We left Ponte de Lima this morning right before seven and walked about three kilometers to find breakfast. The little pub was obviously the local futbol hub as flags and scarves from the Portuguese teams hung from the low ceiling and a large new television was positioned in the corner for viewing from any seat. We had fresh squeezed orange juice and tostadas before continuing on.
The elevation map today promised hills -- and boy did it deliver!! The thing about mountains is that once you arrive at the top and see the view and catch your breath, you forget how exhausting it was to get up there in the first place. Uphill is always my struggle (downhill, mud, cobble stone, field -- bring it on; uphill wears me out!), but CJ was a mountain climbing champ! My Fitbit reports that today I climbed a total of 184 flights of stairs 😳
After we arrived at the highest point and had a rest, we started walking downward until we arrived at Rubiães; there really wasn't much to see or do between Ponte de Lima and Rubiães other than climb; and visit with other pilgrims.
We are starting to all recognize each other in our little pilgrim pack now, if not by name at least by nationality and distinguishing characteristic. Today we walked almost the entire path with Collie, a librarian from Ireland who is here alone completing his fourth Camino; he has a blister on the bottom of his foot about three square inches but is determined to make it to Santiago. Also on the trail today we saw Heida and Nichola from Germany, an engineer and a physical therapist; this is the first Camino for each of them. The four of us are staying at the same albergue tonight. Also at our albergue tonight is a playful puppy -- if I had more room in my pack is try to sneak him home with me! Other pilgrims on the trail today included a father and son from Israel hiking with a girl from Portugal, our favorite Australian couple Bernie and Helen, Peter the plaid wearing German, an older couple from Holland, and many many many other Germans that just appeared on the trail today.
After we had unpacked and showered and rested for a bit, the five of us (Collie, Heida, Nichola, CJ and I) ventured out for dinner -- and when there is only one restaurant in town it makes for a very short venture! We ordered the pilgrim menu and enjoyed each other's company. They had many questions about the upcoming US presidential elections -- most people do when we tell them we are from the United States; at least we are all on the same page when we discuss the candidates! After dinner we returned to our albergue where we continued to visit ... and are now all tucked into bed, ready for sleep.
Here are a few photos from today:
Tomorrow we will cross the boarder from Portugal into Spain -- I can't believe how far we've already walked! And now to get some rest so as to be energized for tomorrow's walk.
Bom Caminho.
I quess you two will be getting up soon. Si happy that you are meeting so many others and all are going the same direction. Thanks for explaining the eggs I was thinking scrambled or hard boiled. Makes sense now, something like the baby in the King bread. Your rooms so nice and clean and a much needed restful haven after your long day. Charlie was wondering about how high of an elevation you be walking, It all looks beautiful. Well dear ones time for me to go to bed, need to get Claudia and Joe up early for school...love you
ReplyDeleteCongratulations CJ on conquering the climb "like a champ". So glad the sun was shining today...beautiful pictures. Bye until tomorrow,Be safe Prayers for you and your new friends.
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