Last Day In Portugal

Today we started our hike from Viana do Castelo in the pouring rain- again! We’re handling it OK since we were able to wash and dry our things at the Albergue St Lúzia last night. We visited the cathedral the first thing this morning and the interior did not disappoint- wow! The stained glass, the painted dome and the special altar to St. Lucy were all very beautiful. As I said before, the climb up last night was very hard but well worth it for the views of the city and the ocean this morning. As we were leaving I was hesitant to go down all of those slippery, mossy stairs with no handrail and wearing a backpack, so we opted to take the funiculaire down the mountain and it was $1E well spent. It made me remember riding the one in Québec City as a child!
This morning we continued up a bit from the coast through dense forests and small villages while still catching glimpses of the ocean from our high vantage points. We did a lot of climbing today up and over many muddy, rocky and scary paths and finally managed about a 19 mile day before arriving to our hostel in Caminha. It was always gratifying to get up a steep incline and realize I still could breathe (barely!) and the forests are so lush that the overgrowth seems to want to push you along the paths.
The tall crosses we pass frequently are reminders that this is a pious walk and we don’t forget that even as we celebrate the beauty of the country. The houses clad in tile are my favorite, especially the ones that have little niches for Saints or the ones with tiles installed up high and painted with Madonnas or Saints. The rock walls on the paths are painted with a yellow arrow to point us in the right direction towards Santiago and the blue arrows point opposite for pilgrims headed to Fatima.
Today we took a morning break and by the time we were ready to go there were pilgrims from Australia, South Africa, Germany and Poland with us - it felt like a United Nations convention! We are making lots of friends here. The morning breaks are great for me because we usually are at a pastalaria (pastry shop) and I have a sweet tooth especially for the little custard tarts that are uniquely Portuguese (pasteis de nata). We’ve met some injured pilgrims too- a lady who broke her wrist in Porto, a lady who twisted her ankle also in Porto and a man who fell in Lisbon and broke some ribs- they are all continuing to walk which is inspiring but sobering too. We are trying to be very careful and Rick is good at pointing out dangers to me. The rain slowed this afternoon and while it was still overcast there is promise of some better weather ahead! In the villages we are constantly followed by dogs and cats- the pets here seem to roam a lot and so far are all interested in us but not bothered by our passing through. This afternoon when we headed back down to the coast in Ancora, we were even escorted along the trail by a herd of goats!! So cute! The waves along the coast are very powerful and a wonder to see but tonight the most wonderful thing I see is my bed- Tomorrow we hope to ferry over the river Minho into Spain, try to make a Mass at a village church along the way and spend another hard day of walking.Read more