4/30 Lisbon to Porto

 Ahhh…breakfast! 



I learned to drink Nescafé when I was in Guam a couple years ago. It’s caffeine! So many pastries to choose from! And natural yogurt…weird texture. 

We took an Uber to the train station. That was an interesting adventure buying tickets for the train. It was a leisurely 3 1/2 hour train ride to Porto. Unlike Amtrak, you have an assigned seat so I was separated from the rest of the group.I felt a bit like an outcast. But soon fell asleep and dreamed of the wonderful trip ahead of us. People around me were hacking and coughing. I suppose we didn’t learn anything with Covid.




The train was a great way to see the countryside. From the train station we took an Uber to our hotel. What a beautiful place! We dropped our stuff off and decided to head out to the cathedral in Porto. We needed to get our pilgrim passports because my wise butt somehow left them at home. We paid three euros to go in and tour the old cathedral. It was beautiful. We walked all the way to the top so that we could see a bird’s eye view of the city.




Walking was not without disappointments. Molly and Louise wanted to go to this library and bookstore. It was supposed to be on the sites to see List. We got there and there was a line to go in. Also cost €16 to go in. We opted for gelato instead…wise choice! 

We walked to the river. Found lots of restaurants and interesting sites. Decided to eat there. They don’t use ketchup with their fries here they use garlic mayo. I think I just found a new treat.




Time to go to bed. We have an early start and it’s supposed to be raining. We will begin walking up the coastline. Depending on the severity of the rain we will walk 7-13 miles to our first albuergue (hostel). 

Total steps: 12,024

Sleep well Pilgrim. . 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anticipation and emotion

Image
The day has arrived without fanfare and fireworks. We are finishing as we started…in the rain. How poignant. We decided to leave earlier than usual to beat the “crowd”. It was a leisurely walk, the usual uphill climbs! But the thought of arriving at the magnificent place I had only dreamed about made the walk tolerable and even enjoyable.  Upon stepping onto the hallowed plaza, staring at the cathedral, a warm sense of accomplishment came from within. And then it hit me. I actually did it!  After snapping a few photos we quickly headed to the Pilgrim Office to get our number in line to show proof of our walk. We each carried a credential during the trek that we had stamped at hostels, coffee shops, and churches. A pilgrim must obtain two stamps per day and walk 100 kilometers to Santiago to qualify for a Compostela.  We were surprised to find a short line. My number was up and I approached the lady at the counter, hurriedly handing her my credentials. She smiled and in Sp...
Read more

Waterfalls and “ham” burgers

Image
  Today’s adventure took us from Pontevedra to Caldes de Reis.  We walked past waterfalls and grape vineyards. It was very sunny, hot, and humid.  We found giant leeches. Ewwww.   We’ve tried lots of Spanish food and enjoyed tapas. Tonight’s menu was limited so I went with what I thought was a hamburger. Well…it was a burger…made with ground ham! Rather than show you gross pictures of food, I will stick with scenery.  Almost there.  Total steps today: 17,462
Read more

Still uphill…

Image
  Everything continues to be uphill. Never seen such foolishness. Today we unhooked our backpacks from our beds (yes we did) and headed from Faramello to Milladoiro. It was a short walk…only about five miles.  I use a transit service for my backpack because my back was hurting. They pick up at 8 and deliver it to your next destination for you. It’s quite nice. If it works. Today I got a message that my bag wasn’t at the albuergue when they arrived to get it. I knew it was BS because it was still there at 9 when we headed out. I stressed a bit and checked the AirTag I had on it all day. Finally at 330 it arrived! Yay!! The language barrier doesn’t help when something goes wrong. But all is well now.  We are resting up for our big day tomorrow! We have a short walk (about 4ish miles) into the grounds of Santiago de Compostela. The spires of the great Cathedral are in sight!! The dream comes true! Unfortunately they are predicting rain. We shall see!  Sleep well good Pi...
Read more