Beira Valente to Lamego (27 kms)

Since I was expecting this to be about 20 km, I did find myself mentally dragging at the end. But it was a good day. The Camino has been rerouted to take us past the monastery of St. Anthony in Ferreirim. And I think I lost the camino somewhere near the hamlet of Britiande. As did the guy whose tracks I was following. By the time I realized I hadn’t seen an arrow in a while I just decided to forge ahead since I was on a main road going into Lamego. But whatever the reason, 20 km was actually 27. And 630 m is more ascent than I was expecting too. Well, I guess it’s just good warm-up for tomorrow’s stage, which is a little harder than today’s.

There was more asphalt on this stage than any other, most of it concentrated in the last third. But there were still plenty of stretches through vineyards, apple orchards and pine forests. I saw my first statue of our Lady of Fatima, which is kind of surprising since she is definitely a very popular figure in Portugal. I walked over an unusual medieval fortified bridge, and I had a long rest with shoes off outside the Ferreirim convent. There was a mass going on and I could hear a lot of singing. A lot prettier than the baroque altar, IMHO.

I got to my residencial, which is right around the corner from the cathedral and was recommended by several friends, at about 2:30. I’ve got my routine pretty much down to a science —shower and wash dirty clothes, put on clean clothes, and then head out to see the sights.

I didn’t really like the cathedral, but at least it was close by. Next I walked up to the castle, or what’s left of it, for some good views and a visit to the medieval cistern. Then up to the sanctuary of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios, which I am told has 686 steps. Without a backpack it was a breeze! More baroque but this one seemed less drippingly over the top. And the stairs up are pretty, with tiled scenes of the Virgin’s life — the design is just like Bom Jesus outside Braga.

Sunday night restaurant pickings are usually quite slim. But there seem to be a fair number of tourists so I should find something.Læs mere