Portugal
Monte de Cima

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    • Day 9

      Day 9: Ponte de Lima to Rubiaes

      October 28 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

      I was only able to walk about 4.5 km today, then I took a taxi about 10 km. There’s a fairly steep ascent between Ponte de Lima and Rubiaes, and my shin injury is still too bad for a strenuous walk. My right leg is feeling fine, but my left lower shin is still very swollen and bruised. I am very aware that I may not be able to finish this Camino if my leg doesn’t get better, so I’m doing everything I can to take care of it right now. I’m still hopeful that I’ll be able to keep going through Spain, where I will be tomorrow!

      Part of today’s walk was on the old Roman road, which dates from the 2nd century. This is such a beautiful area in northern Portugal. I really hate to leave this place!

      I had a nice surprise this afternoon. While I was relaxing at the albergue, the young German couple I met at Ferdinanda’s showed up. I was so happy to see them! We had dinner together, good food and good conversation. They are a cool young couple with a positive outlook on life, very smart and astute about the world. Of course, they remind me of my own kids and their cool friends. It’s good to be with young people!
      Tomorrow I will see how my leg is doing. I will most likely take a taxi part of the way, but I really want to walk across the river from Portugal to Spain, so hopefully that will happen. Even though I couldn’t walk the whole way today, it was still a good journey. 😊
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    • Day 13

      Day 13: Rio Labruja

      October 4 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      18.3k👣 31Z🧡
      12.4km

      Headed downhill from the Gloriosa Guest House in Ponte de Lima, passing all the kids & parents getting to school.
      Stopped for a lovely apple & raisin pastry with a galão (latte) at a fancy pastelaria
      Took a look another church Igreja Matriz de Santa Maria dos Anjos. I definitely prefer this Gothic/Romanesque style to gaudy Baroque
      Set out in the misting rain across the Ponte de Lima bridge that I painted yesterday
      Took a right, which led us fairly quickly to paths alongside vineyards and cornfields and streams
      Today was mostly on dirt paths through forests. Towns and highways were never far away, as the Camino path crossed under the highway above several times
      Feet felt a LOT better than the last few days. I think the Compeed is finally working!
      Still, 3.5 hrs in, with no breaks, at the last stop before the 400m climb started in earnest, and I knew the wise thing to do was to call a cab. So , following some juice, yogurt and banana, I wished Joe happy trails and broke out my art kit.
      Who should come along but Tony, the Aussie we met yesterday at lunch in front of the church!
      We chatted while he fueled up, and I sketched
      When he set out, I called the taxi driver Hélder and, 15 min later, I was on my way across and around the alto to our albergue for the night Ninho The Pilgrim Nest
      More time for sketching!!
      Talked with Yvgeny from Israel by way of Germany, who was moving to Switzerland (which, I learned, is NOT part of the EU) and a couple of Canadians, Germans, and Belgians
      Helped out Marlene by welcoming in and orienting a couple sets of pilgrims, one of which was Abby, Eric & Joe!
      After they showered and did laundry, Marlene brought out some vinho verde, a white sparkling wine from the region
      Dinner upstairs at the long table was delish: spicy buckwheat (?) pancakes, bread rolls, salad, more vinho verde, a HUGE pot of chicken and pasta, and a custard dessert
      Conversation got quite emotional when Nina from Lebanon got into describing how her family has been impacted by the war, the corruption of Hezbollah, the failure of the Lebanese government to do anything about it. Yvgeny from Israel started in about Hamas and Gaza and the West Bank, but ended up holding his tongue as Nina acknowledged what an emotional topic it was for her
      After dinner, 5 women and 1 guy went in to wash the dishes, and we were done in no time
      With that, I joined Joe in getting ready for bed.
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    • Day 26

      An Exiting Day!

