A Day Of Ups And Downs

I Today I walked from Rubiāes, Portugal to Tui, Spain, about 12 miles or 20 Km. The dramatic moments are walking across the Rio Minho on a bridge. I guess the boundary is somewhere in this river:

Trains run on the top of the bridge, on the bottom there is a separate walkways for pedd on either side an the cars go down the middle. 

The day started out having breakfast with a cat. Apparently the cat just roams in and out of the Albergue and has fleas. One of the women from Holland had multiple bites. But the cat and I were alone in the dining room for breakfast. I didn't really have anything he wanted. My breakfast was a hard boiled egg, a carton of plain yogurt, and the half of a banana that wasn't rotten. I got my breakfast stuff along with my dinner stuff right next to the Albergue. It was a great store that sold individual size things. I got two home made Bacalau croquettes, some really yummy goat cheese and crackers for dinner. Quite the feast. 

Most of the day was lovely walks in the first country side. At the first cafe stop I spoke with the mother who said she had an infection and was taking a bus to Vslenca, walking across the bridge and going to the hospital in Tui, Spain. The kids were going with her and Dad was going with her. I don't know what happened, I'm a little worried about them, but maybe they got a room so she could get some rest. I miss them. 

Along the way we ran into a table with four kids offering home made cake with coffee or tea. There was the older sister who spoke great English, and her three younger brothers. While we were there the grandparents showed up. They asked for donativo, but they were so fanged cute I had a small piece of cake which was tasty and gave them 5€. The girl explained that the stamp, which was designed by her parents, has a parent at either end and the kids in the middle. Here is the family portrait by the side of the road:

I was having a lovely day until I got yo Valenca, which is a big city, that has old Romsn walled city on its bank of the river. The closer I got to the city the harder it was to see the arrows, and it was a long winding and tedious walk to get us under a major highway and up to the entrance to the walled city. Once inside the city I somehow got off course and could not find the bridge. There were tourist, restaurant and trinket shops; not to mention cars a people in front of restaurants with menus trying to get customers. 

In my defense you have to go down old roman steps and through a couple of tunnels to actually get to the point where you can walk on the bridge. Several times Zi was on walls looking down at the bridge. If I had super powers I could have flown to it. Oh well I eventually found it and got across the bridge. Then I was in Tui, another very large and busy city, but I was able to follow the arrows to the Albergue which is right next to the cathedral. 

The albergues in Galicia have kitchens, but the are really just eating areas with a sink. There is no stove, hot plate, microwave, refrigerate, pots and pans; not even a fork or spoon. The idea is to encourage you(force) you to eat at local restaurants, thus helping local businesses.  After taking a shower which was reminiscent of high school PE, and doing my laundry I summoned the energy to walk to the market. I got directions to the market from a lovely lady who practically walked me in the door. Somehow she devined that I am directionally challenged. I got stuff for dinner and creak fast for 5€. I had bread, cheese, a donut peach and two carton of plain yogurt for dinner. On the menu for breakfast tomorrow is bread, cheese, two cartons of yogurt, donut peach, cheese, and a whole banana. Luckily I have my spork. lol

It turns out the kids in our Camino family are vocalists, I think possibly with a church group since the have matching shirts that say Angels of Peace in Portuguese on the back. Anyway, as I was eating I listened to beautiful voices, sometime solo and sometimes weaving together in perfect harmony. I listen to one girl sing One of my favorite songs, Ave Maria while birds soared and sang flying around the cathedral roof and dome. The two women from Holland also piped up with songs from there culture they sounded beautiful too had tears running out my eyes. The Camino is an amazing experience. 

Here is a picture of me and the singing kids

Well it's time for some shut eye. There is a new route for the next stage which is a walk from Tui to Porrinos for me. Apparently there is an industrial section that is tedious, so they've devised a route that takers us through green stuff. But also there have been some shenanigans with arrows being erased or other arrows being made pointing in different directions. For a person who could get lost in her own bathroom, this should be interesting. They have printed a little brochure with a map, pictures of The problem areas, and descriptions in several languages, including English. BTW my Spanish is much better than I thought it was. 

Pictures of today's highlights:

Animals in the field

Water elements: