Day 5, To Labruja

Camino Portuguese Day 5: To Labruja.

Today started with a nice breakfast at our albergue, Casa da Fernanda before heading out on our 24k (about 17 miles and just over 40k steps) day. It was rainy in the morning but part of the time our trail took us through fields of Calla Lily’s (big white flowers) and over hanging Brazil white angel trumpet flowers. (They were actually yellow). It was pretty magical. Around lunchtime the rain stopped before we arrived in Ponte de Lima where we stopped for lunch and ran into friends we had met on previous days. Ponte de Lima is a really charming town that we were told is the oldest in Portugal. After crossing the 2000 year old bridge (considered to be the most important monument in Portugal) we continued on through primarily rural dirt and cobblestone pathways. Around 5:30 arrived at Quinta Labruja. It’s a remodeled building that is the oldest in the village and is reported to have served as a small shop for pilgrims 300 years ago. Quinta Labruja translates to English as “Witch’s Fifth”. The owners did a great job using the witch motif as a theme for decorating when they turned it into a small private hotel with two rooms. They also served a nice dinner for the other two guests and Jay and I. Tomorrow, we are off to another albergue, Passos Albergue Quinta Estrada Romana. In theory, it’s less than an 18k walk.Read more