Camino de los Viejos

Left Ponte de Lima a little late this morning, but we’re not concerned because it was “only” supposed to be “10 miles”. Our destination was the small town of Rubiães. We had not been able to find anything in that town, so booked a room in a large old house about 2 1/2 miles from that destination. The hike started out departing the city of Ponte de Lima walking across a
1200 year old bridge. The structures on the other side of the river looked so old and immediately brought back memories of our French Camino.

This was by far the most authentic Camino de Santiago feel we have had in 6 days. The first five miles were essentially flat, with a few rolling hills. After trekking through gorgeous paths alongside several powerful waterfalls, we felt it was by far our best day on the Camino.

Then came the ascent, which not only climbed almost 1,800 feet in elevation, it was often up technically difficult rocky surfaces.. We then descended about 1,400 feet and looked for our housing reservations in a very remote area. Our inability to effectively speak Portuguese delayed our arrival.
Tomorrow will be the last day we will spend in Portugal. Looking forward to the Spanish language!
BUEN CAMINO

Well blog fans, today we will probably not overwhelm you with too many gorgeous pics or historical sights. There are really no official “cross-overs” between the two main routes of the Camino Portuguese. We have loved the scenery on the Coastal route but now look forward to experiencing the antiquity and the ‘undulation ‘ of the true Camino Central route.
In order to accomplish this we essentially blazed our own trail and followed a west to east highway the entire 15-mile route to Ponte de Lima. Now you need to understand that the term “highway” here means a narrow, two-lane road, with few sidewalks and often times non-existent shoulders. Also, a couple things to point out: (1) Portuguese drivers are not at all phased by human bodies anywhere in front of them. (2) While the posted speed limit was 50 km/h (30 mph) the average speed in which we were passed was in excess of 65 mph., with little separation. So let’s just say it was a unique adventure!
The other challenge with creating your own route is that it is impossible to plan stops, since the location of restaurants, etc. are totally unknown and always seem to be incongruent with our schedule. Today, for instance, we had traveled over 7.5 miles by 11:45am and finally found a place to eat. But, as luck would have it, they did not open until 12:30pm. Marched on -with very tired feet- for another 2.5 miles – until an oasis cafe appeared! We arrived in Ponte de Lima about 4:00pm , showered, washed our clothes, scouted a dinner spot, and went to bed.
LIFE ON THE CAMINO😎

We knew this would be a challenging hike. While we had averaged a little over 13 miles a day, I can tell you that 33km (just under 20 miles) was a whole different level! Backpack got heavier, legs tired and feet numb …… but we all made it to Viana do Costello.

This will be the last segment of our Coastal Route as we cut across to the Central Route and will hit our first mountains day after tomorrow.

Today was an eclectic mixture of scenery. We had a little bit of everything. Had some gorgeous coastal views, climbed stone paved streets in towns several hundred years old, hiked through forests alongside river waterfalls, and even a few miles on a sandy-brush-filled path that had not been hiked in quite some time.

After 17 1/2 miles, just before crossing the Lima River into Viana do Costello we were once again saved by a small pub and our medicinal liter of sangria.

“Short trip” today – only 13.5 miles. Left our seaside condo overlooking a big marina about 8:00 am this morning and followed the coastline for the first 8 miles, walking on the seemingly endless boardwalk structure. Today that boardwalk took us inland, off the beach a couple of times. Our MMM buddies would have loved the beautiful golf course we passed, tucked between giant sand dunes, and overlooking the coast. Today also finally gave us our first experience hiking through tree-lined, forested paths and much older towns – more like the French Camino.

Soreness set in for most of us today, even though the distance was 3 miles shorter. The body has to have time to adjust to this rigorous routine. BUT, once again, all of our pain was forgotten when we found this hidden jewel of a restaurant shortly after reaching Fao and were served our first pitcher of Portuguese Sangria, and arguably the best meal we have had since we started!

