“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
Thank goodness I took that taxi the last bit of the way yesterday. No shin splints today! Whew.
Honestly, today’s walk was uneventful but I made some good mileage. 18.3 miles (29.5 km) woo hoo! So most of today’s blog will be photos. I left about 6:30 am and it was extremely windy and chilly for the first hour or so. But hallelujah, it was overcast almost all day. Perfect hiking weather. Most of the walk was on pavement again but there were a few spots where the trail went through a beautiful vineyard and a forest.
Two things stood out to me the today while walking. 1. This area has some absolutely gorgeous homes. 2. There were a ton of people on scooters. I felt like I was back in Italy at one point because so many people zoomed by and tooted their horns at me.
One of the highlights of the day was my amazing lunch in the cute town of Agueda where I am staying tonight. Fresh fish, a beer, and an espresso €9.50.
I’m staying at this fantastic Albergue – Santo Antonio Pilgrims Hostel. It has stunning views and it’s extremely clean.
Until about 5 pm is was just me and Flavio again from Romania. We don’t walk together…he leaves at 5:30 am and I don’t leave until 6:30 am. I don’t enjoy walking in the dark…plus I can’t see the arrows at that time of day. But we’ve ended up at the same accommodation three nights in a row now. He seems like a nice guy. About my age, married with two daughters. We talk about tennis (Simona Halep for those of you tennis fans out there) and he is educating me on Romanian history. All I can say is, we grew up with very different lives. He has opened my eyes quite a bit to an entirely different way of life. It’s interesting and I enjoy our discussions.
The second highlight of the day was…drum roll….Flavio made me dinner. Well, he made himself dinner and some extra for me. Totally unprompted. I had zero idea he was doing it. Classy move, Pilgrim! It was delicious. Octopus and (as they call them here in Portugal) pimento peppers. I’m not pepper connoisseur but they tasted a lot like what I call Shishito peppers. Nonetheless, the meal was amazing and I was happy to not have to cook. I was very appreciative of his kindness.
Tonight, Rhonda from Canada and John from Norway showed up. Our paths have crossed a couple of times on the Camino so far so it was good to see them again.
I also met two more women from South Africa. They were absolutely lovely and we had a wonderful chat in the kitchen for about an hour about our lives. One of the women, Charmaine, had a wild adventure getting here. She wasn’t allowed on her original flight due to an error with a visa so she had to buy an entirely new plane ticket…for the same day…just imagine the cost of that! Then on her second or third day in Lisbon, her wallet was stolen. She had a rough start but is thriving now!
And with that, I’m off to bed.
Goodnight and much love from Portugal! 🇵🇹
Scenes from Day 17
People go bonkers when I tell them that I do this, but the system works for me. Everyday I rip the map for that day out of my guidebook, fold it up, put it in the little pocket of my fanny pack and then throw it away at the end of the day. Here is my reasoning. 1. I don’t have to continuously pull my guidebook out of my bag or try to look at a photo of it on my phone in the glaring sun. 2. I drop a little weight out of my bag every day.
I had to take some photos of this truck. This looks like it would be so much fun to drive around on gravel roads and through the mud! 🛻💨💨💨
No chocolate croissants but they had a donut! 🍩 And this is why I never lose weight on a Camino…even after walking at least a half marathon every day. But you know what? It’s totally worth it!!!!
There are not many drinking fountains on this route compared to the others I’ve walked. So when I saw that this homeowner had one installed in their yard, I was pleasantly surprised. AND, there was even a bench off to the right side under a shade tree. Trail Angels definitely live here.
My buddy Bob sends me photos from his daily walk. He says he is on his own Camino in KC. 😂 I’ve got some great friends…with a fun sense of humor.
