What a difference being on the central route makes! I had goosebumps and a grin from ear to ear once we arrived in the small town of Rates this morning. A small yet picturesque village with white stucco houses and terracotta roofs which sits in the middle of farm lands. The ocean is beautiful but the Camino, at least for me, is about living amongst the locals, exploring their villages and being immersed in their culture.

By the end of yesterday I was slightly disappointed by the day, however today made up for that disappointment completely!

With less than 20 km we set off walking the stoney path towards Barcelos. Surrounded by rows and rows of eucalyptus trees. The path was calm until a little rustling in the bushes made us both jump, only to see a dog, nose to the ground, run past us… looking for his breakfast his owner had just shot out of the sky, he wanted nothing to do with us. We on the other hand waved to the man standing there, shot gun in hand, and started to walk just a little bit faster. We continued on our way.

We carried on and meet up with the road. I took a moment to fix my shoe and Leslie kept walking. When a group of cyclists, passed me. “ Buen Camino” they screamed, then proceeded to tell me the path continued to the right. We were headed straight. I screamed to Leslie. She had already made her way down the hill. Wrong way! I said. I wasn’t walking down to meet her if I didn’t have to. You never deliberately walk further on the Camino than you have to ! As the cyclists zoomed by me on, one side, a car stops next to me on the other. A man jumped out, leaving his wife in the car, “pelegrina, pelegrina, wrong way”. He didn’t have to stop, but he did. He pointed us in the right direction saying “ if you can take a short cut wouldn’t you”. Yes we would…

We continued…

Continued all the way until Pedra Ferado. A café mentioned in our John Brierley Camino book. Well what a find ! Antonio, the owner, told us to take off our shoes as the waitress brought us lunch (we all know I jumped at the chance to take of my shoes!) He proceeded to tell us story after story… his restaurant has been receiving the Michelin star since it’s inception. A remarkable man, mentioned in the guide book, and a pleasure to have met.

Once back on the road we decided to take a slight detour, 1km uphill on a twisty turny secondary road with the goal of reaching an old monastery. Again through eucalyptus trees, eventually the road opened up to that beautiful monastery. People picnicking out on century old stone tables monks once sat at. Well worth the upward climb… until we couldn’t quite figure out how to get down… the staircase to the left, no the one to the right, no the one to the left… went on for some time. The path isn’t always so clearly marked ! Fortunately we found our way down… I need to mention, I know the book claims it only added 1km to our day… I believe this to be categorically incorrect. I think it might have added 10.

We reached Barcelos this evening at 5pm. A sprawling city that felt like it took forever to reach the city centre. Between the blisters, the heat and the exhaustion we decided we still needed to eat… and believe it or not, after dinner we took a stroll…

Barcelos is a UNESCO heritage city. We meandered over to see the ruins. As Leslie led the way and I hobbled up the 5 steps to the landing a little Portuguese man came up in front of me, speaking solely in Portuguese, however I gathered he was locking the gate. I ran in to take a very quick peak… I thought he might yell at me once he came back from telling everyone else to leave, but instead, after looking down at my shattered feet, in my sandals, he asked if we were “pelegrinas”. Once he found out we were, he motioned for us to stay, locked the gate, and gave us our own private tour of the ruins. In only His native tongue along with hand gestures he explained every article that was in the old castle which used to sit elegantly perched, at the entrance of Barcelos.

And this, my friends, is what the Camino is all about.

Boa Noite

I will sleep well tonight and I wish you all the same pleasure.