Doing whatever it takes

Today we got a relatively early start, leaving Fernanda’s at 8:00 after a quick breakfast of bread, cheese, and cocoa. Grabbed an apple for later and hefted our packs for the walk to Ponte de Lima.

By 9:00 I knew I was in trouble. Yesterday’s push really took a toll on me physically and mentally. I knew that although today’s walk would be shorter in terms of distance, I also knew there was a long, steep stretch that was going to test my mettle. Turns out, my mettle is of very poor quality with low tensile strength.

We stopped at a cafe for ice cream (yes, at 9:00 am) and i broached the idea of calling a taxi. The night before, Marcelo the whinging Canadian had confessed he sometimes took a taxi when he was too tired to walk to the next town. Betty and son Jan, our German friends, had already opted to take a bus from Fernanda’s to Ponte de Lima to avoid the big ascent.

We finished our ice cream and walked a couple more kilometers before I decided I just couldn’t do it today. We passed by an auto body shop and I stopped to ask if they could call a taxi for us.

Fast forward 10 minutes and we were in Ponte de Lima. Apparently the road skirts the base of the giant hill while the Camino climbs up and over. Perhaps if there had been more civil engineers making this pilgrimage a thousand years back this would not have been the case. Sadly the average ancient pilgrim was a glutton for punishment, not efficiency.

Since we got to PdL too early to check in to our hotel, we dropped our packs off in the lobby and went shopping. I broke my phone charging cable yesterday and Ellen accidentally left her hat behind at Fernanda’s. While wandering we bumped into Betty and Jan, our new German pals. Jan knew exactly where to go for my charging cable, a fantastic shop called Ale Hop. You would think they sold beer, right? But no, just all manner of small gadgets and accessories. Betty bought herself a little pink battery operated fan she plans to carry on Camino. She’s sure to be the envy of all the other peregrinos. Ellen is still looking for a new hat.

We stopped at a cafe for Cokes with B & J and swapped Camino stories. Jan managed to fix the broken zipper on Ellen’s waist pack - he’s a very handy guy! Betty presented us with a small Camino memento made by a friend depicting a pilgrim figure carved into wood. She is handing them out to friends she makes while walking. Very sweet.

While I’m disappointed we didn’t get to feel smug about being “true” pilgrims, I think we already tossed that aside when we prebooked rooms in 3 star hotels every night. Tomorrow we have made arrangements to have our packs transferred to our next stop. I’m hopeful that we (meaning me) will be able to walk the required distances more easily once we’re not so encumbered. We’ll see. Now that we’ve smashed the taxi taboo who can say where this slippery slope will lead.

Currently I am lying on fluffy white sheets, listening to the church bells toll the quarter hour while our laundry gently drips dry in the shower. Heading out to find dinner soon.

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