Thursday, January 31, 2013

Day 16, Barcelos

Looks like JH has a cold. She's coughing and has aching bones. She's willing to
walk. We've had so many crises-- mud, rain, flood, getting lost, laundry problems, aches and pains, barking dogs, yesterday's alien invasion, and now a zombie outbreak.

As expected, we were cold last night, especially me since I was so far from the tiny space heater. I should have worn long underwear like JH suggested. We woke up at 8:30, later than ever. Oops, were supposed to leave by 9. Not gonna happen. The Brazilians were still sleeping while we aye breakfast. The cleaning lady came and though she wasn't shooing us out, she was encouraging us to leave. Somehow, the Brazilians got up and ready and left at 9:30, ten minutes before us.

Again, it started rain just as we left. I'm starting to suspect a conspiracy.

The first 3km was mostly dirt farm roads, muddy but we've seen much worse. There was no need for heroics or risky maneuvers. The stonewalls in this area are different, built with flatter stones (slate?), stacked like magazines. In several places the walls are collapsed and like tipped over bookcases.

Lunch was a bit of mistake. We aren't thinking clearly and rushed a decision. I think that's due to the scary couple kms before-- a narrow two lane road of speeding cars, with no shoulders and high stone walls forcing us onto the road. There was no place to go. I kept imaging a car skidding, bouncing off the walls and smashing us.

I knew there was a cafe in the front, but we ended up walking into the restaurant in the back. Before I could come to my senses, our wet jackets were hanging by the fire and we were seated with menus in hand. We ordered big meals that we really didn't want and felt put of place among the families around. The food was… eh. It was probably good, I think it just wasn't what we wanted.

After, the owner, Antonio, came over from the cafe to meet us. He is popular onv peregrinos for his kindness and enthusiasm. He kidnapped me, taking me through the connecting kitchen to the cafe to get stamped and photographed. He finally took me back to JH who started up think that is ditched her and gave Gyueon a shell necklace. Very nice man. I wished I'd been in my right mind and gone to the cafe instead. We would have had better food, good conversation, and not spent so much money.

As we left, the Brazilians trudged by, looking even more miserable than they were wet. We were confused-- how were they behind us? The son explained they'd stopped to eat. I wonder where. We left them behind, expecting to see them again in Barcelos.

Photos











Day 15, part 3- Rates

As you know, it was raining, it had been raining, and it was going to rain. The bridge we crossed in the morning was walkable but the next one wasn't. Arcos looks idyllic and lovely but it is a village that is hundreds of meters below sea level (don't look it up, take my word for it) and all of its roads are lined with thick stonewalls topped with aggressive thorn bushes, with no drainage holes. Oh, and there are about a thousand bridges, too. Looking down from the approach road, it looked like Venice, but with stalled cars instead of gondolas.

Just before the first bridge, we saw a stalled truck and a mechanic working on it. Then we saw the bridge. Flooded knee-deep, with no alternative-- the walls were too narrow. We sighed and turned around. The mechanic gestured for us to get on the back of his van which was parked behind the drowned truck. All aboard, captain! He backed through the water and dropped on the other side. We thanked him, watched him drive away, turned around and realized we'd been marooned. The next bridge was flooded. It wasn't as deep but our feet got a little wet. There is a big difference between a little wet and very wet so we were grateful anyway.

Some of our equipment is falling apart. The long raincoats we reviewed as gifts from the Jeju Olle are getting more rips everyday. I'm not complaining, they weren't intended for heavy use. JH bought a cheap pair of hiking sticks for the trip that are gradually getting shorter. The metal tips broke off long ago and the plastic that held the tips in place is wearing away. Gyu eon decided to find another stick in the wild to use on addition to the other one. His first supplemental stick had several small branches with leaves and, although it looked great, was impractical. The second one broke within 1 minute. Auditions over, he's sticking with one.

Rates- we feel like we are in our first real albergue. We had to show our credentials to even get in. The stamp is elaborate, as far as stamps go. It's 2 colors. The volunteer used a little T-square to line up a black ink stamp, then to line up red ink stamp. Then he pointed to the donation box and showed us around.

Cozy room. 3 bunk beds and 2 cots but we were the only guests. We also got blankets and a space heater to dry our stuff. There was also a kitchen.

