June 12. Pacific North West

We've been home for 1 1/2 weeks and settled back into our PNW summer lives.  It's a glorious time.  The gardens are thriving and we welcome our family and friends back into our lives.

Now is the time I always make the deals with myself to maintain the camino state of mind.  Craig and I decided that we would take one day a week to be 'on the camino' and so last Friday we put on our hiking boots and left the house with plans to walk to our local pub, have lunch and walk home.  We did.  And arrived home 15 miles later with some creaks and groans and feeling thankful that our rain gear protected us once again.

The strange thing is that as busted up as I felt - back aches, feet aches, leg aches, but next morning I felt better than ever....again.

It's beautiful here and while thoughts of "where to go next" do enter our hearts and minds, we are most happy to be home finding the everyday rhythm of life here and looking forward to a summer of cycling, kayaking, gardening, walking and mingling with the ones we love.

Day 31 May 31 Lisbon

Train to Faro and then Lisbon and here we are in an upgraded hotel room with two king beds, chairs, bathtub, and CC is watching Serena at the French Open!  

It’s a gentle transition.  We’re ready.  No need to go into Lisbon, figure out anymore directions or communications, stay in anymore hotels or eat in restaurants.  Our last 5 days in Tavira were a lovely culmination.  Now to keep the peaceful.

Breakfast on the Main Street

The hotel we stayed at.  

Note: Pouza restaurant on this street was great as was the organic restaurant and the wine and tapas place, as well as the Italian restaurant next door.

Day 30 May 30 Tavira

Last full day here before we begin the trip home.  13 surprising miles

My roots are showing!!  Time to come home! 

We had no plans for the day except to wander around town. Perhaps spending some money on nice things.  Then we went to have some food and ended up in a cafe that served omelette!  A real breakfast treat.     Note: everything becomes a treat when one hasn’t had it for a while!  We chatted with some women who had been to the waterfall around here.  So that got our attention as somewhere out of town to go. 

So we next found the tourist office which we had wanted to go to to inquire about a ‘camino’ that we heard about: the Via Algarviana.  That is for another time.  Anyway, the woman at the tourist office said that the way to the waterfall was Impassable so she suggested we walk to St. Luzia and then onto Barilla where we could cross a bridge and get to the beach.  Okay!  A walk!  

It wasn’t The Camino but it brought the Camino State of Mind for which I am most grateful.  We walked and then once we were at the ocean, the beach, we decided to make this a loop walk and continued back to Tavira along the Atlantic.  Only issue: high tide so there was minimal beach and lots of sand and soft ground which made walking a challenge.  I took off my boots and had the divine pleasure of walking barefoot along the shore and in the water which was chilly but only refreshingly so, not skin numbing.  

So we arrived once again at the ferry landing to return to Tavira.  

And now I’ve got that post camino feeling of being tired, the good kind where some food, a shower and then sleep is all I need.  How grateful we are that we can walk 12-14 miles, difficult miles and feel good.  It didn’t phase us to venture forth.

At the one stop in St. Lucia we met a Dutch couple who had rented bikes and cruised all around, even to the waterfall which they loved. Do ‘t k ow why the tourist office nixed it.  

The waterfall is called Pega Da Inferno- for future reference. 

Coming back into town, we stopped at our favorite wine and tapas place (across the street from our place) and had

Sautéed mushrooms

Tagine with couscous and meatballs

So that’s all for the specs of the day.  

We have had many discussions with the people we have met about Trump and how horrible it is and how shocked everyone was when he won the election.  

Europe has its own issues and they revolve around he refugee crisis and the economy. No surprise there. 

Portugal is experiencing a boom time. Tavira will shortly  have more expats and tourists than residents.  This is such a double edged sword. While some prosper from this, others are not able to afford the basics.  We have had some discussions with the couple who own the place we are staying.  They are industrious, educated and creating more and more tourist accommodations.  They own the entire building we are staying in and tonight we saw one of the spaces they are remodeling.  They will have tiny rooms with even tinier private ensuite bathrooms because that’s what works.  

Portugal is safe because it is a small country, says Rui and it can manage to keep it that way by... keeping the Bulgarians and Rumanians (aka gypsies) our so that they don’t pickpocket the tourists.  People come here because it is inexpensive and safe.  And the climate is good.  How to manage development?

And so it goes. One culture built on the backs of another.  They tolerate the French because they bring $$ but don’t like them!  

Even the liberal Dutch talk about the refugee issues.  England pulls out because they feel like they are carrying more than their share of the burden.  Germany is the only country really succeeding economically .  

The seeds of discord are ready to come to the surface. 

No answers.  We are part of the problem.  And the solution too.  

Eyes wide open.  Love being outside. And it’s time to come home.

The church across the street

Just to remember 

Such great salads.  Have had one just about every day.

Day 29 May 29 Tavira 12+ miles

Took the small ferry past the salt flats out to the island.  This is the way we walked 35 years ago though Craig was holding our beach umbrella then.  We will have to find our old slides and compare.  

