On the Camino

We were up at 6:30 and took Mum's bag down for 7:30 before eating breakfast in our room. As we headed downstairs at 8:40 we realised that we had forgotten to write our day's destination on Mum's bag.

I cooked us scrambled eggs for breakfast and we lingered a long time over this so that it was 9:30 by the time we set off - definitely the latest I have ever set off on Camino. The day was sunny but there was a breeze so that it wasn't too hot for walking.

We were up at 6:30 and went down for our free breakfast. We got two slices of toast each with jam and a hot drink.  When we finished eating it was raining outside so we took a few minutes to get our coats and bag covers on only to find when we got outside that it had stopped raining!

Today we walked 20km after a bad night's sleep - the man in the room next door arrived back in his room at 10:59 and spent 15 minutes talking very loudly to his son on the 'phone (on a good note I learned that the weather was now much better than it had been). seeing as he was speaking on speaker 'phone I also learned that the man's son was pleased about this and that the grandchildren were well but missing their Grandad! We were up at 6:30 and packed away. Mum was having her bag carried by the Spanish Post Office on this Camino and they need all bags packed and at reception by 8:00 so by 7:40 we were down and ready for breakfast.

Our bus to Valenca was not until 10 so we had a lie-in until 8 (although the Spanish group next door got up at 6 and were noisy enough to wake me up). Before we had set off I had made us a banana loaf which we had brought with us so we ate that in our room for breakfast as well as some yogurts we had bought the day before.

Today was a day of traveling starting from home and arriving in Santiago - the flights used to be early in the morning which left enough time to travel onwards but now that flights are later in the day arriving at Santiago was as far as we could get today.

The Camino Portgues runs from Lisbon to Santiago a distance of 620km although most pilgrims choose to start in Porto which is 230km from Santiago. The route runs close to the coast (indeed there is a possibility to walk along the coast for some of the route) and the route leads you through Barcelos (where there is another version of the Pilgrim and the Cockerel story), Tui and Padron (famous for its peppers and as the spot where the stone boat carrying Saint James was supposed to have landed). Historically this was the route used by Queen Isabel of Portugal when she made a Pilgrimage to Santaigo. Image from http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/  (a blog written by a couple who walked from Lisbon to Santiago)