That's all folks.

Our Camino Portugues has come to an end and now our time on the Iberian Peninsula also must come to an end.  We have had a great and wonderful time out here, but home is home, and that is where we go at the end of every Journey before starting a new one.  We will catch our last sleep in Spain before leaving early in the morning for a mid-afternoon arrival back in the States.

For a relaxing touring day around Santiago it has been very busy.  For the first time since arriving Tina and I actually had the opportunity to "sleep-in"... I say it that way because we really didn't, last night's accommodation must have had paper-mache walls or some other equally poorly soundproof Construction.  Spain is not known for its early-rising yet the chambermaids were busy early cleaning all the rooms on the floor and in the process waking those of us up who are trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep.  A relaxing breakfast at the hotel was likewise rushed as the staff was looking to close promptly at their designated time.  Thankfully the reception desk was more than willing to hold our packs for several hours until we checked into our new accommodation.

Experienced peregrinos will be familiar with the pilgrim house in Santiago...  a haven for English speaking peregrinos.  Among the many services offered is full wash and dry for laundry and an extensive knowledge of the greater Santiago area.  Luckily for us we brought our dirties.

Tina and I then meandered over to the San Francis monastery which is a little-known gem but for those that take the time you are granted with a second Compostela.  Little trivia fact, there was a decree that no building could shine higher than Santiago de Compostela, so when they built the monastery they actually dug it down into the ground and still built it big.

We enjoyed a few moments of shopping before having to tend to more errands...  The Dirties we're no longer dirty they were clean, however we had new dirties that needed to be then cleaned.  Pilgrim house to the rescue again.

While walking down one of the side alleys Tina spotted a churros sign, with guidance from the pilgrim house we located a shop with delicious churros con chocolate, which was just the fix needed at that time.  It was a Spanish treat I had forgot about but was glad we indulged in.

and all the running around and changing hotels we still managed to get in a quick run to Monte de Gozo and the Peregrino Monument.  it is a very important location for peregrinos coming in to Santiago on the Francis route as it is your first chance to see the spires of Santiago.  Interesting side note, there were some locals picnicking at the Monte de Gozo monument with a little ankle nipper of a dog who learned that this peregrino wasn't going to put up with his bullshit.  I didn't have to say anything I just pointed back to the owners and growled and it went back much to the surprise of the owners.  as I started walking to the other Monument it had a brief moment of braveness until I spun around and growled at it again. I was ready to take a cue from my older brother and take a chunk out of the dog with my teeth.  Walking as much as you do when you're on Camino just put you in the mood to not deal with anything.

We even managed to finish off our last night in Santiago with an impromptu met up with a Camino friend from my 2015 Camino, Susan Peacock.  Susan was just herself finishing an extended Camino down the Portuguese and to Finisterre.  We spent our last night in Santiago indulging in Tapas yet again.

Sleep soon airport in the morning, the Iberian Peninsula can breathe a sigh of relief...  I joke a lot about that but in reality the Portuguese and Spanish people have been awesome to deal with and language barrier or not I always manage to communicate my needs.  I picked up just enough Spanish words to bullshit my way through almost any conversation so long as I can make animated gestures and sound effects.  To that point, one peregrina recently named me the whistling peregrino, as I'm more than demonstrated with animated gestures and sound effects several items I was describing.

ULTREIA!

Photos :
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

SANTIAGO!!!!

We will be honest with you, the day started off rough, that kind of last rough attack you get before you are victorious.  We were unable to score any breakfast before leaving town and the trail was up and down in the brisk morning breeze.  Upon arriving in Santiago City proper we finally located in open bar and were able to score a day saving breakfast. we also had the opportunity to meet up with a few other pilgrims we had previously met with and enjoyed their company for a brief while.

Breakfast in bellies and murdering temperaments calmed down, we commenced our final attack on Santiago.  Walking through the new city was kind of a slog especially during morning Rush.  On reaching one of the parks that is on the outskirts of the old city I was immediately in familiar territory.  Tina and I put our walking poles away and proceeded to walk the entire distance through Old City to Santiago Square hand in hand.

I can't tell you what the feeling is there are no words in the English language that I know of. I can tell you that even on my second pilgrimage I was still overcome by emotion, thankfully for the surrounding people it was not as explosive as my first arrival in Santiago.  Tina had her own emotions which I could certainly feel and understand but those are for her and her to share in her own time.  Suffice it to say the arrival in Santiago was powerful, more powerful than one would normally suspect could happen.

I will say that we were in the Square for quite a long time just soaking in the victory in the beauty of having overcome this Camino in arrived in the Square. we had many of our fellow peregrinos who had either overnighted or had come in earlier in the morning seek us out and give us congratulations for overcoming everything to arrive in Santiago.

Once we could fully compose ourselves we went over to the new Compostela office and waited approximately 45 minutes for our compostela's.  First Compostela, second Compostela, it doesn't matter, it's still a powerful and emotional experience. we even took in some extra time after receiving our Compostela Spain to relax in the garden out back and just soak in the entire experience that it happened.

