Day 19 Ponte de Lima to Rubiaes 18km

Despite the dodgy forecasts, we had to venture out to start today's walk. As soon as we did we were trapped under a shop awning as a downpour threatened to lift the drain covers. After 20 minutes it subsided a little and we ventured on - it eventually stopped about two hours later. So, we are here in the Ninho Albergue in Rubiaes (a large village rather than town). We are relatively dry.

Quack quack, at least the ducks like the rain - near Revolta

When we had finished with the rain today, we undertook the 300m ascent of the Portela Grande. It is quite a hill, with a need to almost scramble in some parts. If Camino Frances has Orisson and Ocebreiro as memorable climbs, then Camino Portuguese has Portela Grande.

Trained vines Cabanas

The number of people on the trail has been increasing each day and today it took a big jump, with lots of people we hadn't seen before. I think a lot of them are not independent, but rather they are on organised trips run by commercial organisations. The waymarking, which has been satisfactory since Lisbon (with the odd exception) has really picked up in the last few days. Where before you might get a yellow arrow every 250m, now they are every 40m and sometimes with three clustered together at a turn. Maybe the improvement is to satisfy the commercial organisations?

Rugged trail up to Portela Grande

With all the new people, we have moved a long way from the intimate little group that beat its way up from Lisbon to Porto. It is possible we may encounter them over the next week as we get nearer to Santiago. Tonight will be our last night in Portugal. Tomorrow we walk to Tui and that is in Spain. Walking up through the middle of Portugal, and taking in its two biggest cities, has been a great way to see this country.

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Day 18 Lugar do Corgo to Ponte De Lima 14km

Today was as awful as the forecasters said it would be. We set out at 9am and it was bucketing rain, and it rained and rained and rained. We walked through mud, puddles, miniature lakes, and splashing cars. Our outer rain gear, which was admittedly limited, gave up the ghost after about an hour. Our walk, at 14km, was relatively short, but we were completely wet through when we got to Ponte De Lima. It is a day we won't forget. We could not even take a photo (any here are borrowed from yesterday). The woman in the cafe, where we took a break at half way, looked appalled at our arrival and quickly produced cardboard to put under our squelching backpacks. We were not a pretty sight!

Oranges ready for harvest

Last night's dinner was a bit of an event. I counted 18 at the long table including pilgrims and the host family. So, around the table there were French, Canadian, Dutch, German, Irish, American and Portuguese - a regular Tower of Babel! A lovely chicken and potato dish was gobbled up, and this was accompanied by red and white wine home brewed on the premises, a selection of ports, and something called fire water!! After the food, one of the German guests was persuaded to play a guitar and sing some 60s songs. Then the Portuguese contingent took over and made a wonderful noise - they were super.

Sleepy dog at Fernanda's 

The forecast for tomorrow is for more constant rain, but not with the volumes experienced today. Mary accessed a drier here at the very modern youth hostel, so we will be dry starting out. Subsequent days should be better.

Day 17 Barcelos to Lugar do Corgo 19km

The countryside, villages and hamlets we have passed through since the start of our walk have been attractive and engaging. They have more than compensated for the few days we were in the suburbs of the larger cities. Today was another day of pretty hamlets, and farms bursting with ripening corn and grapes.

Early morning Barcelos after religious event

We shortened our day today as planned, and arrived at Lugar do Corgo early and relatively refreshed. We were caught in one heavy shower but it has been sunny and warm (tomorrow will be appallingly wet, apparently). We are at Casa Fernanda, a well known private facility established by Fernanda and Jacinto to cater for the tired walkers they saw on this long stage. They run it on a 'donativo' basis but I think most guests donate generously to these very welcoming people. The atmosphere is very unique. We have managed to secure the only private bedroom, and all guests will sit down to a communal dinner tonight.

(Seems to be a problem with the internet so I'm writing this with a view to uploading it tomorrow).

Portuguese Mountain Longhorn cow near Barcelos

We had no idea how accommodation would work out before we set out from Lisbon. We have only had a couple of dormitory nights and they were fine and to a high standard. Each day we have phoned ahead (we never did this on the Camino Frances) and booked a triple en suite room. We have generally succeeded and it has come in at around €15 a head, sometimes including breakfast. Even though we brought silk travel sheets and quick dry towels, we have had sheets and towels supplied and everything has been spotless in all locations. We used Airbnb for our nights in Lisbon and Porto, and we hope to to this again in Santiago.

Mediaeval stone bridge at Ponte das Tabuas

Ponte das Tabuas infinity pool!!!

It is hard to believe that we will be leaving Portugal after three more shortish days on the road. The crossing point at Tui seemed so far when we were in Lisbon, but now we are getting close.

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Day 16 Vila do Conde to Barcelos 29km

It was a really hard day on the road. It rained from when we started at 7.30am and the rain got more intense for the next few hours, not finishing until after 11am. We got absolutely soaked. Our problems were exacerbated by taking the wrong route - we had to take an unwaymarked route to get back to the main Camino route, and none of us found the Brierly directions for the 'grey' route to be clear. With the afternoon sun, we dried out and are now in our room in Residencial Arantes in Barcelos - it overlooks the main square where the locals are having a Sunday afternoon waltz!