      April 10 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      Oh what a day! I was in a hurry this morning to pack up, because I new it was going to be a big day. Have a look at the elevation pic! I started walking at 7:00am, and walked about 8 km's to the first cafe bar to have a sandwich before takling the mountain. When I went to pay however, I looked down to where my money pouch is around my waist, and there it was, GONE! PANIC!
      My passport, etc... in it. A fellow pilgrim was kind enough to pay my bill, and the bar owner called a cab for me to go back to the albergue and check. Well it"s enough to say that the next few hours were a right off. We had to wait for another cab that had a mobile payment machine so that I could pay using the tap of my phone. It was not at the albergue! Back to the cafe bar. The other pilgrims were fantastic. One even had a spare credencial so that I could keep going. Anyway the next thing was the mountain and another 12 km's. I arrived at the albergue and used the euros lent to me by Rafael the guy from Uruguay. I would start to figure out a plan. I went in and started to unpack my bag. Low and behold I glimpsed my money belt underneath my sleeping bag at the bottom. It must have been stuffed in there. Problem instantly gone! HURRAY! It was a little embarrassing at dinner when we all were together, and they deservidly had their fun. It felt good to pay everyone back tho. What special people. Anyway all is well that ends well.
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    • Day 6

      Ponte de Lima to Rubiaes

      August 31, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

      WOW! Toughest walk on the Portuguese so far, climbing the Alto da Portela Grande.

      Another beautiful walk with gorgeous views, but wow, it was tough. We did have more pilgrims today as many start in Ponte de Lima, and we were all so relieved when we got to the top of the mountain - 1350 ft of elevation, and while some of it was on trails, some areas were very very rocky and steep. Even the 2 18 year old Portuguese guys had a hard time. We walked with these 2 kids until Rubiaes and were joined by others here and there along the way. Some more Portuguese, a brother and sister from Switzerland, and again, the 2 people from the US.

      Along the way, in one area, we saw a lot of trees being bleed to collect rubber.

      But here we are, at the Hostel Sao Sebastiao, after 12.5 miles of torture and life is amazing 🤩

      Not going anywhere for the rest of the day! Everyone has blisters so I’m not even going to mention them - lol
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    • Day 7

      Ponte de Lima nach Rubiães

      October 11 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Heut sind wir noch bei gutem Wetter gestartet, was sich aber bald ändern sollte.
      Die Strecke war trotz allem sehr ländlich und manchmal war es wie in der Sächsischen Schweiz.
      Auch eine kleine Bergettappe mußte bewältigt werden.
      Am Wegesrand auf einer Steinmauer sah es aus wie auf dem Trödelmarkt der Pilger. Was für ein Sammelsurium.
      Gegen Mittag regnete es so stark, daß ich mein Tempo steigerte um nicht total klitznass in der Herberge anzukommen. Was für eine Freude, als in der Herberge schon der Kamin knistert als ich da ankam. Es wurde ein schöner uriger Abend mit einem jungen Pärchen aus Israel.
      Gekocht wurden Spaghetti und Maronen.
      .
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    • Day 6

      Day 6 | Ponte de Lima to Rubiaes

      September 10 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Stats first: 13 miles or 19 kilometers- 565 meters (1800 feet) elevation again - 26000 steps - 4hrs and 51 minutes of walking.
      Today is known as a hard hike as it has steep uphills for quite a bit over rocky terrain with a backpack on. We left at 7am sharp and crossed the bridge at Ponte de Lima to find our Camino yellow arrows that mark the start of our day’s hike. Beautiful day today, lots of paths rather than cobbler stone and pavement. Because we leave so early the air is cool and we get to see the sunrise. By 9am we’ve done about 8km and took a break to eat our breakfast and get a coffee. Many pilgrims were there too as it’s just before the long climb uphill. All in all, it wasn’t too bad, mind over matter. I listened to a podcast and got into the zone. What goes up must go down, so from there it was a smooth downhill way to Rubiaes and to our hostel called ninho (pelgrims nest). My legs felt strong and my right Achilles didn’t hurt as much thanks to some cream I got from the pharmacy yesterday. Our spirits remain high and we continue to love our journey very much!!Read more

    • Day 6–7

      Day 6 - Ponte de Lima to Rubiães

      April 14 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

      Today I walked solo (but not really). Sarah has some bad blisters on her toes, so she took a rest day and caught a cab to our destination this morning. I started out on my own, but soon met up with fellow pilgrims that we’ve become friends with the last few days.

