The albergue doesn't open until four!

We think it's about 28ºc today, our hottest day so far (we're already more tanned than we got in 33 days on the Camino Frances, and we are, as the title suggests, waiting fir the albergue to open at 4 - another 1.5 hours!!

The offending albergue - we did ask the hospitelero if we could get in earlier but she said no and proceeded to cover up the code with her hand as she put it in as if Pilgrims couldn't be trusted!!

Ponte de Lima is quite pretty with a mediaeval bridge on Roman foundations that's 300metre s long (longer than the river is wide at least at the moment).

The bridge - I'll try to upload a better picture later.

The town itself seems to consist almost completely of cafés.

Today's walk was away from the cobbles which realky hurt your feet and seem to be everywhere in Portugal. And there were some eucalyptus trees to provide some shade.

We did manage to get lost for 20 minutes when, for an unknown reason, we turned off the path and then of course couldn't find any more arrows! We just back tracked though and were fine.

Now 1.25 hours until we can get into the albergue!!

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The Camino Primitivo

The Camino Primitivo (or the Original Way) is reportedly the very first Camino Way to Santiago in the 9 th century when most of Spain was under the control of the Moors and it runs from near the city of Ovideo in Asturias as it starts in Villavicosa (which also lies on the Camino Norte so many people follow this Way from Basque city of San Sebastian (Donosti in Basque) or in from the French border at Irun ( this route then hugs the Bay of Biscay passing through Guernica, Bilbao, Santander, Llanes before going under the Picos de Europa and then heads along the coast to Ovideo) before branching off onto the Primitivo which goes across the mountains and through the city of Lugo before joining the Frances at Melide. The route is 320km long. Image taken from https://viaalpina2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/camino-del-norte-camino-primitivo/

Symbols of the three main Christian Pilgrimages

The symbol of the Pilgrim to Santiago is the Scallop shell of which many can be found on the coast of Galicia and it is actually a symbol of the Pilgrimage (and has become a symbol of other Christian Pilgrimages too) partly because you could find the shell easily there and so could go back home and show it off as proof that you had done the Pilgrimage. It has also been included in carvings in some Churches.

Pilgrims' Trail to Saint Michels Mont, France

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On the Camino

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