Day 7 - Hills, hills, hills

“After climbing a great hill, one finds that there are many more hills to climb." - Nelson Mandela

First, many have asked who is Arlene? She’s my friend from Boston. We met in Seattle when I worked with her husband Richard. Richard and Arlene’s sister and sister-in-law are joining us in Porto and walking to Santiago. And I’d like to add that while we are walking together we are also walking alone. Arlene is a sprinter and frequently far ahead of me then stops to rest while I catch up. I’m more like a marathoner, a steady even pace. But when I catch up to Arlene I need a rest. So I give her a hard time that her breaks are twice as long as mine.

Today was a hard ~7 1/2 miles from Tomar to Colin’s. The path through the woods was muddy, slippery, and steep. Once we got out of the woods the paved roads were just as challenging. Hill after hill. And just like the lines at Disney you would think you are at the top but you go around the curve and the hill continues and is steeper. The positive is that it forced Arlene to slow down! The negative is that it was grueling and we forgot to stock up on water in Tomar, so we were rationing what little we had. It was hot at times and rained part of the day, but the rain felt good

Tonight we are staying at our first Auberge (hostel) in Colvinos. The cost is 7 1/2 euros. It was an old school house that was remodeled. There are a total of 10 beds (5 bunk beds) in a dormitory style room. We are joined tonight by Yves from France, Alex from Denmark, and Ester from Germany. Alex, Ester, and I went to a local market which was like a storage room in the back of a bar/cafe and picked up supplies to cook a communal dinner. Arlene and Ester made a rice dish with fresh vegetables on a hot plate Yves shared some French cheese and bread, and we had some cake. It actually tasted great.

Tomorrow we face more steep hllls. So hitting the hay early.Read more