Friday, September 23, 2016

Sao Joāo- Porto Part 2:

Little Adjustment, Positive Outcome

The walk towards Porto was an interesting one. I've written about the busy highways, hard roads and the granite cobbles, each uneven with its neighbours. There were a few hill climbs...
but nothing really that taxing. After the flat, they just seemed like a climb. There were directional signs that made us wonder, but then some folks get lost regularly, so best to be safe. The route is generally well marked compared to others I've seen.
There were a few nice churches,
A couple of schools,
And a few relics from the past.

By no means am I calling Neil a relic!
There were some interesting sights as we passed...
A closer look was required. It's in the detail.
We even walked a Roman road from over 2000 years ago...
It probably looked a little different in the day?
Then there was something a bit new on the agriculture front.
Differing from what one finds in Galicea. Much smaller, sort of a half pounder if you like:-)

I liked the colours and contrasts. This was on the outside wall of a village church.
As stated yesterday, we had slogged along on some busy National highways and roads through the day and we arrived not so far from Porto and decided to stay in a small albergue previously agreed to. However, when we arrived it was only 12:30 and frankly the albergue wasn't too appealing to anyone, while we were trying to convince ourselves that it would be ok, Mia from Copenhagen walked in and said no way. She was going to walk onwards to Porto. That ment Mary would go as well. So a the four of us looked at each other and decided to seek out a small cafe for lunch. While doing so we made the decision to save our feet and take the bus the remaining short distance in. I've already related the story  of the kind woman who helped us find the correct bus and of the two bus drivers who made everything work. 

We left the bus and walked on down the hill to the high bridge that Annemarie and I had walked over during our earlier visit. Our first view! 
Neil and Sarah's first real look.
And then we were off to cross!
A mid span cohort photo
Frick but it's high! It hadn't gotten any shorter since our last visit?
But I was ok having prepared myself for the experience. I actually lingered with Neil.

I had to keep him company because the other two basically abandoned us!!
We walked up to the cathedral which is just off to the left of the bridge to obtain a cathedral stamp in our credential. As Annemarie and I walked around the corner there was Ilya from Prague who had walked with Neil and Sarah from Lisbon and had to leave us in Coimbra! He gave us each a huge hug And then we surprised Neil and Sarah. A nice reunion for the three of them and we were very pleased for the three peregrinos. He was leaving the next morning, today, and had walked in and been 
We found a nice apartment for the four of us and say and enjoyed a good chat over an excellent cold beer.
Ilya told us that the part we bused into Porto damaged his feet and that he though we had  made a good choice. So it seems that our decision to make a little adjustment to our walking plan paid off. If we hadn't bused the last part we would have missed Ilya and it was important for him to finish with his cohort before returning home. He was much happier! A positive outcome!!
The cathedral was lovely and we were able to have our credential stamped.
We sent Neil and Sarah off to meet their cohort and we walked to a big grocery store we knew and picked up food supplies and made a reservation at a favorite restaurant. We trucked it all home and made a spaghetti dinner in our apartment.&
A nice end to our long day:-)
Bom Caminho!

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