On the Way #2

(Please forgive the typos. I am excited to get this published and I often miss the obvious, like the last post said "lentils" instead of "leantos"😍 Thanks)

So much has happened since the last post.  We stayed four days in Alitalia at the Casa do Patriarca with new friends Luis and Monica.  There never have been hosts more helpful or wonderful than these two  people!  They took us to the grocery store, a restaurant for a meal, to a park with sculptures that tell important cultural themes, to a spot to pick up Latona's shoes that she left at the last hostel, and to a medieval castle that was part of the defence of Portugal in the 12th century. All in all they made it a fantastic visit.  In addition, Monica is a nurse who doctored Pats feet and made an amazing difference.

                            

    

Military fort built in 1141!

                              

  Monica helped us get our tickets to Porto, and on the final day in Alitalia, we wished them well and set off.

From Porto there are 150 miles to Santiago.  Whn we arrived on the train, we went to the Cathedral to get our passports stamped and to find our way out of the city.  

                             

    

The challenge of finding the yellow arrows through a city maze has been overwhelming at times.  But here in Porto, we begin the final push of the pilgrimage and it seems that the waymaks have really improved. In addition to yellow arrows we often have this official looking marker. As I may have mentioned, the scallop she'll is the symbol of,the Camino.  Each ridge represents one way,that a pilgrim can get to the one central point, Santiago de Compostela.

        

   

  ***** Now, I will add photos that really tell there own story. I wish I could share with you the salty taste of the olives that usually come as as appetizer with our evening meal, or the grape arbors that line yards and gardens, the smell of the Eucalyptus trees that are mixed with the pines to make up the forests, and the lovely villages that we find along the way usually with white houses covered with red tiled roofs.  The cobblestones through the villages always challenge the feet but are better than our road walks when we feel very vulnerable due to the traffic.  ( Happily, the latter seems to be disappearing each day!)

A bakery

And a fruit market.

WAlking out of Porto during our one rainy day out of eighteen.

Stopping at a Cafe with a group of pilgrims.

So many wonderful sweet churches as we travel along the Way.

A fascinating aspect to buildings in Portugal.  Tiles are everywhere.  This is in the outside foyer of a home.

Bread delivery.

  

This church is tiled from top to bottom.

Building the cobblestone roadway...

Off in the distance.

Inside the wall along our hike.

Pat and Jean 

One of the many pumpkins...

So many fields of corn, I needed to add this.

The grapes are beautiful and delicious.

A flock of sheep in the field.

Entering the town of Barcelos over a medieval bridge.  Amazing city...

I am looking this up in a few minutes. The Barcelos chicken.?

Latona with her pack.  Hiking through the city on the way to our hostel for the night.

 

We have been on the Way from Porto to Barcelos since I last posted.  

There is much to say and to celebrate:

I have been hiking with Crocs due to a damaged nerve in my right foot and doing very well.

Our schedule has been very helpful to me.  I am carrying 15-17 pounds on my back and seem to be getting stronger as we go along. I am sure I am strengthening my 73-year old bones.

We have been exploring a new country and loving the countryside.

Each day, there are many lessons about life as we travel as Pilgrims along the Way. Some are refreshers while some are entirely new insights.

I hope to make the most of the final miles and I am so very grateful for this wonderful opportunity.

Hope you love the pictures and get a small taste of this lovely country and the special people