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!)