A lazy day.  Just walked the beach, ate some bad food on the island and headed back for a nap.  John and Debbi left this morning.  

Behold!  A yellow arrow!! Uh oh.  What could this mean?

Getting off the same ferry - 35 years later

A weathered shell and a weathered woman

Fruit of the Algarve

Feels a little like home today.  Wrong ocean.... but always good to be by the sea.

So tonight we wandered out about 7:30 and stopped T a wine and tapas place and had some buttered bread and carrots and then we discovered an organic restaurant!  What a find! 

We had a small bruschetta with avocado and mushrooms and then shared shiitake risotto that was so very good. 

MY summer cooking goals are to improve. risotto and gazpacho.  

Day 28 May 28 Tavira

A day of strolling and shopping and talking and drinking and eating.  

Our space below

And on our street: an Italian restaurant next door, a little market that has everything, a cash machine!  

Day 27 Tavira

The ferry boat to the island!

But first a Fabulous breakfast a la John and Debbi’s

Long beach walk.  

 Dinner with and from John and Debbi on our rooftop patio.

Nighttime in Tavira

Day 26 Tavira!

For 5 days!!  With a rooftop balcony and even a dresser drawer.  

Day 25 Friday Faro

A very wet very long very uphill climb to Graham’s for the Port wine tasting and tour!

Now a comfortable first class train to Faro on the Algarve.

That’s about the day. 

Day 24 Porto great and Cozy Suites

We’re on our way to Porto, feeing sad today to be leaving this city and knowing our Camino is coming to a close. This weekend the World Cup for kayaking takes place here. And in a few days a Leonard Cohen concert.

IOff to Porto to have a port wine tasting tour! Have to adjust to stopping sometime!

And here we are having lunch after checking in.  The front of our place gave no clue of what was behind the doors!  Great and cozy place for a rainy afternoon! 

The signature dish of Porto.  My oh my.

The signature dish of Porto, the francesinha is not a meal for the fainthearted. The dish comprises of two slices of bread interspersed by steak, ham, sausage and chorizo, covered in melted Edam and drizzled in a secret, spicy, tomato based sauce, all served with chips and optionally crowned with a fried egg.

And lest I forget I had heard that the Portuguese iron their sheets and after these weeks of going from hotel to hotel I believe that to be true! 

Day 23 Viana de Castela

Great breakfast with a view . 

And now we walk.  

So we recall how our last walking Caminos were punctuated daily with the sound of the cuckoo bird.  

This one is different.  The consistent sound on this one is of men doing great big honking nose blows and other nasal and throat sounds. It has been consistent to the point when we hear it, we, or more likely I cannot help but burst into gales of tear producing laughter. 

And so goes the Camino.

As the world turns: today was a day made in heaven. All conditions aligned for happiness. 

Our plan for Camino Lite was to walk the coastal route for some miles and then turn back to Viana de Costello along the Senda Litoral or the very coastal route. And so we did. Backpacks in the hotel room. And hen we saw our first shell and arrow and shortly after our first Peregrino walking and stopped to talk. And all felt right again. Uh oh. The body mind gets so accustomed to this rhythm and the instant camaraderie. How to explain?

Anyway, 7 miles later we arrived in the next small town and enjoyed some lunch before turning over to the ocean. This path, called the Senda Litoral follows the ocean on gravel paths and boardwalks. With the weather being sunny with a gentle breeze made it perfect, especially since my urgencies did not affect our walk!  

Now we have a much better understanding of all 3 Camino routes (actually 4 counting the Spiritual Variant)). And one more observation about this route: so many women walking alone or with another woman- young and old(er).

The peaceful easy feelings between us are here. We laugh and joke and reflect upon all this and how it happens every time. I have a new name for Craig and it’s a compliment because of his expert navigational skills but he is not a fan of it so I can’t write it here. Three letters: VDG

So by day’s end we walked 15 miles. We are tired, but mostly the fatigue of being out all day, not feeling like the walking is too much. That is amazing and only happens for us when the walking is day after day. It’s a wonderful thing to have the spaciousness and timelessness feeing. For this moment. 

And then as if this wasn’t enough, we had the opportunity to sit at a cafe and watch a parade like none other. In Portugal, at this time of year, all the universities spend a week celebrating the end of the year. And celebrate they do! With each speciality (ex: medicine, engineering, design, education, etc) coming through town on a big semi with music and dancing and decorations, not to mention the abundance of beer that is consumed and poured on each other. It is a spectacle of debauchery not unlike Animal House except that since this is Portugal and not the US, we enjoy watching these future world leaders fall into drunken frenzy. A woman sitting next to us explained the custom. There is a dignified ceremony on Sunday but Wednesday is the day for the students to let off the pressure in the way that young people do! 

And the town, parents, friends, onlookers are all there to applaud and support.  

The first signs of the day! 

Not in Portugal but it came our way! 

Eucalyptus forests blanket both Portugal and Galician forests.  They are not native.  Came by way of Australia.  Fast growing lumber source but they compromise the existing native vegetation.  Classic issue of economics vs. ecological preservation.

