Montedor

Today we ventured away from the coast and boardwalks and back to the foothills. It reminded me of Santarem to Porto with the main difference was rarely used roads so it was mostly foot traffic. I decided to count how many pilgrims I passed or that passed me - I passed roughly 5 dozen + pilgrims while only 1/2 dozen passed me (they were all biking the camino). Leaving earlier helped with the crowds - so early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, wise and filled with peace along the Camino. Beautiful river and hiking trail in the middle of the walk lulled me into the false reality that I’d be alone most of the day. Not so, as soon as I crossed the river, I ran into other pilgrims almost constantly. We hiked up, up, and up - it seemed like it was constant up hill - I was tested on my power up through the uphill to relax on the way down, but was able to persevere through the uphill struggle. Just when you thought the uphill portion was over, you’d turn a corner only to see another imposing hill! All in all it was a beautiful walk and have varying scenery - I even got to pet a ram through the fence - it was very friendly. The descent into town was beautiful! Another city along a river. - Viana do Castelo.

The room that was booked felt like a cracker jack box it was so small plus there was a strong odor from their cleaning agent, whether it was bleach based or ammonia based it overwhelmed my sense of smell. Feeling like staying there could trigger a migraine, I googled for an alternative hotel and found a gem of a place - antique furniture, only a few rooms, space to unwind, and most of all it didn’t have that overwhelming odor. So, I checked in there and only brought an overnight bag as I didn’t want to lug my suitcase roundtrip since the transfer service is picking it up from the mini-hotel.

I will try to leave earlier tomorrow with only about 11-12 miles so should be a quick 3 1/2 hours on the Camino.En savoir plus