An earlier start today, we were on the road by 8am as the temps will be in the upper 80s and low 90s for the next several days and we had 11.5 miles to cover. The day started cool, which made it easier on the gentle climb out of town. We came across another outdoor gym, complete with a water tap. Michelle tried out the arm machine ‘wax on, wax off’
We stopped at a local church, we weren’t able to go inside but peeked in the windows and got a stamp in our passports. Lots of welcomes on the Camino today – people had drinks and handmade mementos for sale outside their homes, another person had a coffee/snack cart and seating in his driveway with access to the bathroom! We saw flower arrangements in old boots, statues and a sign showing how far we’d come from Porto (73.3 kilometers) and how much further we have till Santiago (171.3 kilometers!)
Gorgeous countryside and friendly pilgrims and locals today. Several groups of bikers passed us today all wishing us a Bom Camino!
Two of our favorite stops today:
First favorite stop was on some shady stone benches with a beautiful view over the valley and friendly sheep across the road. We were next to an albergue (pilgrim hostel) that was for sale! It was built in 1625 of granite and has a natural spring next to it. Ooooooo
The second favorite was just as we finished with a long downhill section we came to a small chapel where a woman was setting up tables next to her car. She greeted us and asked if we wanted water, ice, snacks or a passport stamp! She told us she had hiked the Camino a few years ago and knew there weren’t any cafes the last several kilometers so wanted to help out tired pilgrims! She is originally from Brazil and now lives in Ponte de Lima (where we were headed). It was wonderful to meet such lovely trail angels.
Just before we stopped for lunch we came across some road construction, definitely not done American style – they used a stick and a couple of stones to wrap the caution tape around a big hole in the ground in the middle of the road! We went past a few more lovely spots where people had benches and shade for pilgrims to relax in.
Since we didn’t get dessert with our breakfast this morning, which we have had every other morning since walking the Camino, we both got big desserts to go with our lunch at one of the local cafés! We checked out a lovely chapel, were very excited to see the 1 km to Ponte de Lima sign, went through neighborhoods boarding the river that had lots of grapevines growing overhead. On the outskirts of town we enjoyed the shade of the trees and watched a kayak race on the river.
We found our hotel, which faces the river, and gratefully got settled in our room, took showers and revived ourselves enough to head out to the local laundromat to wash a week’s worth very dirty clothes!
Michelle has been great at finding yummy and inexpensive places to eat. We had dinner then went for a walk across the Ponte de Lima (bridge over the Lima River where the city got its name) during sunset. What a gorgeous sight!Soon we saw another kind of view- lights, everywhere! The bridge, the church, the buildings, the streets…
Last weekend was the 200th Feiras Novas festival in Ponte de Lima. While we missed the crowds (thank goodness!) we still got to enjoy the lights.