We went to the tiny market up the street and got stuff for dinner and breakfast. When we dropped the stuff off, we found that two other peregrinos had arrived, a mother and son from Brazil. They looked beat so we didn't talk much. They stayed in another room full of bunks.

For dinner, I finally got rid of some things I'd had in my pack since Korea-- 3 out of 5 packs of spicy ramen! Finally! Dinner was nice and relaxing. For a change, we didn't have chicken, pork, fish, or beef with rice AND French fries.

After dinner, we sat around the table, talking and joking. I taught Gyueon how to play paper triangle football. Of course I won.

Photos:
Flood

Van to the rescue!

Hiking stick

Hiking stick

King of stamps

Alien invasion

Ramen!

Paper football. I won.















Monday, January 28, 2013

Day 15, part 2

The wind that had been blowing all night continued until afternoon. It was difficult even standing especially when the gusts caught our packs and twisted us around. With some modification, parahiking could be a new sport. At lunch the TV news was blaring the news-- Lisbon airport was closed due to high winds, with flights being diverted to Faro or Madrid. Porto reported several houses blown down by 230 kph winds. Yep, we were walking in high winds, across a bridge on the brink of collapse.

JH was still being grumpy, giving snippy answers to questions and barking orders. "Don't step in puddles. Watch out for cow manure. Don't cross there, cross here. It's cold, zip up your jacket."

She was driving us crazy.

After lunch, the wind subsided, the rain stopped, and dogs stopped barking at us. Not only did dogs stop barking at us, five cute puppies bounded (tumbled) toward us, eager to play. They were so happy to play with us that they kept falling over themselves. They followed us down the lane and we had to run to ditch them so they wouldn't follow us to the upcoming intersection.

That was the only time JH was nice, and it was only towards the puppies. Her nagging and micromanaging continued. I was wearing a wool cap in very light rain but my hood was down. I'd been like this for an hour. "Are you planning to wear your cap in the rain?"
"I guess so."
"Hmph."

Later, I stopped to pee. "Be careful of the wind." she warned unnecessarily.

"Ok. Thanks." I said out loud. "How would know more about this than me? Men make wind calculations without even thinking. We know about wind and flow. Please, my dear, shut up. I'm not a child.", I didn't say out loud because I value my life more than my pride, apparently.

I'm always cheerful. Well, maybe cheerful is a bit too strong a word. I'm always in a good mood and I don't like to see others in a bad mood. I tried to cheer her up. "Why do you do this? You're trying to trick me into feel guilty and apologizing later.", she snapped.

I had no answer so I just dropped back and decided not to engage the enemy. I even used Gyueon as a human shield.

In that peaceful 20 minutes I realized that she must think that she's traveling with two 13-year olds. It didn't make me feel better. I just don't understand how a bad mood trumps a good mood.

They reached an intersection and JH motioned for me to come. I was tired of taking orders so I dismissively signaled for her to go ahead. She motioned again and pointed to something I couldn't see and smiled. A woman selling fresh veggies, huge veggies that looked so good I could almost taste them. It was a simple sight but it thawed the ice between us. She apologized for being a bitch [her word]. Apology accepted. It's ok for me to talk about this because she put it on Facebook.



Photos:
1 puppies!
2 one of the best pictures I've taken. Notice the distinct lack of rain. I was confused. JH was grumpy and didn't appreciate this view at the time. And I was a jerk for pointing it out.



Q&A

Which way?

Yes.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Day 15, Rates

I slept alright, could've used another blanket and/or a heater. I woke up several times because of howling wind and pounding rain.

It wasn't raining when I woke up and I decided to go over to the cafe for some tea and me time. JH woke up and grumpily asked, "where are you going?"
"Cafe"
"Why can't you wait for us?"
"I thought you'd liked to sleep more."
"I'll meet you there."

CJ's parents were working, a very chatty could with British accents. JH and Gyueon came 45 minuets later and we had scrambled eggs and toast.

Lara dropped off our laundry. Dry! Too bad our boots were still a little damp. We were set to go, and got a sudden downpour. We waited 10 minutes for a slow down and made a break for it in just a light rain. Downed trees and branches were everywhere, like a hurricane had had struck. There were lines of dead leaves down the high parts of the road, marooned by the receding water.

Ponte Dom Zameiro, a beautiful medieval stone bridge looked flooded. We couldn't see much yet but JH was already acting like Bill Paxton's character in Alien, "Game over! That's it, man! We're history!" What happened to the JH I fell in love with all over again last night, she of the positive attitude?