Santiago had one more challenge for us.  before I get into that let me ask you this question, how well do you check over your hotel room?  Me, I tear the thing apart!  In doing so I found an extra, unwelcome, visitor in our room.  Bringing it to the hotel's attention they quickly closed off the room and put us in a significantly better room.  I will say that the significantly better room past the tear apart inspection. Did we flip out or otherwise lose our cool on the whole incident, no, not at all!  All the hostel, albergue, pensions, and other places we stayed, we found no other visitors.  Peregrinos diligence is always smart.

We proceeded to take a few hours of the day as downtime to gather and compose ourselves and reset ourselves for the 7:30 Pilgrim Mass.  The legendary botafuma, which swings very rarely recently, swung for us tonight!

As my fellow peregrinos can attest, arrival in Santiago is immensely powerful and highly emotional.  Today has been an extreme of emotions.  Yet when we sit back and reflect on the journey and it struggles, we acknowledge that we would happily do the journey again as the rewards are just so much greater then the challenge of overcoming the obstacles.

Tonight we celebrate with pollo paella (with a proper crust) and tinto sangria.  Tomorrow is a day to explore around Santiago and hopefully find those little cans of tiny pickles someplace.  Tonight, exhaustion and full bellies reign supreme.

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

This is the road that never ends....

Yes it goes on and on my friend....  Ok, not really the truth as a matter of fact we have less than 7 km to go.  however when you're dealing with the injuries Tina dealing with the road just seems to go on and on and on Without End.

By the way tomorrow is the Santiago invasion and occupation. today was actually a little heartbreaking and sorts because many of the pilgrim friends we had met along the way and various Fashions casually or otherwise we're pushing today clear to Santiago and leaving town tomorrow. The trail today was a trail of Quasi-teary goodbyes as we bid an Ultreia farewell to our friends.  For my Camino friends they know how easy and quickly type bonding Camino friendships become, for those who have not walked Camino it's a very hard sensation to describe other than there is a near immediate bonding with so many people. Some people we seem to bump into everyday.  Some people we've only met recently.  Some people Proclaim that we have assisted them in some way.  Whatever the reasons for the friendship it seemed today we were passed by a constant stream of peregrinos all wishing us the best in our future as we likewise expressed our best wishes.

Tonight Tina and I are enjoying a quiet relaxing night in the largest suburb of Santiago before we invade tomorrow.  Looking back time seems to have stopped this brief week and a half that we've been out here.  When we set out we had an aspiration of Walking the Camino Portuguese from Porto along the coast for a while and then changing to an Inland route.  We tried our best to leave ourselves at the mercy of the Camino and let it guide our movements and not us forcing our movements in the Camino.

The first day out a minor ankle twist ultimately manifested into a full-sprain.  Thanks to the wonderful Portuguese and Spanish farmacias we were able to continue Along on a modified itinerary.  out of a possible 240 km we will have walked 177 of those when we arrive in Santiago tomorrow.  Along those km we have always put ourselves at the mercy of the Camino, gotten beat down on a daily basis, yet at the end of the day we were always shown kindness as we soaked in the local culture.

Was this a transformative experience like my Camino Frances trip in 2015?  No it was an entirely different experience.  The 2015 Camino was a solo Journey for myself over 800 km and 7 weeks away from home.  This is a joint Journey over a hundred and seventy-seven km in only 2 weeks away from home.  Does that mean that the journey itself was without results, absolutely not.  While Tina and I are very comfortable in our relationship this journey did help us both reaffirm our commitment to each other.

Tina's own personal take on the Camino she will have to express on her own.  for me it was almost like coming back to see a friend you haven't seen in awhile.  While a different Camino, it is still a Camino, and you can feel the warm comforting embrace of the Camino.  this Camino in the short two weeks probably tested my patience more than the entire Camino Frances did over the whole 7 weeks.  Being a younger Camino and still under very active development, I found sections of it more challenging then I would have suspected given the documentation in the guide books.  Either way my commitment to not let the Camino conquer me but to ultimately embrace the Camino and finish as friends with the Camino still stayed strong.

Tomorrow promises to be a very emotional day.

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

The long day

Before we start on today let's go back to last night.  Tina and I landed at an absolutely wonderful albergue and when we checked in at the hospital a Taro for the best beds he could provide. He graciously put us in a small 6 bed dorm with two bunks and two singles.  I put $10 into the single and took the nearby bottom bunk.  After having sold out the second floor dorms, he sold one additional bed in our room to a very friendly person named Ben from Denmark

Later we witnessed a peregrina being dropped off in a car that a local had picked up on the side of the road, she could barely make it into the albergue.  We, as naturally good peregrinos, offer to assist her with her foot problems as much as we could.  She had literally blown out the sole on one of her boots and related or not was suffering extreme feet pain.  The hospital a terro brought out a tub of ice water and had her soak her feet for a good hour. We brought out Tina's pair of Oboz shoes to see if they would fit and offered her to take them if they did, sadly they were one a size off.

By this time her husband had caught up and met her at the albergue and called her a taxi to where they were staying in the next town and he hiked up the rest but not before we all sat down for quite some time and enjoyed some good peregrino social time.

We later sent down to a wonderful assortment of Galacian Specialties in half racion form.  Zorza, Mini-chorizos, Spanish omelette (a half ration was still more than enough for two of us), and assorted Spanish meats and cheeses.  Worth noting all of the half rations themselves we're more than enough and would easily pass in the US as a full serving.

