As My friend Karen just pointed out to me, “it’s good to be reminded of the strength it takes to do beautiful things.”

Today we had a 750m ascent from Ponte de Lima into Rubiães. Despite a few challenging spots, it was a beautiful climb. The cobble stone streets in Portugal we’ve been walking though, are rough on the feet.

As I write this I have my feet soaking in an ice cold swimming pool at Quinta das Leiras, a paradise and a fabulous find. Hulmet and Heidi, the owners of the home are away in Germany, he had his neighbour let us in. The fridge is stocked with drinks. Leave a euro on the desk if you take one, he said when we booked the room. The Camino honour system at work! There are a few other people staying here but Leslie and I, along with Gerlinda from Germany, are the only ones by the pool. We lucked out on this find!

Last night, on our way to dinner, we crossed paths with another fellow pilgrim, Marc, a retired lawyer from Texas. We had seen him a few times already, so, in good Camino spirit we shared a meal together at a local Portuguese restaurant.

He’s a slower walker than us, but we’ve been communicating via text. This evening his host at his Quinta invited us for dinner. Not only that, he’s coming to pick us up. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s the moments like this that make the hard times on the Camino worth it.

We’ll be heading out shortly; I best be getting ready… although leaving this ice cold pool will be hard!

Wishing you all a boa Noite. xx