As we got closer, we saw several cars parked at both ends of it but, a distinct lack of cars driving in it. Some had turned around. We got even closer and saw the drivers of the parked cars standing and just staring at the bridge, which looked intact to me. "Game on!", I cried silently to myself.

We walked across, dilly dallying on it, taking pictures, pointing out the roofs of several flooded stone buildings. Just past halfway across, a man from the other side waved at us, imploring us to hurry. We didn't rush but we didn't linger either. Through gestures, he claimed that the bridge was moving and its collapse was imminent. Obrigado. So, all those guys were just waiting to watch the bridge fall.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Day 14, Vilarinho

Our second best breakfast, yogurt and cereal.

Surprise, light rain. We'd decided to take the Metro to Forum Maia to spare ourselves from city walking and a reputably bad highway crossing.

Last night, my suggestion to walk to the nearby metro station and figure out how to acquire tickets (an unusual bout of planning ahead for me) went over like I'd suggested that we walk in more mud. I'm sure it would have saved us from a mini-argument, a stupid mistake, and another mini-argument this morning.

Buying a ticket wasn't intuitive and because of an odd choice of words in the English translation we ended up with an extra ticket and bad moods.

Off at Forum Maia. I'd memorized the information for today but JH questioned my interpretation of "walk back to crossroads Centro Commercial [200 m] turn right". I just walked rather than talk about it.

The rain fell heavier. We decided to use umbrellas, which were fine until the wind started blowing much stronger, turning them inside out.

I keep forgetting that Gyueon is 13, and although 13-year-olds can be a lot of fun, generally they have no common sense and do stupid things. We still have to remind him to avoid puddles and put on his raincoat. I had to teach him to turn an umbrella into the wind when it gets flipped , after watching him attempt to close his inside out umbrella and break two tines. Thanks, 13-year-old. That's why we can't have nice things. He didn't want to use the umbrella anymore because it was lopsided. I switched with him after showing him what to do and threatening his life if he broke another one. Pretty soon we all had to give up on the umbrellas.

He refused to wear the long raincoat and got very wet. He knew better than to complain. In other news, neither JH not I got very wet.

We saw a cafe, decided we were hungry and went it. The proprietor signaled for us to put our packs in the back room, which had a pool table in it.

Pro tip: on a rainy day, remove the rain cover for your pack before you set the pack on the floor to avoid puddling and soaking the bottom of your pack. We learned this lesson on the day we got free hot chocolate and cookies.

Within 10 seconds, two guys in work uniforms came in to shoot some pool on lunch break. I offered to move the bags but they said they weren't a problem.

A man sitting at a table by the door introduced himself as the owner of the building, the landlord. He spoke as if he were always continuing a previous statement. Also, he lives on the first floor (in Europe, the first floor is the second floor). Also, he lived in Melbourne for awhile. Also, he likes to play dominos. A game commenced soon thereafter, the sound of dominos slapping on the table was a countermelody to the billiard balls cracking into each other.

Also, the proprietor would like to know if you'd like some giblets on your ham and cheese sandwiches. Also, he makes them with his very own sauce. Also, they are very good.

We declined, but received a commentary sampler plate anyway. I thought they were okay but Gyueon liked them a lot. Surprising. The kid who doesn't like tomato sauce on spaghetti likes giblets.

Before we left, I asked where we were and was surprised to hear "Vilar". According to my map and calculations, we were still far from Vilar. He added, "also, you are 10 km from Vilarinho" (our ultimate destination). That made no sense to me-- the map clearly indicates that it is no more than 6km. The proprietor showed me a map that confirmed the landlord's claim. We paid, thanked them, and left, confused.

For that moment on, I wasn't where we were. I'd thought the course stayed on main asphalt road, but we were on cobble stone lanes a lot. Some time later we strolled into Vilar. What? Where? Huh? Then I realized that the men at lunch had said, "Vilar something" but since all I'd understood was 'Vilar' I'd assumed that it meant Vilar. I think they said Vilar Piniero or something. Oops my bad.

The rain got heavier. I couldn't remember the details of the directions and everything felt wrong. We made some more turns, followed arrows down a flooded farm road. I was positive that it wasn't in the book [it isn't]. We followed right on a main road and that seemed wrong [it is wrong]. We passed an Alberge before reaching a crossroads and that felt wrong [it was wrong]. While we were following what I think of as rogue yellows, the rain came down harder than rain had ever fallen before. In less than 10 minutes, we were soaked, lost, angry, and desperate. We wandered down a muddy path because JH thought it was correct. There was no argument, even when we wasted 10 minutes on a pointless foray.