In the table next to us was our roommate Ben (Benny), who in Tina's eyes was a dead ringer for Crocodile Dundee. We had some great social time sitting outside under the awning getting to know each other.  As bedtime neared Ben warned us that he talked in his sleep...  I'll tell you right now Ben doesn't talk in his sleep but more about that soon.

We wrapped up and got to an early bedtime at 9 p.m. looking to get an early start this morning.  Just as we were really starting to doze off Ben started his "talking in his sleep"....  Remember I just said Ben doesn't talk in his sleep, that's right he doesn't talk in his sleep, he screams in his sleep, in Danish to boot.  After the initial shock of his screaming we were able to settle down and get a good night's sleep.  at some point in the night apparently his phone rang and he shouted at it yet I did not wake up for that event.

Today we hit the trail at 7:30 walking in the pitch-black until sunrise at 8:30.  nursing Tina's feet we walked 20 km taking a full 8 and 1/2 hours to walk it as we took advantage of every bar and rest area available to us.

We landed in a wonderful spot tonight in Padrón, famous for padron peppers, and also the spot where body of St James came ashore.  As we were out looking for a place to dine we bumped into the very same couple from the night before with the foot injuries and proceeded to have a wonderful social time with them until they had to depart to get ready for tomorrow's hike.

Tina complains back at home that we can't go anywhere without somebody recognizing one of the two of us.  It's worse here...  HAHAHAHA!!!

Taking your time and being easy on Tina's feet takes us a little bit longer on the trail but allows us to enjoy the experience more.  Every time we stop we're bumping into new friends that we've made and if we're not bumping into somebody they are actively seeking us out in the Towns at the end of the day.

Tomorrow's day is looking to be shorter with Thursday being a short walk into Santiago de Compostela... The Invasion is to begin soon...

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

Quick blog

Longer push today, though we would do 16, ended up 19.  Albergue at 16 was clean but way too stroke and separate men's and women's dorms....  Tina was less then impressed and I was none too thrilled either so another 3km pushing her feet to 19.

Either way, we landed at a much less sterile and more hospitable albergue...  WITH a built in bar!  Got to chill, tend to Tina's feet, assist a lady walking with hurting feet, and just get in some serious chilling and just soaking up the Camino life and food...  OH!  The appetite loss is over, I can actually eat a regular meal again.

Planning on invading Santiago early Thursday, gives them time to prepare for my arrival.

Pictures:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

Closing in.

So many kilometers down only 63 left in this journey.  The physical pains of the journey melt away as we encounter the kinder side of people.

Leaving the not-so-Camino feeling city of Arcade behind us and starting the ascent immediately after crossing the bridge we were getting road weary from the steep climbs and descents over and over.  Half way up the last significant climb of this trek we came across a little peregrino rest station setup with a tent, a few folding tables and chairs.  The couple were tuning a very small starting for peregrinos to catch a quick snack and a few minutes rest before tackling the push on the ascent.  Not only did we enjoy their company but we got to enjoy the company of a couple from South Africa.

Feeling less burdened, we ascended with relative ease and I even belted out my trademark "WHOO-HOOO"...  I even got a return "Whoo"... 

Further down we passed "The Peregrino Oasis", a rough Oasis run by a very friendly elderly gentleman.  His gate was still closed, but he was in the yard, so I asked when he opened...  "For you, 1 minute"and true to his word, he opened for business.  We not only enjoyed some cool beverages but the wonderful company of the gentleman, his two dogs, and two cats.  It was a very enjoyable rest-break and gave us the energy to continue along.

The entrance into the city of PonteVedra is a slog like many others, but the city has a very peregrino welcome feel, complete with a special peregrino vending machine station at the entrance to town.  I won't describe just HOW special, but they certainly sended too have considered not only the basics but even a few primal needs as well...  I'll let the pictures do the talking on that.

We landed at a place called MORC which are beds and rooms from a lovely lady in her apartment.  She had shown us kindness and compassion beyond what would be expected ...

Sometimes Camino beats you up, sometimes Camino treats you nice...

Photos;
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

Some good times, some tough times...

Yesterday Tina and I made our way from Tui to Mos.  I would be remiss and telling you that I had very little expectations for the little Hamlet. upon arriving at the public albergue all we could hear was sawing and hammering emanating from the interior which did not leave us with the most comfortable of thoughts.  A construction worker came out the door at a very convenient time and encouraged us to go across the street to speak to the bar owner there for accommodations. We soon discovered that the bar owner had a mini albergue a up about her bar and several rooms with single beds in them. Upon inspection we found them more than adequate especially for the paltry 10€ she was asking for the beds.

After the normal round showering, laundry, and other chores we settled into the bar for a light afternoon snack and quickly found ourselves making friends with many peregrinos.  We had ample enough time to wrap up our Blog early, take a quick tour around the little Hamlet, and even score a pair of Tiva-like sandals for Tina.

Later we returned to the bar for our evening meal, which was an order of patatas fritas and homemade empanadas. I indulged in the Spanish treat, arroz con leche, and Tina indulged in one of the world's largest cheesecake pieces.  We were sitting with a new friend from South Korea, Una, who was likewise dealing with a variety of foot related issues.  We ordered a pitcher of sangria to share and one of the tables further down came over to ask what the drink was.  Una offered Andrea a sip of her sangria which fully converted andreea to liking sangria.  I was not indulging in sangria so I happily poured her a glass from my unused one and gave it to her.  Somehow this simple Act of generosity seem to have a lot of power.

