All the way to Valenca

We ended walking over 30 km and (over 20 miles) yesterday and have reached the Spanish border.  Cold, but we are doing well. More later. Setting off to walk now.

Breakfast at Hotel Mercearia de Vila

Ponte de Lima

We are slowly making our way north toward Santiago after two nights in Barcelos where I took it easy to try to shake my cold.

I felt much better on Monday morning (yesterday) as we set out about 7:30 in a fine drizzle that became a steady rain.  In a small bar I unzipped my wet pant legs and put rain pants over the rest of the pants. Over rain jacket and pack covers we put our ponchos.  Kent tied the poncho hood over my hat with my bandana so I could see when I turned my head.  We walked on some muddy trails where mud went up over my shoelaces, but rain soon washed the mud away. 

We stopped at a little crossroads cafe Olveira with the usual contingent of men smoking and playing cards, and had most delicious warm ham and cheese sandwiches and cafe con leche. As we ate, the rain stopped, and we even had some wonderful sunshine in the afternoon as we walked among green flower-filled fields, and over a medieval stone bridge.

We met Frederick from Ottawa, at the cafe where I added rain pants, but he and his friends were much faster walkers than we.

Later we were enjoying a break on a stone wall on a hillside when we met a group of 4 friendly Croatian pilgrims.

All of these people were heading to Ponte de Lima last night, but by the time Kent and I got to Casa Fernanda, about 2:30 or 3 pm, and about 19 plus km from Barcelos, we were both thinking we did not want to walk 14 more km that day.  It was still sunny off and on, but a cold wind gusted, and I was slowing down.  Fernanda said we could stay, invited us to a room in the house with a double bed and a bath, and then she disappeared for 3-4 hours.  I sat outside for awhile, and we read (I am rereading Finn Family Moomintroll and finding it oddly comforting),  then we huddled under layers of blankets and sleeping bags in our room, but it was very cold, so cold my hands got too cold to hold the book.  About 5:30 pm we walked outside, following the country lanes in 4 directions. Finally, at perhaps 6:30 or 7, we heard Fernanda in the kitchen, where she built a fire in a wood stove, and began cooking on her modern range. She gave us a jug of wine and some pistachios as we warmed up at the kitchen table while she cooked.

We ended up enjoying her conversation and cooking (fish, potatoes, greens) and homemade wine, and we were later also joined by her husband Jacinto and her daughter.  We saw the news of the discovery of the wreckage of the Malaysian airlines flight.  The stove heated the pipes in the radiator in our bedroom, so we had a little heat at bedtime.

We arrived here in Ponte de Lima about noon today after walking through lovely country and pretty small villages, and found a hotel in the old town center.  We have heat and internet and hot showers.  We are not sorry that we are not in the albergue in a dormitory with bunk beds and no heat.  As the picture from our window shows, the weather is miserable, cold, and rainy.  It is good to breathe warmer air here in our room.

We had an excellent lunch this noon at Restaurant Alameda overlooking the swollen river and the ancient bridge.

Weather is predicted to remain miserable at least through tomorrow when we have another 20 km to go.

We would love news from home.

Kent and Linnea

In Porto

We arrived in Porto and as we awaited the Metro into town, Kent looked at his feet and noticed he was wearing one new boot and one old boot.  "My socks match!" he says.  The boots definitely don't, and this for a three-week walking trip.

Otherwise all is well. We just had a lengthy rather unusual, elegant,  sidewalk supper in an alley overlooking the Douro, complete with stories by Carlos our cook, waiter, and host, and now it is time for a full night's sleep in a real bed at Porto Hotel Dixo.

Unfortunately the photo of the mismatched boots is on the camera, not on the phone.

Lightness is all

Packing motto.