Finally, the course turned right onto a main road (that turn, of all the turns that felt wrong, felt the most wrong, even more wrong than our ill-advised off-route slog through up and back down a muddy path). I went into a restaurant in the immediate corner, dripping my way across their floor and asked where Casa da Lara was. The guy said and gestured very clearly, go back the way we came 1 km, it'll be on the left. I reported this excellent news to JH. "The way we came? Does he know we just turned onto this road from a side street or does he think we came from the main road?"

"Hmm. Excellent question [paraphrased] . I'll be right back."

I dripped across the floor, got the sane explanation but with a "no turn" in English thrown in as a bonus by a cook.

I reported this excellent news to JH. One km later, I walked by it. JH and Gyu spotted CJ's Cafe, that is associated with it. All I saw was a yellow arrow, pointing the way from which we'd come. Impossible! I was to confused to be relieved at finding shelter.

We stood pathetically at the door of the cafe, until the worker cracked the door and explained where to go and called the albergue operator.

We got in, it's clean and dry but cold, very cold, no heater and no way to dry our clothes. We spent an hour wringing out clothes and showering. I'm in the driest. My torso was mostly dry and everything in my pack is dry but JH and Gyueon are dripping. Gyueon's pack has a puddle inside. His built-it rain cover is useless. It's a very bright orange so there's that. If we ever have an emergency that doesn't involve rain, we're all set. In the meantime, he has a lot of wet stuff. JH is a little better off. She's completely soaked but the stuff in her pack is only half wet. Lara brought us some cake, OJ, and port wine. No heater.

We went to the cafe for dinner, warmth, and wifi. JH finally tried a dish we'd seen many times, -----, which is random meat hidden under a mountain of French fries covered with gravy. It's good to eat and, in my opinion, good to share. It seems like too much for one human. CJ recommended a beer to go with it. She didn't need to sell it that hard.

We talked over dinner. I expected JH to announce that the walking part of our trip was over. Instead, we went over the plans for the next few days, rearranging and checking accommodations. I was so sure the trip was over. That last hour was bad. Very bad.

As we paid, we asked CJ to ask Laura (who doesn't speak any English and was seemingly incommunicado in her house) if there was any way to dry our clothes. Lara agreed to dry our wet clothes overnight.






Day 13, Porto, 0 km

Laundry troubles
Camino
Se cathedra

Last night, the girl who checked us in took our laundry and said it would be washed, dried, and folded for us by evening. Yes! Finally, clean clothes.

We took a walk, following the camino in reverse down to Se Cathedral to get our Credentials stamped. The rain took a lot of the excitement away, and soiled sight seeing and photography but we enjoyed the narrow winding streets up and down hills. We arrived at Se Cathedral at 12:29.

Pro tip: the cathedral closes from 12:30- 2:30 so plan accordingly. We just made it but didn't get to look around.

We continued down to the river, took a few pictures before more rain and clouds rolled in and we could barely see the Port wineries across the way any more. We wound our way back up to our hotel area, scrounged some lunch, and went back to our rooms. It was kind of a wasted day.

In the evening, we got our laundry back. Yeah! Wait, why does it smell worse? What are these white streaks on everything? Obviously, she'd overloaded the washed so the soap didn't dissolve and hadn't put the clothes in the dryer immediately. We took it back down. The girl insisted that she did everything correctly but, after talking to another employee, said that her replacement will do it over night. I had zero confidence and thought we should just accept dry clothes rather than risk having wet clothes tomorrow. The space heaters in the rooms were already working overtime drying our boots.

Amazingly, we got our laundry, fresh and folded early in the morning. Thank you, guy who knows how to use a washing machine and dryer.








Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Day 12

For the second time this trip, we didn't all sleep in the same room. JH and I had a private room and Gyueon slept on a rollaway bed in the outer room. They slept well. Once again, I didn't. Once again, the heat was turned up to a billion. I fell asleep to the whoosh of the ceiling heat vent. I woke up with a start, sweating and thinking I was on an airplane. I turned off the heat, a long time later I fell back asleep. I woke up later than usual at 7:30, to a whoosh but this time it was the wind outside. Uh-oh.