Then I got an idea, wonderful not-awful idea!  I quietly inquired with the bar owner on the price of a bottle of orujo de hierbas which came in at 42 Euro.  She encouraged me just to pay by the shot which only came in at a paltry 1€.  I ordered a shot for everybody outside to which one of the bar ladies accommodated.  I had her start at the father and and work her way to us handing out shots of orujo.  At first there was some confusion and she had to explain that a peregrina was buying.

Then it got fun.

I called for a toast "To Friends Without Borders!" what's then proceeded to liven up several tables worth of otherwise sullin pilgrims. The various tests started coming with one that stuck out in particular, "We Are Family!".  The vibe turn really positive and infectious and even infected the two ladies manning the bar.  shortly thereafter a Spanish local, Nina, who was sitting at a table nearby with her elderly mother made a point of asking me if I had ever tried Creme Orujo.  I told her I had not only tried it but loved it and proceeded to pull out my picture of me destroying a bottle in Santiago across the street from the Policia.

It was perfectly timed....

One of the bar keeps with another round of shot glasses and a bottle of creme orujo which got passed around all the peregrinos again.  There was not enough drink to get anybody even remotely drunk, but the cheap money spread cheer that lasted longer Into the Night.

When the Nina was getting up to leave, her elderly mother came up to us and started saying praise that we were good people because we shared what we had with everybody and treated everybody as equals.  We even had one young German lady who was ashamed of her German Heritage and therefore ashamed to be German.  Tina and I had to remind her that she is who she is and is not defined by the country she grew up in.  As we made our way up the stairs back to the albergue The Cloud of happiness that we left behind will still lingering thickly in the air.

Then...

Then came today's hike...

We struck off at 7:30 in the dark and the Fog.  We walk steadily uphill making good time unfortunately not being able to see the sunrise because of the Fog.  we may miss the duck out of the fog briefly but on the extremely steep descent on the back end we ducked back into the fog. The Descent is tricky enough that it was tricky for an injured person, and in some lovely ankle sprains and healing blisters and it made The Descent a miserable treat for Tina.

While the physical distance was very short, the time taken to go that distance was greatly Amplified which added to our frustrations.  close to the very bottom of the Descent we stopped at the local bar, ordered some drinks, and proceeded to use use the facilities real quick.  When I came out I found that andreea had caught up to us and head quickly paid the tab for our breakfast drinks citing the happiness we spread the night before.

Shortly after The Descent we entered Rondalla and we broke one of our Cardinal rules, they were a few bars available and we went by them because we will look into make up time from the extended descent. this would later come back to frustrate us as we did not take the requisite breaks and found the slog out of the city to be tedious quickly followed by yet another assent.

We did manage to locate a little resting area where we have Ali hydrated and ate some of the snacks we had been carrying which helped us recover some of our Humanity

Then we went down yet another unnecessarily steep descent into Arcade which we head home would have a more Camino Town feel, it does not. Aside from a few albergues at the entrance to town, there is no notable Camino infrastructure otherwise.  By the time we checked into our room and showered it was too late to grab the lunch menu and dinner was not due to be served until 8 p.m. in almost all restaurants.  We had a few things we needed to do for errands, so we made a giant around the town to quickly take care of those.

We did score an inexpensive laundry mat so that did save us on some of our peregrino chores.  Batting zero on the food front we want the two local super-mercados and ended up with some pre-made salads and some assorted snacks wish we went back to our room and nibbled on with satisfaction.

Tomorrow will be a short day Landing us and PonteVedra which promises to be more Camino friendly, we can't wait...

Photos so far: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

Changes in plans.

The Camino is a fluid thing, you can fight it or you can embrace it.  Fighting the Camino never wins, embrace the challenge and modify as needed.  Camino hands you a sprained ankle yet you still want a Compostella, move up to the official "start" marker (to get a Compostella you have to walk the LAST 100km or bike the last 200km) which are well marked.

Yesterday, after the struggles on the missing paths and the ankle sprain, we agreed to take two easy days and move ourselves up to the 100km marker.  Yesterday was took a train from Viana do Castelo to Valenca and in the process meet a fine young German peregrino, Jannik who was likewise recovering from ankle injuries and also moving ahead.  The three of us quickly became a small pack as we moved across Valenca, thru the old Town, and to the bridge connecting Portugal and Spain.

The crossing from Portugal to Spain was probably less ceremonious then my crossing from France to Spain, which as you recall was a castle grate.  The crossing this time was some painted boot marks and a line...  Either way, it was still kinda cool to stand with one foot in each country for a few seconds and soak it all in...  A completely powerful line, only in the mind...  All of nature, all around us, had zero regard for this man-made boundary.  You could, however, hear the Portuguese national guard breathe out a sigh of relief and while the Spanish national guard took in a heavy breath.

What scored a private room in a clean but dated ablergue and net some wonderful people at the same time who were amazed we hadn't called it quits, just modified the plan (OK, in fairness, the only plan is to get to Santiago).

