“A brook flows unapologetically, aware that sometimes one must go, not stay.” – Angie Weiland-Crosby
Today was a great day! I was kicking a$$ and taking names…if you know what I mean. Plus, it was “only” 15.4 miles (24.8 km) today. Some days I don’t even believe we walk this far daily. It’s kinda nuts.
Anyhoo…
I walked out the door at 7 am, got to the main road, looked both ways, and realized John from Norway was walking the wrong direction. Well, not really “wrong” just the long way. The woman working in the hostel showed me a shortcut that would avoid about a 3-4 km detour. So I yelled his name really loud, probably waking the neighbors, hoping he wasn’t wearing headphones. He heard me the second time and came jogging back. I showed him the shortcut on the little map the woman had given me. Our landmark to mesh back with the official Camino route was a McDonald’s of all places.
So John and I started walking and talking. Just after the McDonald’s before our turn to join the Camino was a local cafe so we popped in for some coffee and pastries. You know my favorite is the chocolate croissant but I do like to try local stuff too. I know I already love the Pastel de Nata so I opted to try the local cake…it’s like a coffee cake…called Bolo de Arroz. It was really good. I enjoyed dipping it in my doppio espresso.
The walk was lovely. A lot of road but some fun and enjoyable sections through nature bits. We even encounter two older gentlemen fishing in this lovely pond(?). The area was so peaceful.
We also came across a man who had pet pigeons. I didn’t stutter. He was letting them out to fly around and “spread their wings.” Ba-da-bump.
We crossed a really long (and high) bridge with breathtaking views of the countryside.
Walked through a eucalyptus forest and I made a video of the breeze blowing through the trees…and John walking. Enjoy at your leisure.
Found the world’s smallest car. Literally called the Microcar. It looked like a roller skate for mythical giants.
After this, John and I parted ways. He wanted to stop for an early, early, 10:45 am lunch and I was so energized, I wanted to keep going.
So I trucked it on down the road.
I’m staying (John is here too) at the coolest hostel tonight. It’s a 200 year old Watermill. It’s called Watermill Moinho Garcia. Nikolaus from Germany owns and operates the place. The land that it is built on is so peaceful and relaxing. No matter where you are, you can hear the waterfall. I soaked my feet for a long time in the stream, took a hot shower, drank a glass of wine and then took a nap in the hammock. It was the perfect afternoon. I highly recommend staying here if you walk the Portuguese Camino. This place is 1.5 km off the Camino but Nikolaus will drive to town and pick you up. Here is the website.
https://www.watermillmoinhogarcia.com
Nikolaus made dinner – homemade gyros and salad. Plus more wine. If there are a ton of typos in this post, it’s the wine. I’m telling you right now. John is on the left. Nikolaus is on the right.
Goodnight and much love from Portugal! 🇵🇹
Scenes from Day 18
I got John to join in on the traffic mirror fun first thing this morning…before 8 am! I think his opinion of this ritual is still up in the air though. He still can’t figure out if I’m fun or just plain crazy.
More gorgeous homes…some abandoned.
A fountain! 💦
Found another traffic mirror.
Discovered where the sidewalk ends.
Mama is gonna need a new pair of shoes in Santiago.
I eat a lot of tuna in olive oil out of the can for lunch.