A stone wall climbing Siamese - Manx combination. 

Leaving Viana do Castelo. 

We have videos that the student celebrations this but Blogger won’t support them.

Day 22 May 22nd Viana de Castelo Hotel Do Parque 10+miles

Here’s the update on our travels:

 had 5 weeks planned but left it pretty wide open as to how much walking and how exactly we would fill the time. 

We knew we wanted to walk the Portuguese Camino and trained like crazy before we left. 

Once here, in Lisbon we decided to jump up to Porto and walk that leg of it to Santiago. 

So that’s what we did. We walked 200 miles.  

And felt done. 

Surprisingly we walked that route in 13 days and had originally thought it would take 3 weeks. Crazy, yes? We walk slowly but steadily with long but good days. 

Upon arriving in Santiago, however, we were more exhausted than we realized. The endorphins and the everyday rhythm buoyed us up but we needed a rest.

So we stayed for 4 days.  

Then we realized that we had too much time left. So, following our intentions for this trip and honoring the "change of pace" theme, we contacted Alaska to see if we could come home earlier. Without going into the details, let’s just say that it worked! We will return 6 days early (on June 1st) and we have a better flight plan than originally- business class upgrade for no more $$!

So now we are just wandering, making our way to the Algarve (the Portuguese coast) to visit the town of Tavira where our friends are staying. (We were here in 1984 and loved it)! Those were the years of bikini and speedos and lots of beach going!! Things are different now!

We are still walking. Call it Camino Light. The Portuguese Camino has several routes. We walked the official route - the Central- and now we are exploring the Coastal a bit BUT without our backpacks which are staying in our hotel room!!  

The Portuguese also has a route from Lisbon to Porto that we originally thought we might want to walk but it is not well enough supported for our way of walking with services and accommodations every 12 or so miles the way we like it!! 

We feel good. Happy we could do this. Grateful for this window of time and health. Love the day to day rhythm of the walk and the people , the landscape, the chance to reset.

And we will be ready to come home to our own bed and eat at home and pick up our summer lives!  

We left Santiago at 5 in the morning and arrived here by train by 9am.  It’s a beautiful hotel for $45.00 per night including breakfast.  We may even use the swimming pool.  

The Camino walk along the ocean is lovely and the town as well.  Our walk along the ocean was shortened by some urgencies that I had that compelled us to get back on the main road to find the nearest cafe!  All was well. 

Had dinner at a French restaurant!  

We can tell we’re getting ready to come home when the notion of watching English speaking TV becomes appealing!  CNN here is a different experience - not all about you know who. 

We’re here for 2 nights with plenty of time to walk and explore another beautiful town.  

Day 20 Santiago Nest Style Hotel

It’s almost 11pm and we have a 6:15 am train to catch tomorrow morning!

I called this blog appropriately "a change of pace" and that is exactly what we had today.

The bus picked us up and we were off on a tour to Finesterre and Muxia.  The end of the world and Muxia the place where allegedly the Virgin Mary came in a stone boat to lend encouragement to Santiago.  And so it goes.

We enjoyed our day a lot and had fun talking to an English couple who just finished walking the Primitivo, as well as a young woman from Vigo and her Greek boyfriend.  Who says trade deals are over? People travel, meet up, fall in love and create their lives in spite of the workings of government.  

And then this.  

After returning to Santiago we walked to Wl Corte Ingles , the big department store where we bought a small backpack for our "Camino Lite" coming up, some shirts for Craig and unbelievably a new swimsuit for me and I survived the trauma of it.  

Funny how after being in a country for a while one can tire of the food - the tapas and salads and meat and seafood. And what so we crave? Always Italian!!  

Tonight is our last night in Spain.  Will we return?   If the past is any predictor...

The videos from today really capture the stunning geography but blogger won’t upload them.  

Day 19 Santiago de Compostela Nest style Hotel

(Day 18 - rest day in Santiago) 

We return to the cozy coolness of our hotel room after a stroll, absolutely perfect timing for the Sunday mass at the cathedral and the swinging of the giant incense burner - the botofumiero.  We must have god on our side because each time we have been here we have experienced it. And it doesn’t happen at every mass. 

  

Brujas are part of Galicia’s ‘mystical spell’.

Backpacks not allowed inside the catedral. 

Found this statue in the catedral❤️

Not moved by the service, in fact we were not planning on attending, but got some great pics of CC in the cathedral  and during the  singing of Hallelujah, I channeled Leonard Cohen’s version. 

Then off for a little shopping where CC bought me a memorable necklace, a glass of wine at our favorite refuge where we have stayed the last three times and then lunch at a favorite place and now a much desired siesta.  

We met the two Canadian women we had previously met at Ponte de Lima.  Nice conversation though political in nature.  When leaving we all said goodbye and "hope to meet again... who knows...." 

Tomorrow we take a BUS tour - us!! Imagine this. To the ocean towns of Finesterre and Muxia.  

  Note: listening to Willie Nelson’s Last Man Standing Vila Spotify right now.