We struck off and toured the beautiful cathedral before settling down at one of the only restaurants open at 7pm (the rest at 8pm), a wonderful Italian shop that had three of the many foods I desired since leaving Spain 3 years ago.

KAS LIMÒN!...  Like San Pellegrino lemon, only the Spanish version.  Not overly sweet, packed with a lemon punch, and just very satisfying.  It is probably a good thing this is only available in Spain cause if it was, I would be drinking it all the time at home if it was available.

ENSALADA MIXTA: OK, in fairness, you CAN make it at home, and I have, but it just isn't the same.

ORUJO DE HEIRBUS: This is what you get when you ask the gods what you should drink for dessert.  It is yellowish-green, potent, just a bit sweet, and delicious!

Tina keep saying I was like a kid in a candy shop, which is probably very accurate.  7-weeks living this culture and then 3-year withdrawal ...

Today began very foggy, that heavy fog that makes you wonder if it is raining and not just foggy.  We took a bus to the 100km maker receiving Buen Caminos from the bus staff and from a friendly local who helped us navigate the bus system.

A short walk of only 8km is all we did today, yet with the lifting fog and encroaching heat, it somehow felt much longer.  We arrived in Mos Spain and discovered a new albergue across from the municipal, which was under renovation.  The lady who runs it, while speaking zero English and sputtering Spanish endlessly, is a great hostess and send to love her job and peregrinos.

So, how was Portugal?  We both really loved it, the Portugués hospitality was awesome however the coastal littoral route is still very-much a work in progress and any foot injuries are amplified by the constant cobblestone beatings.

Just crossing into Spain the whole Camino took ona whole new feeling...  Or maybe old feeling...  Either way, it was like the Camino was waiting there to embrace me and welcome me back...  It finally FEELS like a Camino Experience and I can feel the stresses of worrying about the trail melt away...

I'M BACK WITH REINFORCEMENTS!!!

A very trying day.

Well, we will cut right to the chase on this one, this was a very trying day.

we took the advice of many and went to the local Turismo office this morning before striking out on the trail.  They are sure does that there was a coastal trail that was new and flat and went all the way to Caminha. Sure enough when we got to the end of town there was a brand-new boardwalk and plenty of signage pointing us forward on the Camino.  We enjoyed over 6 km of boardwalk and sidewalk as we cruised along to have it abruptly end with a complete lack of signage.

Many of the people on the trail with us we're just kind of looking around like,  "okay now what do we do?".  Having paid attention to the overview map I had a recollection of at least two spots on the map with a trail came in land briefly before returning to the Sea.  We took a quick in land detour to the next road that came out to the Sea and we're pleased to find a brand new rest area complete with restrooms.  Little did we know that was the complete end of all of our luxuries.

We found a yellow blaze on a pole and took that for a Camino marker and struck down a very sandy Farm trail that paralleled the ocean. after walking for a bit it became obvious that this was not a true Camino Trail yet it was blazed as such.  We were getting ready to take the next Road in land and connect to the central route when we found a big billboard out in the middle of nowhere probably proclaiming a new Camino route....  It was complete bullshit.  this new Camino route that they were so probably touting was not built and was nothing more than a network of loosely tied together overly sandy farm trails.

Realize in the way forward would soon be met with a river and no meaningful way of crossing it, and dealing with a sprained ankle that was getting very inflamed, we took to looking for the quickest route out of there.  Spotting a campsite on the map we made a straight line for there only to find them closed for the season when we got there.  Luckily there was some people tending to the campsite postseason who not only graciously offered us fresh cold water but offered to call a taxi for us as they were likewise concerned about the ankle.  We took the taxi to the nearest town, Viana de Castelo, and secured lodging and a wonderful hotel for a paltry 45€. 

After showering and washing our clothes and make it an upscale hotel room look like Camino albergue with clothes hung everywhere, we took a quick walk to the local Square in search of food.  We found "Liz Tapas and Toast" and had one of the better meals we have had so far in Portugal with a wonderful host and his girlfriend. We sampled two kinds of chorizo, Iberian ham, two kinds of butter cheese, and paprika cheese.  We added in the regional specialty toast, which has cheese, ham, chorizo, sausage (hot dog), and Potato Sticks.  Add to that 1 liter Tinto sangria all for a paltry 23€... we estimated that would have cost between 50 and 60 US dollars.

walking back from the bar we found an interesting site as we passed the local Peugeot dealership, which in and of itself was interesting as it was entirely contained in a building.  Sitting proudly in the open showroom was a cat, sitting their grooming herself without a care in the world.

The next 2 days will be rest days off our feet as we switch from the coastal Camino to the central route. When we restart walking we will be doing shorter distances each day so we are moving our position up to the hundred km mark in order to still earn a Compostela and finish our Camino.

Despite all the trials and tribulations we are really enjoying ourselves out here.

Ouch the ankle hurts, a lot!

Thank God for Portuguese medicine!

So despite the twisted ankle it has been fine on flat surfaces such as the sidewalks and boardwalks we were walking the past two and a half days.  Yesterday we had our first extended period of cobblestone and oh my god did it aggravate the ankle. Having ditch Tina shoes in favor of her Crocs the blisters and heat rash have all but disappeared and when walking on smooth surfaces she was very comfortable.  But the constant undulation from the cobblestones completely inflamed her ankle.