Dancing in the square, Barcelos

A few things about last night. The room we had was a bit Fawlty Towers ish. The lights had a habit of going on and off for periods, mostly off. The cistern in the loo had an attack of constant noisy draining - plumber Mary managed a fix with loo brush so that we could all sleep for the night. Down in the town we called into a wonderful local bar/cafe for a nightcap, Cafe Saura. It was very non touristy and the food was interesting (we had already eaten), and the atmosphere great. This morning we called back in for breakfast before leaving town. Some of last night customers were still there working their way through white wine - they were really drunk but no trouble. Our breakfast was perfect.

Tiny chapel at Vila do Conde (seats about 16)

Aqueduct at Vila do Conde

I have mentioned a few times how much we have taken to Portugal and the Portuguese. As we have proceeded a couple of exceptions have emerged. When you are on a narrow margin at the edge of a main road you get a good look at the driver as he speeds past you - and so many of them are holding mobile phones to their ears. Ireland is poor in this regard also but I thought Portugal might be better. Another thing we notice is that the people here are serial 'litterers', just dropping rubbish/paper as they walk, and you can see the results. It is a bit like Ireland was 10/15 years ago.

Damp ponies this morning

Tomorrow's official stage is about 34km, so we are splitting it in two as we are carrying a spare day at this stage.

Day 15 Porto/Matosinhos to Vila do Conde 23km

Swing benches in a square in Porto

No blog yesterday - it was our much needed rest day in Porto and the blog took a rest also. We have been walking for two weeks solid at this stage, so it was essential to have a day off. Even staying in bed until 10am was a change (seem to be up by 6am every other day) and we strolled around Porto rather than walked. It was a very restful day.

Cathedral Porto

Main bridge over the Douro

There is a kind of vibrancy about Porto. Cafes, restaurants and shops appear to be everywhere and people seem to be busy. The area around the river is quite striking. It is a very Portuguese city, as distinct from being a generic international city - having said that, it seems to cater to a lot of foreign tourists. It slopes steeply down to the river and is generally a hilly place. Our apartment was really very well located with everything within walking distance. Pedro dos Frangos was our food source last evening - great value chicken restaurant that also does takeaway, on Rua Bonjardim.

Boardwalk and wooden bridge near Caso do Mar

Finally took a photo of one of the communal washing areas 

Vila do Conde is an attractive town with plenty going on. We are staying in Residencial Princess do Ave - nice enough place but a little bit from the centre.

Looking back south

Different!

Day 14 Sao Joao Da Madeira to Porto 34km

We are in Porto. Haven't had time to take a proper look at it yet but from what we have seen, it is stunning. Also, we have a great apartment right in the city, and our Airbnb host is just lovely.

Well balanced - near Malaposta today

The outer suburbs of Porto (as with most cities) are a bit of a monotonous drag. So it was only an OK walk. Our real problem though was that we didn't complete all of the kilometres listed in the heading. We were late starting, some hills set us back, and we had an agreed meeting time with our host. So, we had to use transport for the last few kilometres. We are disappointed but in the context of a 600km+ walk, it's not so bad.

Datura plant shortly after Sao Joao

Bite taken from pasteis nata before it could be photographed

For the hot weather we have experienced for most of the past two weeks, there is a constant need for liquids. We've satisfied this through regular water stops and cafe breaks. Between the three of us we start each day with less than two litres of water. This and the cokes in the cafes has proved sufficient. It has to, as there are no water taps for replenishing supplies. Taps exist on the route but many have signs suggesting that the water is unsuitable for drinking, so we avoid them all to be safe.

Roman road near Malaposta

In the past few days we have encountered communal clothes washing areas at the edge of some villages. These take the form of a very big bath and a number of women wash clothes in it and chat. It all looks very sociable and appears to be a tradition that has yet to die out. (We were too shy to photograph any of them while the women were present).

Day 13 Albergaria-a-Vela to Sao Joao da Madeira 30km

It rained today and it was colder than usual. We put our plastic covers around our packs but never got to put on our rain gear, but there is a change and the forecast is for cloudier and wetter weather in the low 20s.

Early morning Albergaria

Progress was slowish as we encountered a number of steep hills. The series of hills leading up to Oliveira de Azemeis were killers - I can't remember that many continuous hills on these walks before. The hill up to Faria de Cima was for mountain climbers. Anyway, we are here in Sao Jao staying in the Residencial Solar. We have experienced some crappy showers in the rooms so far, but this is the best on the Camino - I think we drained the hotel's supply of hot water.

Lots of views on how far we walk each day but we'll take this suggestion as to what remains

Our communal meal last night went well. At it, we discovered that the Polish couple could talk directly to a Slovak couple (on their way to Fatima) and vice versa. It seems that the two languages are extremely similar.

Noisy goat

Porto/Oporto tomorrow. We will spend a second day there as our first rest day, so we are really looking forward to it. Also, we have taken an apartment there for the two nights through Airbnb. Let's hope it all works out.

Corn stores/espigueiros