For the first time, the forecast was correct. So far we'd gotten by with rain coats but now it was time for the long plastic rsin coats they we hadn't used yet-- brand new Jeju Olle ponchos for Gyueon and I and JH putt on her old green one.

We set out in the pouring rain. At first, we thought that as long as the course stayed on sidewalks, our feet would stay dry. Pretty quickly, rain was soaking our legs below rain cost coverage. As our knees reached maximum saturation, the water gravitated downward, slowly downward. When the pants were wet, the water attacked our socks, eventually filling our shoes up. Our shoes became heavy and made strange noises when we stepped.

We stopped under the awning of a restaurant for some relief and JH revealed that her raincoats had been breached. She was completely soaked. She took off the old green coat and threw it in a trash can. I took long coat off and gave it to her (I was confident that my lighter one would be sufficient-- it was). We slogged on.

Now that our feet were soaked, it didn't matter that the way turned off sidewalks and onto an old Roman road that was so flooded it was more like a Roman river. We splashed through, strangely enough still trying to avoid the deeper parts.

We passed a country cafe and a man waved us in. We shook off the water, toon off our packs and rain gear and sat down. We ordered three hot chocolates but got served a plate of cookies as well. We chatted as best we could with the man and his wife (JH thinks daughter). He drew a rough map, listing the upcoming villages, which was very helpful. The rain never eased up. We stood up to pay and go but they wouldn't accept payment. The woman spoke the only English she seemed to know to explain why, "my son…" I wish I knew what she was trying to say. We thanked them. Just as we left, the man came out and gave a group hug, "Bom caminho".

JH had tears, I was moved. Gyueon almost said, "thank you". That's how special it was.

We splashed on. It wasn't pleasant but I wasn't suffering a bit. I was warm and my upper body was dry. However Gyueon was uncomfortable and JH was suffering. I was worried about hypothermia.

She led most of the day at a blistering pace like she was trying to outrun the rain. She was going so fast with Gyueon right on her tail that I almost lost them a few times. I stopped to retie my boot. When I got up, they were gone in the mist. I had to work to catch up. I stopped to take a picture. They were gone. A branch fell between my head and my pack so I stopped to remove it. Gone! The tip of my walking stick got stuck in a crack in the sidewalk, nearly tearing my arm off as it pwanged upright. They were gone, gone, gone by the time I freed my stick. A monster could have caught and devoured me and spit out my bones and they wouldn't have ever known.

All day, she'd kept up the pace but a second flooded road did her in. I'm not sure what was going on in Gyueon's head but he looked done as well. We reached an intersection in what we think was Vergada and found a bus station. Well, a place where buses pull in. There was no ticket machine or ticket window or worker, just a minimalist roof where 20 or so people where waiting for a bus. Imagine a typical bus stop. Now triple the size and take away all amenities. That's what this was- a super-sized bus stop with nothing.

JH worked hard getting information. I stood and did nothing, making JH angry. She worked everything out while I was a useless jerk.

The next day I realized why I acted that way. I was disappointed that we were skipping another section. We had just 5 km more to go. And now we were skipping that AND the next day, going directly to Porto. We were already wet, couldn't get any wetter. Why not finish?

"What about our shoes? They will be wet tomorrow. What will we do?" JH said. I didn't bother pointing out that: a. We don't know that we won't be able to dry them tonight; and b. they are already wet and will probably be wet tomorrow. Nothing we could do except wear wet shoes. When a Korean woman asks (in Korean), "what shall I do?", do NOT ever give a logical solution. Just commiserate.

A few days earlier I realized that I'd run out of clean underwear. JH said, "what can you do?" I said, "I'll just wear these again. Sem problema."

Not a good answer. Did you catch a second mistake? I tried to be slick and charming about it by using Portuguese. Pretty cool, huh? Nao, muito parvo.

We eventually got on a bus to Porto and really started getting cold. I was shivering and trying to read about Porto and figure out where we would stay. As we got closer we realized they we had no idea where the bus station was. I tried to pay attention after we crossed the Rio Douro into Porto but was a bit off in my calculations.

After a bit of running around and retracing our steps, we found a place to stay. Once again we got separate rooms. We quickly got organized, arranging clothing over the space heaters, showering, changing into dry clothes. Gyueon's pack was full of water, so most of his stuff was wet. Our sleeping bags were a little wet. We hung stuff on every available hanger, nook, nub, even on the TV.