Photos so far:
Thank God for Portugues Pharmacias and their extensive knowledge of treating peregrino injuries. We have been outfitted with very inexpensive yet very good Portuguese compression wraps, a fast acting anti-inflammatory cream, and some spray coolant that's used by European football teams to treat injuries immediately. will be taking it very easy for the next few days avoiding as much cobblestone as possible which is very difficult at this point in the journey as at some point in the past some rich-ass Portugues got some dominating control on Portuguese roads and now his rocks cover every possible surface in Portugal.  by the way we have to be very careful to avoid extended stretches of cobblestone because that will inflame the ankle.

Enough of that ankle talk...

After an extended social chat with the local Pharmacist and a quick visit to the local church to get our stamp, Tina and I set out on a quest to find an open restaurant on a Tuesday night...  who the hell decided that Tuesdays was a good night's to be closed.  I thought that was Monday's. Right immediately beneath our hostal is an Italian restaurant and a Tapas restaurant, both of which were inconveniently closed on a Tuesday night. We were settling for the local Corner Cafe just sitting down at a table when some German ladies that had met us a few nights before flagged us my fellow Camino friends will understand what I meanmy fellow Camino friends will understand what I mean when I say we had an awesome peregrino time, my not-peregrino friends and family need to understand that it involve 2 liters of sangria and lots of laughing.  Oddly enough one of them was a podiatrist who gave us some awesome tips and tricks for continuing our Camino.

It's kind of funny cuz now we have other peregrinos trying to parallel there Camino on ours just so they can hang out with us.  interest only enough Tina and I appear to be one of the few Americans on the Camino right now that apparently is full of Germans. It is amazing, still, how much admiration other cultures have for Americans.  So many of them have travel to our country for various reasons and love us.

Despite all the stresses,  the injuries, the strains of the road, and the slowing down of the pilgrimage; it is very nice to sit down with fellow peregrinos at the end of the day and just enjoy each other's company in that moment.  the nice thing about Camino pilgrimage is that all nationalities disappear and everyone becomes a pilgrim.  You sit down with complete strangers or people you have just met and there is an immediate camaraderie that cannot be described.  I know I've said this before but all pilgrims are part of the family and that family takes care of itself and in doing so they share what limited resources they have with each other so that the whole may continue.

There is a happiness and joy for letting go of everything, surrendering yourself to the Camino and living in the moment.  So much of the stress that we endure in our daily lives melts off as you realize it's not really that important and you embrace the kindness and generosity of the world around you.

Photos so far: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9

Cobblestones are killers!

Starting out today we walked kilometers upon kilometers on boardwalks, so much so that I started singing my own lyrics to right said Fred's song:
”Cause I'm a model, you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the boardwalk
Yeah, on the catwalk 
On the catwalk, yeah
I shake my little tush on the boardwalk"

Thoughts of a homemade video came to mind, but objections suggested that be avoided 😂!

Well, the day WAS going awesome until...
THE COBBLESTONES!!! (dun dun dunnnn)

They beat against me pretty hard, they outright attacked Tina!    A minor sprain that was being well handled with expert support from the wonderful Portuguese Farmacias did NOT like the cobblestones one bit.  Think of all the ankle flexing while walking on kilometer after kilometer of uneven path.
We called it a day shy of out intended target, but personal safety takes precedence over beating the mileage.  The farmicia in town, WELL versed in foot injuries, provided some expert advice and a Portuguese version of an Ace bandage the $0.55 to euro.  that combined with a miracle Portuguese anti-inflammatory cream has really helped take the edge off.
That being said we have decided to take a few down and easy days along the Portuguese Coast starting tomorrow giving the ankle some time to recoup.  this doesn't interrupt our planes that well because in two days time we're planning on making the transition to the central route and continuing the journey there.  this gives time for the current heat wave in the central route to pass and gives a few down rest days before the final push to Santiago.
All day we are constantly reminded of the wonderful Portugues Hospitality that is demonstrated over and over again.  In typical fashion from most people you just have to demonstrate a willingness to respect their culture and language and they will give you the world.  We are far from staying in five star resorts, yet we are constantly treated as if we were.
We are taking every opportunity to embrace the Portuguese culture while we are here including dining on the regional specialties.  Oddly enough we have discovered that the Portuguese bagget favorite is the Americana.  it's amazing what happens when you open yourself up and ask the waiter is or waitresses for their advice or what their personal favorites are what awesome food choices are suddenly available to you.  Just last night Tina and I had probably one of the best Sangria's we have ever had.
Speaking of awesome food the prices are ridiculously cheap.  Last night 24 Euro got us a humongous sandwich which was easily 2 servings with a large side of fries included, a chef salad which left me stuffed, a hollowed-out cheese bread stuffed with melted cheese bacon and wine served with a pile of bread crisps, and the previously mentioned liter of sangria set us back a mere 24 Euro.  Today's lunch break included a lemon iced tea, a cappuccino, two chocolate croissants to go, and a grilled ham and cheese that we split for a whopping 4.50€.  heck the day we arrived in Porto we walked over to the local decathlon Sports to check out slack packs and discovered a 10 liter compression sack with straps that made a handy dandy day pack for a whopping 1.99€ !

