day for us, because it was a stage of over 30 km that had no way to shorten it due to no intermediary lodging. We didn’t plan on taking the next day off also, but at this point, Connie has shin splints bothering her and Roel Has the beginning of something like that so we thought prudence would suggest taking this day off to fully rest up so that we don’t end up having to terminate Early. So this morning, we went to a pharmacy to get some more ace bandages and to a grocery store to get a few snacks (which we promptly lost in the taxi), and then grabbed a ride over to Ponte do Abade to the residential where we have reservations for tonight. It’s an interesting place, a few rooms over a very large restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Not sure where the crowds come from to populate this place.

    We stayed in a residential in Trancoso that was run by very nice couple. She did laundry for us gratis and they fixed the best breakfast we’ve had on this trip!

    Today as we were leaving Trancoso we ran into a Canadian woman from Toronto with her Portuguese parents, she was talking about perhaps moving back to Portugal,. She showed us around town and was very helpful. Troncoso is a beautiful town that could use a day or two more to explore.

    Tomorrow we plan to get back on the road again, or sometimes it’s just a dirt path. It won’t be a long day, but it should be quite hilly from what we see on the map.    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
    1
    1

    Camino Torres to Vila de Ponte

    May 7, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    We were back on the Camino today, although it was a short day - only 10 km. Turns out we needed that short day because Connie’s leg was still bothering her and we definitely want that leg to get better before Elizabeth and her boys arrive!

    Anyway, this morning when we went down for breakfast at 8, there was no one at the hotel but they were there just a few minutes later ready to serve us breakfast. Then we left and walked back to Ponte do Abade, then up a steep hill and back down to the town of Sernancelhe. When we arrived in Sernan., we were looking for a bar to grab a coffee when a woman asked us if we were on our way to Compostela and we said yes, and she led us to the local church where we could get a stamp she said. But the church was occupied with a baptism so she led us to a bar where we can get a drink while we wait and when we got back, the people were just leaving after the baptism, but they immediately locked the door before we could get in to see the inside of the church. It’s OK, we didn’t have our heart on it although it looked like an interesting church

    We’re staying at an Albergue in a municipal sports club in Vila de Ponte, a friendly little town on a wide spot of the river where there’s a water recreation area.    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
    1111

    Camino Torres to Beira Valenta

    May 8, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    On this day, our plans did not quite go as forecast. We had planned for Connie to cab ahead to Moimenta because of her shin splints, and then she would walk the last 4 km with us (or not, depending on how her leg felt) to where we were staying in an Albergue. Moimenta is a big town so we would be able to have a nice meal there before we headed on to the small village where we were going to spend the night.

    We left the albergue at the nautical sports center in Vila do Ponte at about 8 AM and walked across the bridge to the same bar where we had had lunch the day before. We had coffee and a small breakfast there, really just a piece of sweet bread. Then Connie called a cab and Roel and I walked 16 km to meet her. This was the first day that was really sunny and warm on this camino . I noticed that I was sweating quite a bit and we didn’t come across any opportunity for food or rest, but we thought we would eat when we met Connie in Moimento.

    When we arrived in Moimenta & met Connie, I felt an overwhelming need to sit down and rest so we hurriedly went to a pizza restaurant and ordered some food. Then I needed to lay down, which was not convenient because there was only a cold floor in a small restaurant . But without an option, I was soon on the floor with my feet elevated and feeling better, joking about how I would like to have my food on the floor with me so that I could actually eat.

    The only other people in the restaurant were a table of 4 people, including a woman who spoke English and another woman who was a student nurse. So soon I had 2 worried people by me, insisting on calling the EMT & evaluating me. Long story short, an ambulance arrived and said my blood pressure was very low but everything else was good. 70/50 is kind of low I admit, but I think the problem was that I needed some electrolytes, and some rest & some FOOD, which I was not allowed to have until after a doctor saw me, LOL. Anyway, an enlightening experience with the Portuguese medical system, it only cost me €51 and a couple of hours. Needless to say, we all took a taxi on our final 4 km to the albergue.

    Our taxi driver was great: he refused to just drop us off, he made sure the albergue was open and even checked to make sure the hot water worked! Have I mentioned how great the Portuguese people have been?    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
    2212

    Camino Torres to Ucanha

    May 9, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    We were all back on the road again for this walking day. We started from the Albergue in Beira Valente and walked about 14 km to the town of Ucanha, where there was a beautiful old tower that opened to a foot bridge over the river. There was a nice little café right before the tower where we stopped for a drink and then they helped us call a cab to our lodging, which was about 3 km outside of town. I had made reservations at a resort hotel to break up this long day. It had an amazing number of pools, couldn’t really figure out all of them, but we went out and sat by them so we could try. We had a very good supper that night!

    The highlight of the day was when we walked by a big apple warehouse in the countryside,. There were a couple of men working there, perhaps owners. They came out as we passed by and called us to come into the warehouse and look at their apples. They insisted that we each take two of their best eating apples and they were delicious!    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres

    Camino Torres to Lamego

    May 10, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    On this day, Connie was still operating under the principle of “one day on, one day off” to try to heal her shin splints so it’s her day to take a taxi. We all taxi back from the hotel to where we ended yesterday (at the tower) then Roel and I got out and started walking.

    As we walked through one little village, a man was filling water bottles at public fountain and said the water there was delicious so we filled up our water bottles. In the plaza, a bread truck had just driven up and honked for everyone to come out and buy their bread.

    Again, we passed some beautiful flowers, ice plants that I had never seen so big and colorful! It felt like the neighborhoods were competing with each other for the most prolific blooms.

    It was a warm sunny day, by the time we got into Lamego we were really wanting a cold drink, there had not been any opportunities up until then. We saw a McDonald’s and without any of our usual resistance to fast food, we went right there and grabbed cold drinks and a sandwich before we went to meet Connie, who had already checked into our room up on the hill by the Lamego Castle.

    Lamego is a beautiful tourist city on the Balsemão River. It has a church with a million steps going up to it that looks like a copy of the Good Jesus church in Braga. Of course we did not climb those steps.

    Our apartment was tiny with ingenious ways to use space, including a full kitchen in a very small area.    Read more

  • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
    1

    Camino Torres to Peso da Régua

    May 11, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    This was our last day of walking before we took a break for three days.

    First part of the day was challenging, but beautiful, we walked up and down gullies and ridgelines and valleys, enjoying some scenic views. Somehow, on the last few kilometers we got stuck along side a very busy highway, I’m sure it wasn’t on the Camino, but there we were, dodging cars. It was not so much fun. But anyway, we made it to Peso da Régua and our lodging in the Imperio Hotel.

    That evening, we discussed our options for the next day. We all felt done in and exhausted, especially Connie whose shin splints were just getting worse. She decided to take several days off so that hopefully her legs will get better by the time Elizabeth and the boys come. so the next day we decided to all three of us take the taxi on to the end of our next stage, and then decide what to do.    Read more

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