Taking a shower required two people. The inside latch on the shower door was broken so one person had to latch it from the outside (so water didn't spray everywhere) and be ready to unlatch the door when the call came. Good thing we are married.

As I showered, drowning in a vertical coffin, I realized that skipping to Porto had been the right thing to do. JH was soaked and demoralized. Gyueon was a little freaked out.

Jeonghwa is tough. She proved that last winter during our walk around Jeju Island. One day, we got completely soaked. Everything but my pajama bottoms and one t-shirt. She was a little better off on that trip. That whole day we'd worried about how we'd get dry. It worked out.

She'd proved her toughness today too. She peed on a residential street with a car, a wall, me, and the rain blocking her. With her pack on.

I knew I'd been kind of a jerk and should apologize. We talked about it over dinner.

We relaxed, took a mini tour in light rain, and saw an extraordinary sky over Praca Liberdade. Wondered why so many seagulls were flying. Creepy.

We found a grocery store and bought stuff for tomorrow's breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We've gone over budget a few days.

Dinner was good. We talked about how badly we want to finish. I will finish on bloody stumps of legs if I have to. JH and Gyueon, not quite that extreme. We are a team and will adjust and get by together. All is well.


Photos:

1 this isn't even bad rain. I was afraid to take my camera out.

2 getting deeper

3 the only smiles all day.

4 the only living creature worse off than us.

5 scary or beautiful sky?









Day 11

JH slept soundly, didn't even move. I did not sleep well. It seems I can only sleep in crappy places. I think the heat was too much.

We only had 10 km planned so didn't hurry this morning. We lingered a long time over free breakfast. The course today will take us up and down some hills. Should be easy. I predict Gyueon will give it a "one piece of cake" rating.

The bright sun at our backs inspired me to compose a poem, I am my Shadow. I was a little hasty in composing it, the rain came shortly afterwards.

We had an excellent lunch at Fariado Cima. I wrote that I did NOT have a ham and cheese sandwich but I didn't note what I did eat other than it was fantastic. I suspect it was fantastic only because it wasn't ham and cheese. Gyueon had ham and cheese but wanted mayonnaise. We told him if he wanted it, he'd have to ask for it himself. He ate a dry sandwich.

We got a weather forecast: heavy rain for the next three days.

Close to Sao Joao de Madeira, we lost the way near a big shopping mall. Even with a heavy backpack and three weeks of walking ahead, JH wanted to go in. We kept moving, asking someone for directions. He walked us there.

We checked into Sao Joao AS Hotel and acquired the wifi password. In the room, we quickly settled in and arranged stuff to dry, relaxed, and went out for a walk.

This stage is scheduled as 29.2 km from Albegaria but in my opinion shouldn't be done in one day. You should split it up like we did, if only for the chance to see the hat factory museum.

We went, not expecting much, certainly not expecting anything in English. We got a personal guided tour of a piece of modern history in English. Our guide, Joanna, was fantastic. She explained everything clearly and enthusiastically. Amazingly, the tour was free. We learned all about how felt hats were made.

Dinner was at a roast chicken restaurant. It was very good, and I'm not a fan of chicken. Gyueon had pork, served with rice AND French fries. I'll never get used to seeing those served together, especially after a bread appetizer. It seems ubiquitous in Portugal.

Gyueon is really coming out of his shell. He still won't talk to anyone else but he's comfortable with us, acting like the 13-year-old he is. He touched everything in the museum, knocked something over. He tripped himself because he was standing strangely. We finally had to tell our guide that he wasn't our son-- he's our nephew, as if that absolved from responsibility.

Lately we've started playing rock soccer (I'm American, so it's soccer). The rules are simple: kick a rock as you walk. For extra excitement, pass it to someone. When you get bored, boot the rock out of range. We usually play rock soccer (roccer) once a day. JH is a natural, booting long passes from behind that miraculously land right on target. She should really turn pro.

Gyueon thanked the tour guide without any prompting today. Also he didn't walk in the middle of the road as much as he usually does.











Day 10, II

Gyueon doesn't seem to really become sentient until after lunch, it seems. Most days, around 2 or 3. He and JH have long conversations. They don't know each other that well actually. His father (JH's) brother took a job in another city 5 years ago and moved the family. So, we don't see much if them. This trip is a good way to get to kind him. When they start talking, sometimes I listen and try to keep up but it's hard. Usually, I drop back a bit because I don't want to interfere when they are bonding. As I said, he is shy. It's good to see him talk.