A strange note, since arriving in Portugal not only is my appetite down, but my food capacity is severely limited before feeling full.  I am definitely not running out of energy, but even when I did the Camino Frances my appetite was not this little.  My morning breakfast of choice is an orange juice and a chocolate croissant and that fills me up.

Till tomorrow!

All photos to date, not cropped out weeded out:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrwX3kEc8aytbNMo9
(Not my fault if there are things that cannot be unseen, viewers forewarned!)

Day two of the Camino Portuguese

So yesterday we walked 26+ kilometers and today we did 20+ kilometers.  I have had a few challenges that I had to deal with, which didn't help things. I found
 out the hard way that my hiking shoes are not very good at breathing and is causing me heat rash and blisters.  And it is so warm that we are staying on the coastal route.  That is causing me to get wind burn and is slowing us down because we are having to walk against the wind.  And this is also adding more kilometers to our total amount for the trek to Santiago de Compestella.  And one more challenge, like we don't have enough already is my ankle is very swollen and sore.  I don't know what is causing it, either.
Putting all of this aside, this is an awesome experience and I am so glad to be able to do it.  And with my amazing husband who has been there through these challenges with me.  I was ready to go back home yesterday and call it quits because of the sheer pain I was in and Kevin suggested that we stop at a Cafe, get some rest and some food for fuel to finish the day's walk to get to our bungalow.  (The bungalow had a shower and a restaurant on site).
It is a struggle to want to continue on this journey when you are in a lot of pain.
Tomorrow we will be going to get better shoes that are breathable.  For now I am wearing my Crocs and taking Ibuprofen.
I am hoping that things will get better soon as far as the blisters, heat rash and ankle pain.
We will be sharing more pics of our hike.  The sights are beautiful along our way.  I am so thankful to have such a great husband by my side on this journey.  And all of the support from all of my friends and family.  Thank you all so much for helping me through all the training and encouragement to make it.

So much has happened!

WOW!  What a whirlwind the past 4 days have been!  SO MUCH MOVING!  We have done so much already, yet so much more yet to do.

So, before I get started, it is worth reminding people what pilgrim life is day after day.
Get up early, 6am or earlier
Breakfast and out the door by 7
Walking, waking, and more walking
MAYBE a snack
Walking, waking, and more walking
MAYBE a snack
Walking, waking, and more walking
Walking, wincing, walking, crying, walking
Screw that snack, I just want to get to a hostel
Walking and crying, Walking and crying, Walking and crying
How much bloody longer, screw it, snack time!
Ok, I can now do the last leg!
Maybe I can
Nope, screw it, I'm just going to sit here until a cab comes
FINE!  I'll walk the last bit to the hostel.
WHY IS THE LAST KILOMETER TAKE SO LONG!?
.........
WE FINALLY MADE IT!
DAMN, No rest yet.
Shower
Address injuries (blisters, heat rash, whatever the day came up with, etc)
Hand wash clothes
Yeah, check them and probably wash again
Ok, now they are not so bad
Try to dry them
Ok, now I have to eat
But I am so where's near hungry
FINE, I'll eat
Where is the nearest location foods
Break ice with waiter (funny, just noticing, not many waitresses)...
Discover any local specialties, decide if brave enough to try (easy one there, if it is not seafood pretty much good to go)
Eat
Enjoy
Yuck it up with serving staff, don't care about language barriers - Google Translate is AWESOME!
Now head back to room
SHIT!  It is late!
Maybe spew out something on faceless-book and hopefully update a blog
CRASH IN BED!

Repeat until you reach Santiago.

That brings us to the 4th day off this adventure!
Thursday, car to bus to plane.
Red-eye to Madrid, land having not really gotten sleep on plane, change terminals in Madrid from international to puddle jumper (4 terminals away by bus), Rush to security, get checked in after getting on a first name basis with security (forgot had water still in bottles, no dumping some, exit, dump, re-enter, staff smiles, WTF, now you have a problem with poles, get it, find check-in counter in far corner of nowhere, screw this, time is getting short, dump poles, back thru security who copy info from last re-entry, everyone laugh), run to plane, squeeze into miniscule Ryanair tin-can, and suck it up until Porto.
10 minutes before landing, Tina's forehead swells and gets bright red and can't do a damn thing cause we are landing.  Get the hell of that plane and into the terminal.  Say for about 30 minutes in the baggage claim area just resting.
Final left to the entry terminal and found some fresh Orange juice and a cappuccino - OH MY GOD Europe has GREAT Orange Juice!

Sit down at that coffee shop for a long while, finally feeling very gritty, locate restrooms in far corner on nowhere and freshen up and try to wake up some (this is about 6am EST/11PM Portugués time).  Well, let's start the long process of figuring out the metro system when the help of the visitor desk.  Board said train to downtown Porto, change to cathedral line, exit and locate cathedral....  WHAT THE HELL is with the hundreds of youth in all black suits and dresses with black shawls?!?!?!  Anyways, get that every so important first stamp in the pilgrim passport and claim the walking party of the pilgrimage had officially begun...  Hanging around the cathedral is kinda fun, you get to meet pilgrims and the tour groups make a point of identifying pilgrims so people look at you in awe (which they shouldn't, pilgrimage is a humble journey, or should be).
Get to tour around Porto, see most of the sites including the churches with blue tile, the infamous bookstore that inspired J. K. Rowling, and even went on a city bus tour with the psycho driver from hell... Seriously this guy was beyond nuts... I kept checking the calendar to make sure it wasn't a Halloween special fright ride...
Get to bed much later then wanting to...

