Over the hills and into the wind

This morning, Pilar was still suffering from a twisted sock, so I set off alone for the first stretch. Pilar stayed in bed until about 10ish and then ventured into town for a coffee and was chatted up by some local Portuguese blokes. Despite flashing her recently acquired sparkling diamond eternity ring, she had to beat a hasty retreat and caught the bus to Viana. Meanwhile, I was enjoying a lovely trek through eucalyptus forests, a pleasant change from the coastline. It was a little more challenging today, with a bit of up and down, but the tracks are beginning to be marked a lot clearer, so navigation was simple. The end of the morning trek took me over the iron bridge built by the same French man that designed the Eifel Tower....I just can't remember his name? Despite being some incredible cafés in Viana, we met up in a typical workers' restaurant and were literally forced by the late middle-aged waitress to eat lunch. We tried to just order soup, but she wouldn't take no for an answer and brought out the main course of chicken, chips, and rice .and a bottle of wine (14€ for the two of us).. She then watched over us to make sure we ate it all. With full bellies, we set off into the wind for the final 10 km to our overnight stop in a quaint little house, with a view to the sea.Read more