Ciao Portugal, ¡Hola España! Act I

Had a luxurious lie in this morning since we were not going far today. I even took a 2nd shower! Ah, the extravagance. We walked around the shops within the fortifications of Valença after a quick breakfast and detour to a farmacia to stock up on Compeed bandages for Ellen’s battered feet.

Then we followed the yellow arrows out of the fortress, out of town, and out of Portugal. Crossing the Rio Minho we caught our first glimpse of Tui, Spain, our home for tonight. We watched a few heats of a regatta from the bridge then navigated to our gorgeous hotel, Torre do Xudeu. As we passed through town we again spied the two German women we have been following for the past week. I think they’re on to us. This time we introduced ourselves and got their names: Ursula and Gabi. They are sisters, too.

Checked in to our hotel for siesta then headed out to find a sporting goods store to buy more suitable gear for day hiking now that our primary backpacks are traveling ahead of us. Ellen also found a replacement for the hat she lost a few days ago as well as a new pink daypack. Tomorrow is Sunday and many cafes and shops will be closed so we stocked up on snacks at the supermercado.

While we wandered we stopped in at the tourist info office for a map and met the delightful and appropriately named Angels who gave us very detailed directions to all the spots we wanted to go. We had a good chat about Galicia (“gah LEE thee uh”), the region of Spain we are in, and the climate changes the area is experiencing, fires, drought, etc. She said the locals are jokingly calling it Galifornia. She asked to take our picture, perhaps in case there is a suspicious crime wave or…?

(Today was too photogenic to be contained in a single post so consider this Act I.)Read more