We walked along an little-used railroad track. JH naturally worried, "what if a train comes? What do we do?"

"Well, get off the tracks!"

Not a minute after the course turned off the tracks, a train came by.

We stopped for lunch in Pinhiero do Bomposta, which is my second favorite town so far, just behind Coimbra. It reminds me of the typical New England small town, with a Main Street and a few businesses. Lunch was just 5.20! We checked the price three times but it was "certo". Great deal!

Today, it seemed like we walked past a much high percentage of devout Catholic households. Many places had Jesus or Mary statues in the yard. Many house still had baby Jesus banners still hanging from Christmas. Village squares had big stone crosses or other symbols. I want to say there were fewer barking dogs but, although I didn't write about dogs, there could have been some and I just didn't notice.

The stone walks were particularly interesting today-- walls on top of walls on top of ancient walks, enclosing walls, enclosing other walls.

We climbed up a cobble stone road to Oliveira de Azemeis, which is perched at 230 meters, providing great views of the valleys on either side. It looked like a great place to spend the night.

We didn't really try to look for the 3 pensaos listed-- after the miserable night in the basement, JH and Gyu were dying for a warm and clean place. We went from feast to famine to feast at the Dighton Hotel.

We showered, reorganized, washed a few things, hung them strategically around the heating vent, and hit the town in search of food. We discovered another MIA Brierley recommendation (no disrespect for him, his book is a gem)-- the Art Club appears to be gone. We didn't see any sign of the Residential La Salette across the street either but we didn't look too hard.

Nothing court out fancy so we wandered down to Pensao Restaurante Anacleto and found the restaurant closed (not out of business though). We circled back to a place across the Dighton that had caught our eye and went in with high hopes. They talk the talk but the food was mediocre at best. I'm starting to think that Korean food, with its variety and spiciness had ruined all other food for me.

Washed up in bed by 9. Asleep by 9:30.

Photos

1 [removed]

2 the best lunch cafe ever

3 Pinheiro da Bemposta

4 up the hill to Oliveira de Azemeis

5 welcome to Oliveira don't make me type it again.







Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Day 10

Albergaria to Oliveira, 19.8 km

A groggy start. I slept well because I put a blanket over my sleeping bag and was warm. They refused to dirty their bags. They didn't sleep well. Gyueon is using my old sleeping bag that I bought it and another one for my friend David online 5 years ago so we could sleep on Guemjeong Mountain (it overlooks Busan, South Korea). I nearly froze to death in it but we were literally outside. No tent, no shelter. We didn't even get behind a windbreak.

I figured since we wouldn't be sleeping outside (hopefully), it would be ok. JH and I bought new compact bags. His bag is crap. It's so crappy that the feathers don't even want to be in it anymore. When Gyueon got up, he was covered with feathers. I said, "good morning Chicken Boy." He smiled, or at least as close to smiling as he'll get before 1PM. He's so quiet most mornings that I wonder if he's sleep walking.

We decided not to go go the firehouse for showers. It just seemed too complicated and we such want to bother the volunteers. We washed up and packed up quickly, got our Credentials stamped at the fire house (we never met the priest or anyone else related to the church), ate breakfast and walked out of town.

For the first time, my pack feels heavy. Like it just wants to sink itself deep into the ground. I know for a fact it's lighter-- less water and no food. For the last few days, the top of my right foot has been hurting. Now it's my left. I guess as long as the pain moves around, it's not serious. Gyueon hasn't complained about his shoulders lately. JH's little toes are getting mangled.

It was a lovely day, crisp, with a clear blue sky. Very soon we entered a eucalyptus forest. It was very relaxing, a relief from the craziness of the night before. I appreciated the orderliness of the trees, equally spaced and all the same size. I looked at the peeling bark, the only feature that set them apart from the other trees, the only disorder. Suddenly I remembered that we'd forgotten to make a donation as thanks for the use of the basement.

We've noticed that many homes have large outdoor laundry tubs with built in washboards and have laundry hanging out to dry, even on rainy days. A country of optimists, I think. Today we passed through 4 village with huge community laundry troughs set up. Do people really use these, we wondered? As if on cue, a woman walked by with a rolled up carpet and within 30 seconds, it was on the tub and she was scrubbing it.

