Vera Cruz

We started our day at 7:00 in a light mist and 18°C. Not wet enough for rain gear, but humid enough to cover my glasses with water. Our plan was to do a short 16 km walk to Albergaria-a-Velha and then Uber to Aveiro to enjoy a better choice of restaurants and accommodations, because today was no ordinary day on the Camino. Today my lovely wife turns sixty!

As soon as we left Agueda, the path took a sharp upward route and had us climbing up 75 meters in only 3/4 km. My companions, who tell me they've already contended with much worse, made the climb look easy. Me, not so much. Our first opportunity for coffee came only 4 kms into the walk, so we decided to move straight on to the next, only 7.6 kms away.

As we passed through the little town of Mourisca, we were astounded by the size and beauty of some very old mansions along the way. Some were pristine, others need a little TLC and a couple were abandoned and in complete disrepair. One looked like it could have been lifted from a Hitchcock movie. We had to wonder why so much wealth was at one time drawn to this out of the way little burg.

After Mourisca we were treated to a short time on an ancient Roman road, flanked on both sides by a completely intact stone wall. On one side was a beautiful pond dotted with lily pads and off in the distance, atop a hill, was the local place of worship.

As we traversed a bridge, overlooking the landscape in the distance we couldn't help but admire nature's beauty, despite being partially shrouded in mist.

Since our 7km coffee stop turned out to be non-existant, we continued on to the 10km mark where we finally succeeded in getting an infusion of very good, and very welcome, caffeine. While there, the group decided it would be a better idea to finish our day in Albergaria-a-Nova, 7.5 kms past our original destination. We arrived there at around 1:30, stopped for a quick celebratory pint and then Ubered into Aveiro, straight to Cha & Bolachas, where we had lunch. Brenda had found this little restaurant that offers vegan and gluten free options, so it was a must for her special day. Although we all wanted a light lunch, the different bruschetta plates we all ordered were very substantial and so good that our plates were virtually licked clean. Before leaving, we all ordered a slice of gluten free cake to take away to top off tonight's dinner.

After checking in, we started the birthday celebrations with a bottle of Vinho Verde at The Iron Duke Pub. Champagne was in order, but when in Portugal...

Dinner was at Food K'Ort, an Indian restaurant located a one minute walk from our hotel. The food was delicious, plentiful and served by the most entertaining waiter I can ever recall having. We topped off the meal, and the evening, with a resounding version of Happy Birthday, as much of the gluten free birthday cake as we could eat, and a complimentary glass of Brandy from the chef. And just as we were about to leave, Happy Birthday and an accompanying video began playing on the house TV.

A pretty darn good day all around.Read more