      That’s what I love so much about the Camino - the bonds you form with those walking the same path. Canadians, Australians, Americans, people from Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands… we all share rest breaks and meals together. Staying at the municipal albergues, we sleep and rise together too. The beds are fine and so far all the bath facilities have been good. Last night only cost €5! Nothing fancy here, just beauty and serenity. I joked today that we spend more on bandages and ibuprofen!

      Tonight, Sarah and I opted for a private room at a casa. There are others staying here too, and the municipal is just across the street. Tonight the local restaurant was full of pilgrims,and we all greeted each other warmly with smiles and hellos.

      Tomorrow, we leave Portugal and enter Spain (Tui). Hard to believe! It will become more crowded from Tui where many will begin walking the last required 100 kilometers for their compostela.
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    • Day 15

      Walk to Rubiaes

      September 25, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Our last full day in Portugal and another hot, sunny day after a beautiful cool morning. Didn't have a great sleep in the hot, stuffy 5€ municipal albergue. Only walked about 18km but there was a steep 5k climb in the middle and we were glad to get to the albergue, which is the nicest one we've been in yet. Lynn was keen to book a private albergue and we were glad we did after the not so great night last night. Hopefully there's enough food for dinner because people keep walking in and pressuring the hospitalero to let them stay, even though it is full.
      As happens on a Camino, we keep bumping into the same people during the day and end up staying in the same place as some.
      Off to Valenca then over the Minho River into Spain tomorrow.
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    • Day 6

      Rubiães

      September 20, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Moin. Heute gings um 6:45 los, wir waren wieder sehr schnell, verbrachten eine Kaffeepause mit André und seiner Freundin (wissen leider nicht wie sie heißt) aus Hannover und dann ging’s den bisher höchsten Berg hoch. Nur 400m aber echt steil und sehr steinig, kein richtiger Weg mehr. Danach waren wir mal wieder sehr euphorisch und man könnte es eher joggen als wandern nennen, sodass wir bereits um 11:45 an der Herberge (welche um 13:00 öffnete...) waren. Wir schnackten mit einem Mann mitte 50, der uns endlich alle Fragen zu sämtlichen Pflanzen am Wegesrand beantworten konnte, und einer 20jährigen Eutinerin. Jetzt sind wir geduscht, die Wäsche hängt gewaschen auf der Leine & inspiriert von einem älteren Ehepaar neben uns haben wir nun auch eine Flasche Wein gekauft und werden den Nachmittag ganz entspannt mit SkipBo, Kniffel & lesen verbringen.Read more

    • Day 13–14

      Camino, day 3 - Rubios

      September 11 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

      Camino day 3
      # of blisters: holding steady at 3... (but I'll likely lose a toe nail)
      # of times birds have pooped on me: 1
      # of times figs/items falling from trees have beamed me in the head: 2
      # of le squishies found Le squished: 7
      (cumulative counts)
      28,701 steps.... 19.23 kms today

      We made it up and over... The Alberge in Ponte de Lima was beautiful, I could have slept for days! I didn't... we woke up early, enjoyed breakfast, and hit the road, crossing a medieval bridge and finding a fun camino stamp guy who rang the bell for us! It was uphill (both ways!), and we ran into the South Africa group and the German group again, met some new pilgrims, and just kept walking... very few stops with water or facilities today! And we made it! Tomorrow is a brand new day! and we'll take a rest day after that. Still loving Portugal 💙 Bom Camino!
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