Our Walk Along the Camino Portuguese

Road to Santiago de Compostella  Camino Portuguese Pilgrimage This morning began with a wonderful breakfast of fresh orange juice, coffee, fresh bread, jam, cheese, ham, and fruit. It was served in the formal dining room of the residence. After breakfast, we headed out of Caldas de Reis, through town, across a Roman bridge, and out into the rolling hills of the countryside. Much of the morning was spent on lovely gravel and dirt pathways through the forest. It was very quiet, except for the bird song, and the sunlight was beautiful as it filtered through the trees, lighting up the mist that was rising from the river. There were a few other pilgrims out enjoying the peaceful morning light, but they were mostly walking alone.   We stopped for a coffee at the first town we came to, which was filled with a mix of other pilgrims and locals. We had forgotten the Spanish tradition of providing something small to eat with coffee, such as a cookie, churro, or small piece...

Thermal Hot Springs and Wild Birds Camino Portuguese Pilgrimage Today was another beautiful walk through what we are coming to realize is typical Galician countryside. There were gently rolling hills covered in forests, small vineyards, and fields filled with yellow and white wildflowers. For much of the day tall, steep, forested hills topped with wind turbines provided a peaceful backdrop to the landscape. We also passed several flocks of sheep, some goats, and two very friendly donkeys. As beautiful as the landscape was, and as easy as the walking was, today seemed more like a day of internal reflection than one of appreciating external things. We now have less than 50 km of trail left before Santiago. At this point, it feels like there have been three relatively distinct parts to this walk, and of them all, this last is the most difficult for us. In the section between Lisbon and Porto, the walking was hard, and the path was still under development, meaning we...