Get up late because we just couldn't function and needed an extra 30.  Repacking slowly because still somewhat tired.
The wall out of Porto was beautiful, the guidebooks say it is unassuming...  Guess they didn't walk it themselves.
We started eating with no set destination, a few thoughts, but nothing hard set and easily cleared the first 12k with no worries.  Having trained for 22k we knew we had some left in the tank.
Didn't like the hotel that was our last stop before a 7k stretch, because it was close to a very busy road and did not appear relaxing, so we agreed to push it 26km to get to a campground...
It was a walk!
But we were rewarded with a little Bungalow with shower and toilet for 28€!  It even had beautiful views of the Atlantic and we got to see the setting.
LATE bed, mainly because we got to the campground at 5:30 and had to take care of everything first.

SLEPT VERY WELL...  Woke up early to heavy fog and soaked clothes on the drying line.  Pulled the clothes in and feel back asleep.  Woke up at 9!!!  Yeah, we didn't care, needed that rest!  Got out clothes dried in a dryer which was a mini-adventure in itself.  Breakfast in bellys and clothes dried and out away, we finally left at 11a. For a "short" 16k day....  NOPE!  It was a 20k day that ended at 5:30 AGAIN!  Beautiful hostel, only is and tell Dutch ladies.  We have a private room that can sleep 5.
Dinner at corner restaurant, yuck it up and find out the guy has traveled to the states a lot.
Back to hostel, write for 1+ hope in blog, realize 30 minutes late for bed, sign-off and go to sleep!

The walking has begun.

Again, a short entry.

There is so much the we would like to elaborate on yet our day has run late yet again.  Quickly putting this out there 10:30 at night, half an hour after we should have been in bed.
Tina and I took her time walking down the river out of Porto this morning.  the spike the books saying otherwise it was a very beautiful walk and very pleasant.  We stopped several times at various places to get little snacks along the way. We did have one slight run-in with a group of kids on bicycles running around slapping people on the head.  that's amazing no matter how many kids in the group as soon as they're confronted they turn into all chickens and run. that was probably a good thing for them because I was already thinking of ways to use their bicycles against them. On our first day out we pushed 26 + km mostly because the last place that we had to stay was not very inviting and in a very noisy busy road. we decided to push on the extra kilometers to a campground that allows pilgrims to rent bungalows. 28 year old got us a cute little Bungalow with a bath in the shower in it.
Splurged on the tourist menu and had a pretty good meal and was introduced to sobromesa, a regional drink of choice.
When we got a good Wi-Fi and get the pictures backed up will share those and they can pretty much speak for the Day's Journey.
there is so much more we would like to get into but alas we are out of time for the day.  Suffice it to say we're having a really good time face a few challenges already overcame them and looking forward to the rest of our journey.

P S. taking this leg of the coastal route was very beneficial there a Pilgrim's Everywhere by the account of one bar at least 200 Pilgrims go by his establishment everyday. We are certainly in Good Company.

Traveling to Portugal.

As I write this, Tina and I have been up over 30 hours and s lot of that spent on the go.  After we arrived in Porto airport, we just sat down for quite a while recovering from the flights.  When we finally for ourselves going again, we headed to the pro cathedral for it first Sello (Pilgrim stamp).
While there we meet several other peregrinos and got some good trail reports from an experienced walked.  Outside it was awesome how the crowds just hold the peregrinos in high regard.  We found our first arrows and even a Camino marker.
Some walking around Porto taking in many sights got us plenty of activity to get the blood flowing again, even when we took a sightseeing bus and had the craziest driver in the country (think Otto the bus driver from The Simpsons and Mad Max and that's probably our bus driver). We even double check the date to make sure that this wasn't a surprise Halloween tour he's the scary piece check out the photo dump, we got a lot in.
We'll elaborate more tomorrow.
 When we are not exhausted.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/R2rYfnB6URxEyQFe6

Camino Portuguese, here we come!

Tina and I are heading out to walk the Camino Portuguese from Porto, Portugal north to Santiago de Compostela - A short 150 mile walk.  The seeds of this journey were planted 17-months ago while having dinner.  Back then we considered many shorter paths but mainly focused on the Camino Portuguese and the European Peace Walk.  After research and watching other's journeys it was decided to walk the Portuguese.

Original plans called for 5 weeks walking and we would depart from Lisbon, Portugal.  Current senior employment leadership held some reservations this go round, so a 14-day walk was born with advice from seasoned Portuguese walkers.  As many things Camino this turn of events happens to be in our favor as it avoids the worst of the Portuguese paths yet giving us a full Camino experience.

We have prepared for months, walking ever increasing distances and fine-tuning our equipment constantly refining our gear.  We depart on our journey with everything we NEED all under 20lbs (9.07kb) SKIN-OUT, the only thing not in that weight is water which adds about 3lbs (1.36kg) when full.

What is truly amazing is the volume of support both of us have received and the positive comments people make about the journey.  Family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers have all supported us to get to this journey and stay behind to cover for us while we are gone.

Thank you all!
Kevin