Life's a Stitch

According to StingyNomads.com it was supposed to be 16k. Reality: 22.3k, a significant difference considering the amount of incline and humidity.

We opted for breakfast at the sister hotel to our hostel, which was a treat as I was able to make a two egg brekkie sandwich, a protein load for the unexpectedly long day to come.

We started flat, went up and levelled off. We went up again and levelled off. We knew it would be a steep day and were pleased at our performance. Then we went up, up and up some more. We sat at a covered bus stop to check our maps in the shade and realized the website’s error. There was no choice but to tough it out.

it was a day of many surfaces.

Cobblestones

Mud

Sandy farm road 

Dirt

When we crossed this bridge it was raining, but a fellow pilgrim, shared this photo from when he was ahead of us on the trail:

With breaks it took us about eight hours to arrive at Estabulo de Valinhas, a traditional casa rurale located in a vineyard.

C decompressed with a new friend.

We opted for the communal dinner, which was simple, but featured the farm’s own olive oil and wine. We started dinner with a group of German pilgrims, when who walks in? Marcus, the dentist we walked with yesterday.

The dining room had maps where you could pin your names to your home location.

Remember how we slept in the train station in Porto? Now we’ve slept in an old horse barn, the stalls converted to comfortable bedrooms with private bathrooms.

The long day today should make for an easier one tomorrow.