Caminho Portugués March-April 2014

On Tuesday, March 18, Kent and I will fly to Porto, where we will begin walking toward Santiago de Compostela on Friday, March 21, the first day of Spring.  We are making preparations to leave home behind, and carry as little as we can.  I have the Brierley guide, from which I have removed the pages covering Lisbon to Porto; an updated listings of albergues from the Via Lusitana Portuguese pilgrim association:  http://www.vialusitana.org/ and a link to them on my phone, which I hope to be able to use for internet access via wi-fi, as it won't work as a phone in Europe; some pages from the Confraternity of Saint James; and some information on the route from Santiago to Muxia and Finisterre.

I have a new U.S. passport, and we will pick up pilgrim credentials at the cathedral in Porto, as the ones we used on the Via Gebennensis would soon be full.  I have a new water-proof jacket and we have two new ponchos, as rain is quite likely.

Why are we doing this walk?  The Camino experience continues to beckon, and I remembered the scene from Martin Sheen's The Way, in which the French police inspector says he has walked the Camino before, and will do so again to celebrate his 70th birthday.  I thought, what better way to celebrate my forthcoming 70th birthday than with another Camino?

I will try to post brief reflections, news of our progress, and perhaps even an occasional phone photo during the next three weeks.

Lodgings on the Via Gebennensis 2012

Via Gebennensis Lodging September 16-October 4, 2012

September 14-15 Geneva Auberge de jeunesse 28/30 Rue Rothschild (large, busy place, lots of use of key cards required,

waiting at desk, good location, near hotel President Wilson)

Day	Date	Town	Lodging	km	notes
1	16 Sept	Beaumont	La Fromagerie	14.6	gite, dorm Anne very helpful, drove us to ATM!, made lunch
2	17	Chaumont	Gite d’etape rustique	26	Gite, dorm, beautiful spot, very rustic, but good vibes
3	18	Seyssel	Accueil Jacquaire Les Capucins	23	Christine Hottlet  (fabulous house, people, food)
4	19	Chanaz	El Camino	22	Denise Chatard room w/ garden view, meal! wifi
5-6	20-21	Yenne	Le Clos des Capucins	17	Lovely hotel, setting, fabulous meal
7	22	St. Maurice de Rotherens	Le Vernay – Louis Revel	17	An experience! Room, meals, views, chapel, bar!
8	23	Les Abrets	Accueil jacquaire	23	Helene et Jean Francois Guerry – lovely people, room, meal
9	24	Le Pin	Chambre et Table de Pelerins	15.5	Elisabeth et Roland Meunier – lovely people, place, meal, help
10	25	La Cote Saint Andre	Chambre d’hotes L’Allouette	25	Bernadette et Jean-Jacques Bouthier – lovely, suite, view, meal
11	26	Revel-Tourdan	Chambre et tables pelerins	22	Yves et Marie-Claude Pinget –interesting old house, helpful hosts
12	27	Le Surieu	Jean-Pierre Cartier (photographer)	19.2	An experience! Welcoming.  Photographer, traveler, cook.
13	28	Chavanay	Gite d’etape Michel Vignon	18	Nice, but crowded in center of old village center
14	29	St. Julien Moulin Molette	Accueil; Radio d’Ici	19.1	Colorful toilet, dirty poorly equipped kitchen, rain, drab, cold
15	30	Les Setoux	Gite d’etape  Le Combalou	24	Welcoming, nice!  Good meal at restaurant, heat, laundry!
16	1 Oct.	Montfaucon en Velay	Chambre Le Jardin de Mirandou	17	Colorful, Madeleine Mounier, lovely, speaks English
17	2	St. Jeures	Le Fougal	20	The best! Lovely Chambre, meal, hostess – spoke English
18	3	St.-Julien-Chapteuil	Accueil Jacquaire	18.2	Suzanne et Andre Gallien – lovely people!
19	4	Le Puy	Chambre d’Hotes	19	Yolande Rouvier – lovely! On hillside/ wi-fi, private room
		Le Puy	Logis Meymard		Madeleine DeChaux, lovely old house in center, pedestrian street