Today we elected to walk a short 12 km and overnight in Barcelos. We had heard that this was a popular destination for the Portuguese, but we did not expect to arrive on the first day of a week long cultural festival… think Mardi Gras! Colorfully lit streets and buildings, a large carnival with all the typical rides, games of skill ready to suck the euros out of your pocket, and even a House of Horrors!

…and then there were the food vendors! Broiled meats served dripping in their juices on bread made fresh before your eyes in open fire ovens. INCREDIBLE, and it took only 10 euros to buy two of those huge gut bombs and wash them down with beer and wine. Our multi-linguistic finger pointing served us well.

The walk to Barcelos was a story in itself. Ancient wooded paths on 2,000 year old Roman trails. Hilly and at times a bit precarious, but the trekking poles provide a margin of balance and safety for 60+ year old legs.

Barcelos is the site of one of Portugal’s most beloved legends from which the iconic multi-colored Rooster, a symbol of the country, derives.

As we walked it occurred to me that many Americans may have a misconception about the “Old World” countries in general and Portugal in particular. I tend to take pictures of the verdant landscapes, agrarian vistas, and old architecture. However, there is another side to Portugal. It is a very modern and prosperous nation. There is excellent universal health care, an affordable world class education system, and even the moderately sized cities have well developed and well utilized public transit. We have walked through neighborhoods where there are row upon row of unique custom built homes whose price tags must me north of a million euros. Public high speed WiFi is readily available, more so than in the States. Violent crime is a rarity. With a population of 10.3 million, Portugal has approximately half the number of homicides in its entire country as metropolitan Kansas City with a population of about 1 million!

We continue to find the people of this nation to be kind, friendly, and eager to help us wandering Perigrinos.

Peace Everyone! Pete

PS. We are spending the night in the 3 star Hotel Dom Nuno. 45 euros for our ensuite room, including breakfast. We will splurge tomorrow on a luxury accommodation in a countryside resort.

Looking back on a good day one may be blessed by the gift of an unexpected kindness. By that measure, today was exceptional. If kindness were rain, then we were soaked by a day-long cloudburst.

The treatment and “Buen Camino” that we received upon departing the Albergue this morning was filled with fondness. Once into our walk we passed a lovely home with a mother tending her yard, a young son in tow. She had fastened a small basket filled with fresh fruit next to her driveway gate. There was also displayed a Camino symbol and paper sign with one large word printed, “FREE”. The fruit was her gift to pilgrims walking past her home. I enjoyed a banana and Christine a succulent orange. We tried to pay her but she was adamant in her refusal to accept payment, wishing us another “Buen Camino”.

Later on the path we were the focus of a stampede of children with scouting neckerchiefs. One of them carried a covered pie pan sized aluminum foil container which she presented to us. It was a meal that the group had prepared for passing Perigrinos. We were deeply touched by their urgent sincerity, but had to decline the offer as we had no way of carrying the gift throughout the day. The disappointment in their eyes changed to excitement as I asked if they would pose with us for a picture. I explained to their leader that I would feature the kids and their generosity on my internet post for the next morning. Again, we received a chorus of “Buen Caminos!”

This was a long day. I clocked 22 km at day’s end (a little more than 14 miles). Not so much for some, but the most walking in a single day that I have done since reconstructive surgery on my ankle in 2013. I was tolerating the walk well, except for the start of a blister. A fellow Perigrino gifted me a plaster from her kit to prevent further irritation.

About three-quarters of the way into the day a large insect decided to fly into Christine’s mouth and down her throat. Her choking turned into retching and then uncontrollably “dry-heaves”. This then triggered a massive headache that effectively ended her walk for the day. We entered a nearby cafe where a waitress deciphered what had happened. She contacted a rural cab driver for us and within 20 minutes Chris was on the way to our next Albergue where rest and a glass or two of wine served by the host brought relief.

I continued the walk to conclusion with Dorta, an expatriate from Poland, now a US citizen and scientist residing in Maryland with her husband and 3 sons. She elected to stay over at the same Albergue with us as she was growing concerned with foot pain. Upon removing her boots and socks it was apparent that she was the victim of a number of serious blisters. Our host phoned the local pharmacist and arranged for him to open the pharmacy tomorrow at 10:30 am to treat the injured feet. Tomorrow is Sunday and the ordinarily closed shop is opening only for her. Here in Europe pharmacists are a bit like nurse practitioners. They can diagnose and treat minor conditions, and even prescribe medications if necessary. In Dorda’s case, this is the next best thing to a “house call”.

Today the music of songbirds has been our constant companion. It was a mild 72 degrees with overcast skies, and a constant downpour of kindness.

Peace Everyone! Pete

PS. I almost forgot to mention that Antonio, our host at Albergue Pedra Furada, gave us a private room, ensuite, 25 euros for the night! He also served an excellent 3 course pilgrim’s dinner for 6 euros each, plus beverages. Tomorrow will be a much shorter stage as we wish to spend some time in Barcelos, a small but popular town.

Tomorrow we officially start our 250 km walk to Santiago Spain. Today we mailed more “excess stuff” back home…

… and made a morning visit to the Cathedral in Porto to have our credentials stamped. It was an unexpectedly emotional moment for both of us. After a bit of silent reflection we decided to tour the adjoining Cloister.

We were met at the entry by Rita. She is a psychology student at the University of Porto. She and her friend and fellow student (in tourism), Mafalda, were taking pictures of visitors for personalized Cathedral memory booklets available for purchase, 7 euros. At the conclusion of our visit Rita showed us “our” booklet. It was a very good picture and we explained our regret that we had no way to safely carry it on the Camino. She thanked us as we left. A few minutes later Christine decided a crumpled booklet would be better than no booklet, and besides the young ladies were so polite and engaging. I remained behind and waited. Shortly thereafter Christine returned, red-eyed with tears. She explained that the girls decided to use their personal time to package and mail the booklet to our home. While our nationality didn’t matter, they had initially guessed that we were Canadians, because we had such big smiles!

We visited with Mafalda and Rita, learned a bit about one another, exchanged contact information, took pictures and hugged as we parted. Friendships were forged in minutes that may endure for a lifetime. This is the way of the Camino, and its “Angels”.

Our day continued, warmed by the glow of those special young women. We visited and toured the Croft Port wine cellars, the oldest Port producer in the world, its operations dating to 1588. They have one barrel of port that has been aging for nearly 130 years! A 90 year old was opened last year and declared excellent!

We enjoyed a boat tour on the Douro River, a gondola ride above the Port wine warehouses, and another exceptional street performance.

We will finish our day seeking another gastronomic “hidden gem”, drink a good Douro wine, and then try and get a good night’s rest for the Camino that awaits us.

Peace Everyone! Pete