Well I am tucked into an albergue in Barcelos, showered and fed. I asked for a glass of wine with my dinner .... I think they brought me a 1/2 litre! Soup, steak, chips and wine all for 6 Eur. See if I can up load this before I fall asleep!!
My accommodations last night had a restaurant and bar below me and I was on a busy street. I did however go to bed early enough to sleep.
The alarm was off at 0630 hrs, thought I would leave at 0700 hrs ... for the long day ahead. But in my sleep state I thought it's still dark, I will sleep later. Finally I was wake enoght to discover that the blinds had been pulled.
The views from the window...
Oh my goodness, time to get up, it's light out, it's not raining.... I was away by 0800 hrs.
Place was not too special. It was all I needed.. 25 Eur for the night. I think I added to the mildew smell.
For a short time the river was on the right.
Now my concern was that I hoped it would be easy to find my way with no water on either side...
But it was not too hard... Very well marked it was. I had a small hot spot on my right foot and added a mole skin, which seemed to do the trick...
Stopped for breakfast. A bun with ham and cheese, coffee and a tart for later.
The shop keeper spoke French so I was able to order an American style coffee but with no milk. His son spoke English, but was still sleeping... He wished me Bom Caminho.
By lots of farm area today..
I liked this...
This was a little park, a place to change socks and eat my tart. It was 1000 hrs.
I like it when there are sidewalks. The Portuguese drivers are maniacs 60-90 km though areas I would drive maybe 50 km/hr. If there are no sidewalks it's best to just be as close as possible to the side. The drivers don't want to hit the walls and they give you some space, but they pass you very fast!
And pavement always better than cobblestone.
Small town churches...
Under and over highways...
Then the eucalyptus forests...
And here my coastal trail merges with the main route to Santiago.
This was very tempting... I have many dirty clothes... I said I changed my socks, not to be confused with I put on clean socks!
Now that I was on the main route there were more signs...
By 1130 hrs the rain came... Managed to get all my gear on before getting too wet. Put my rain pants on this time as well.
And the trail was wet as well..
More signs.. I follow the yellow arrows.. But others go the other way, following the blue arrows to Fatima.
The eucalyptus did smell nice... But there are many smells in the county ... cars, smoke, garbage, manure, animals.
I like it when the trail is on paths in the woods.. Nicer on the feets.
Today's question is what is this fruit??
Not oranges, tangerines...
Oh my goodness this address is on the Caminho!!
More farms...
Not sure what this is, but the bees liked it!!
Just me and a butterfly...
I think these signs are posted to remind drivers that peregrines are walking on the road.
Goats and sheep....
I took the rain gear off ... Maybe I put it back on...
Onward....
I stopped late for lunch.. At 1400 hrs at Antoine's in Pedra Furada. I had been hoping for a place for lunch and a bathroom for sometime... But I kept walking though towns. This was a good place to stop. Antoine had Leonard Cohen playing! We talked for a bit. Fabulous soup ! He said he had been to Montreal and to New York. I gave him a business card and he gave me a patch with the Barcelos cock on it. He explained how his restaurant had won all these awards and showed me back to the dining area. I signed the guest book. He said I could stay in his house in Barcelos as no one was there. When I said I wanted wifi he showed me where the albergue was located and gave me a map. Nice guy.
Sometimes it seemed like I was going through suburbia... But cobblestones!
I kept passing these trees... What were they..? I saw an older women talking with another woman and I tried to ask... The woman tossed me down an orange. I said no it was not an orange, she gave me three tangerines, I said no and I showed them the picture and they said Mathos or Malthus ... I don't know. But what she gave me was great! So tasty!!
Look an advert, a billboard...not where I ended up though..
Somewhere along here I met an Irishman, a French man and a Danish woman all on the way to Fatima... The opposite direction as me. Short chat and Bom Caminho. ... It works for them as well good journey.
Hello Barcelos... And roosters...
It's an old town.
Cross the bridge and up the hill, took a wrong turn and then asked directions. An older woman, and then an older man helped me find the albergue. Settled in, I was the only one here... Had my shower, then dinner... And then had a good talk with Paul from Poland who was off to Fatima.
Vila de Conde to Barcelos .. 29.6
All distances are estimates!
Sleep time now!!
No comments:
Post a Comment