Coura

Today was a day of changes. We started off from Ponte de Lima under cloudy skies which made the early hours quite pleasant. By noon the sun broke through but the temperature felt cooler than the past few days.

This morning we left our backpacks behind at our hotel and only carried water, snacks, and necessities (Compeed). Our packs will be retrieved by TopSantiago, one of the many bag transfer services operating along most Camino routes. I was able to pick up a sleek daypack to carry my essentials but we couldn’t find another one for Ellen so she had to make do with a random assortment of smaller pouches.

We started out following the Lima River valley along beautiful streams in the dappled shade of eucalyptus and oak trees. We passed through more vineyards and small farms and were delighted to find not one but TWO fountains for soaking our feet. Ahhhhhh.

We stopped for a snack at a cafe next to a fish hatchery, a refreshing oasis with a nice shady patio and comfy chairs. We caught up to many of the people who had passed us earlier in the day. A pair from Wisconsin whom we’d seen at breakfast at our hotel shared that they had rescued an older man who had keeled over in front of them the day before. We compared notes -diabetic, two new knees, etc- and decided it was likely the same South African man we had met a couple days earlier. I can’t believe he kept going.

After I’d psyched myself out yesterday and ended up calling a taxi I purposely didn’t look at elevation profile for today’s stage. Good thing. By midday, the gently rolling hills of this morning had given way to some serious incline and the cobblestones had turned to boulders. We had to stop frequently to catch our breath. No cafes in sight, we slogged on. Eventually we reached what we hoped was the summit, rested in the shade for a bit before tackling the steep descent. My dogs are barking.

Just to be sure every single muscle got stretched beyond its full potential we added an extra couple kilometers of steep downhill going off-Camino to get to our hotel, the Quinta de Gandra. Luckily there is a pool. And our bags were there waiting for us when we arrived! Amazing. We will catch a ride into the nearby town of Rubaies for dinner. Unless we fall asleep first.

Upadate: Had a lovely pilgrim’s meal at a restaurant catering to large groups of tourists. The place was packed! Eight of us from our hotel went. Two of our group were young men who had cycled all the way from Porto today. They had to carry their bikes and gear the last 8k up the mountain because of the boulders. They sat at a table outside and the rest of us got a table inside. Alison & Peter from Somerset, England, Claudia and her husband whose name we both forgot from Germany, and us. The place was loud but the food was terrific and we all swapped stories about the South African man. Apparently Alison saw him today and he was was striding along. Since we didn’t come upon him lying on the ground on our way we can only assume he’s still going. The Camino Grapevine is impressive. There’s also a rumor of a Rastafarian leading a donkey which I really hope to see.

Laundry’s drying. The chickens have gone to bed. Night all.Read more