We got an early start today because we knew it would be a much longer hike and there would be no clouds to break the sunshine.
Words cannot adequately describe the beauty of this portion of the Portuguese coast! We hiked 16 miles today, entirely up the west coast of the Atlantic, and almost completely on a wooden boardwalk. There were an untold number of gorgeous beaches nestled between rugged rock formations the entire length of our hike.
The difficulty of such a long walk this early in our adventure was made easier with three separate “Sangria Stops” surrounding our Pilgrims’ lunch.
We got to our apartment, which overlooks a seaside marina, about 4:30pm.
Have showered, washed our clothes, and hung them outside to dry. Will have dinner at some ocean side restaurant and then turn in for the night. LIFE ON THE CAMINO!

We are all super excited about beginning the Camino. When you train for several months it feels great to actually start the journey. Reflecting on the mental side of the walk, it is also so positive to know that you are no longer “walking in circles” and that everyday is a step closer to reaching your ultimate goal, filled with new sights and experiences.

Today we descended from our apartment down to the Duoro River and headed west toward the ocean. Once seaside we headed north toward the small village of Luca. The total hike was only about 9 miles, but absolutely full of people spending their weekend near the water. We saw several other “pilgrims” with backpacks as we walked the 5 mile section next to the river.
Pretty easy day, great weather, and gorgeous scenery. Tomorrow promises more of the same scenery – but a good bit longer.
WHAT A GREAT WAY FOR DAVID AND BRENDA TO SPEND THEIR 39th ANNIVERSARY!
BUEN CAMINO!

Caught an early train this morning and arrived in Porto three hours later. Since we will begin our walk tomorrow from the Porto Cathedral we booked our accommodations a few hundred yards away, and went searching for lunch.

Decided to walk the Duero River toward the ocean this afternoon as that will be our route tomorrow – albeit with full backpacks and hiking poles.
Had a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant directly on the river, and returned to our apartment to prepare for our first day on the Camino Portuguese

You would think we would be a little smarter, given a 170 mile hike just ahead. But, we began our day under beautiful blue skies and a perfect temperature and immediately began what became a 4 mile “walk” climbing several hundred feet. High atop a ridge overlooking Lisbon we stopped at three significant sites: (1) Igreja de Cristina (2) Lisbon Cathedral, built in 1190 AD and (3) Castelo S Jorge, a twelve century fortress overlooking the Tagus River and the entire Lisbon skyline. The Lisbon Cathedral is also the starting point for the longest route of the Camino Portuguese , and would be over 300 miles …maybe another time!
Walked back to our favorite lunch place (Figu’s) and once again enjoyed the cuisine …, and sangria.
Spent the afternoon exploring different areas of the city and making final arrangements for our travel to Porto tomorrow.

After 22 hours of travel, including a 3 hour stop in Madrid, we have finally reached Lisbon, Portugal. We will spend two nights here before taking a train to Porto, where we start our 170 mile hike.
Just had our first taste of Portuguese cuisine for lunch. Everyone loved their dish ….. good start. More importantly, the two pitchers of sangria helped us get ready to explore the historic Baixa district of Lisbon.
Following a 300 step climb to the Sao Palo Church and Museum to end our city tour, we treated ourselves to a fabulous dinner at the Viranda Restaurant and rooftop bar as the sunset over Lisbon.

A 3:30 am wake up call for our 6::00 am flight. First leg to Miami, Florida – where we have a seven hour layover !! Have no fear, though, a short cab ride to beautiful Coral Gables and a leisure lunch will erase most of our otherwise unbearable airport wait. UPDATE: Anyone visiting Coral Gables MUST try La Pata Gorda, an Ecuadorian seafood restaurant that opened on the Miracle Mile two days ago. Phenomenal!
We are all four excited, as this trip was planned six months ago, and the day has FINALLY arrived.! We board our next flight, to Madrid, around 4:45pm and after a brief stop in Madrid, head to Lisbon, Portugal.
BUEN CAMINO