Nossa Senhora da Ajuda

We left our hostel at 8:00 to begin what we knew was going to be our first day with any elevation changes. The beginning of the way was lovely on narrow, cobble streets with lots of views of the ocean in the near distance. After about an hour of walking, we stopped at a cafe and I tried a coffee. It's going to be much easier if I switch from drinking tea and drink coffee for my time here. I think I can enjoy coffee. It was a gruelling walk after our coffee stop, through agriculture areas, forested paths, and rocky paths with steep hills. For part of our hike through the forest we were following a crystal clear river, the flowing water serenaded us through this stunning path. Similar to life, we got lost and followed the wrong markings, rather than a yellow arrow, we followed a yellow dash which resulted in a few extra steps. Thankfully, Mary felt we were going the wrong way and her hiking wisdom got us back on track. After about
15 km, we finally arrived at a cafe which was a welcome relief to three tired and hungry pilgrims. I enjoyed a scrumptious tuna salad and felt energized for the final 8 km of our day. Our server was a lovely young lady and reminded me of Ruby. We set off on the cobblestones through the town which became dirt pathways after some time. We stopped at an old laundry stone cistern to soak our aching feet in a cold water bath. At the end of our trek, we had to walk across the longest bridge ever with an extremely narrow walkway without a divider between traffic and pedestrians. A welcome reward for our challenging day was arriving at our accomodation, the magnificent Tres Marias' Residence. This building is a historic building with individual suites, very luxurious in comparison to our dorm in the albergue the previous night. We enjoyed some time by the pool before going for a scrumptious dinner at a family run restaurant. For 9 euro, we had soup, bun, chicken dinner and wine. Climbing into a luxurious bed after our long day was heavenly.Leia mais