May 1

Drive back to Armenteira to start our walk from where we left off yesterday.

8:42 in the car. I couldn’t watch Andre back the car out of the garage and down the alley. Too nerve racking. But now we are on our way so I can breathe again.

9:15 on the camino. It’s colder than normal. High 50s to start.

Today we follow The Ruta da Pedra e da Auga (Stone and Water Route). The first 5 miles of our walk follow the Armenteira River. The path is extremely scenic .. It passes moss-covered stone watermill houses with the millstones laying about, lots of cascading falls (small but many), and lush, dense forest. This is considered one of the most beautiful parts of the Camino Portugués. These 5 miles were a little difficult for me due to the stones, rocks and roots. If it were raining or very wet I don’t think I would have been too happy. I just took my time and was fine. Others came running down the trail. Guess it’s an age thing.

I loved the continuous sound of the running water. Few people on the trail.

Tina and I took our time and bright up the rear. The others took off far ahead of us. We were enjoying it so much we had to go slow.

The rocky rooty path became a dirt path – much easier on the feet and less concentration.

We caught up to Joana. She must have taken a nap. I was looking forward to the toilets at the picnic area with the stone statues. The pig with the piglets was very covered in moss and hard to see detail but the single pig was still clear. I covered the entire park and asked several people, no toilet! Who wrote that into the book?

Finally arrived at a cafe just off the trail. I followed the Camino signs and ended up circling around it before arriving. There was Amy and Cynthia and Branca leaving. I headed for the toilet. Except for the fact that it was indoors and had a door on it, there was not much benefit from the fresh air toilets. There was no toilet paper and no water in the toilet. Most people just went over and used the men’s room instead.

When I came out Tina and Joana were sitting with Amy. Cafe con leche time. They brought us a few complimentary cakes to go with the coffee.. Nice touch.

I headed out with Amy while Tina and Joana were buying some churros. I couldn’t keep up so Amy took off and I had the rest of the walk to myself.

Walking along the river I didn’t have to think about alligators crossing my path. That does make it more peaceful.

I’ve been walking alone a lot and it’s really the best. You’re into your own thoughts and you don’t have to talk and you stop when you want and you breathe when you want and you take pictures when you want. I’m getting better at selfies although a ‘youngster’ taught us to hold the camera out on front of us and take a regular photo. I had ‘interesting’ results.

Events:

1. A big slug was crossing the trail .. The epitome of the saying ‘slow as molasses’,

2. My water tube leaked without me knowing until my pouch got drenched and I had to dry out my wallet and other papers.

3. I stopped for an ice cream pop Magnum. Asked for the double chocolate, ended up with vanilla with chocolate. Didn’t care for it. About 15 ft away was a garbage can so I threw it away. A half hour later I looked down and see chocolate all over me, not my day.

4. Bright blue common kingfisher flew by very quickly. How beautiful.

Something smells really good around here and it isn’t me. I don’t know if it’s a green plant or a flower, but it’s very aromatic.

I think I only have about 15 minutes to go

Arrived 2:30

Apparently I cut a corner and made my walk a couple minutes shorter. They decided I must have Ubered so now I’m doing the part I missed.

I followed the route to the first cafe and went further than everyone else because they took the shortcut. This time I took the shortcut and they all did the long way and gave me crap. Just finished .86 miles making up for it..a little extra because I missed a turn doing the route backwards.. No markers in reverse. I ended up on the upper car bridge not the lower Camino bridge so had to reverse again.

Tina and Joana just arrived 3:20.

We all got in the car and Andre drove us back. We all hopped out so we wouldn’t have to watch him trying to get the car through the narrow street and make the bends and get into the garage.

Now I’m out for a walk to find Old Town. Everybody else is doing their own thing. The town seems pretty shut down except bars for May 1st holiday. 4:30 start walking. By 5:00 more action, some shops opening, more bars and restaurants. I wandered thru the old streets only using Google maps to give me the direction I needed.. I found more interesting streets to walk on than Maps suggested. The end point was the big square Praza de Fefinans. It was quite large and the fact that it was so empty made it look even larger. You probably don’t get to see it like that often. I wandered in and out of the little alleys and main roads. Somehow I ended up in an ice cream shop. It seemed like a good appetizer before going back for dinner.

For the return trip I chose to follow the coast. 2.5 mile walk to add to my 9.5 mile walk so 12 miles today. No wonder I’m so tired. Andre is cooking pasta for dinner then I’m off to bed.