This explains why we've had so much trouble getting our clothes washed-- we don't stay in one place long enough.







Day 9, conclusion

The day was saved, but not the night. We arrived in Albergaria-a-Velha, looking forward to staying in an Albergue (hostel for peregrinos) but found it to be closed, blinds down, gate locked. Actually the place looked abandoned. JH was getting stressed out but noticeably less stressed than usual.

I pointed out, "No problem, there is a recommended hotel in town, just 1.4 km more. It's on tomorrow's course. We're actually helping ourselves tomorrow!"

There is no hotel there. Everyone we asked said, "nope, no hotel there. See? No hotel." Or something like that.

"No problem. We can stay at the fire station" (traditionally fire stations let pilgrims stay).

One person we'd asked was an old man who was too eager to help and led us to the fire station, which we could see from where we were standing. By led, I mean he drove his car the half block there and waved us over.

The English-speaking fire fighter inside explained that we could shower at the station but we'd sleep in the basement if a church building. Before we could get more useful information such as "where exactly do we go?" And "who do we talk to?", grand father came back and took over the operation. He led us to the church, which we could see from where we were standing. Again, he led us by driving, let's say 5 car lengths, and waving us over. At the church he gave another wave. We took that to mean, "go in the church".

Nobody there.

Back outside, grandpa was still there. He accosted a neighbor who seemed not to want to help him. I was starting to think that he was a well-meaning busy-body who couldn't really help us. Another explanation and more gestures. We waited on the steps of the church, shivering. We thanked him for probably the hundredth time. At this point we wished we knew how to say, "thanks, you've done enough. That is all. You may go now."

I ran back to the fire station and was told to just wait at the church. I was cold so I decided to go into the church but an old woman was just locking up. She led us up the priests house across the street and motioned for us to wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, she came back with a key and led us to a church building next door.

She had difficulty walking and I felt horrible watching her struggle on the stairs down to the basement to show us our home for the night-- old dirty mattresses, old dirty blankets, and an old dirty bathroom with only cold (probably old and dirty) water. I was fine but JH and Gyueon were shaken.

This was going to be our first sleeping bag night! "Woohoo", I thought.

"Boohoo", they thought.

We got as settled as we could and set off for dinner. Just as we were about to leave JH realized that we didn't have a key to lock the glass double doors to the building. I was sure there wouldn't be a problem when we went to dinner. I didn't see a problem. Who would think to come in here anyway and go down to the basement and steal our stuff? I wasn't worried.

However this is just the type of situation that stresses JH out immensely. She'll imagine every worst case scenario (except a zombie apocalypse because she has no appreciation for the real danger a zombie outbreak poses) happening all at once.

What if this, what if that? She was driving me crazy.

I deflected everything until we discovered that the door locks automatically, a fact we only discovered because she insisted that we check first. If I had been alone, I would have stupidly locked myself out, but don't tell her that.

That stumped me for awhile. She thankfully shot down my first solution-- I stay, they eat and bring something back for me. I had to really sell my second idea.

Double doors usually have one door locked by pins at the top and bottom so, I sent Gyueon outside,unlocked the pins, closed the door, and told Gyueon to push. With a little extra force the doors opened. JH still wasn't convinced so she tried it. We finally went to dinner.

We walked back a few blocks to the only restaurant we'd seen. Guess who was outside (waiting?)? Nine and a half points for you if you guessed grandpa. He approved of our choice and waved us in.

We ordered food. I don't remember what but I remember that it was very good. JH and I had a glass of wine. We had a little chat about our respective flaws of character.

I generally don't worry about of remember details. As a result, I paint myself into a corner sometimes and have to improvise my way out. I, of course, don't see this as a weakness-- I see it as a strength. For me, planning is not unadvised but plans are usually useless. I don't get stressed out and I get to live a little.

JH tended to obsess over details. It's not enough that we arrive somewhere-- she needs reservations, names, numbers, and back up plans. When things don't go as planned, JH gets stressed and takes it out on my. Not only is planning essential, plans must be followed as accurately as possible. Of course, she sees this as a strength-- we didn't lock ourselves out, whereas I would have.

Anyway, I told her that I had recently (that day) started paying more attention to detail. In fact, I had memorized, almost verbatim, all of the information today, and had only referred to the guidebook twice. I didn't add that it hadn't made any difference-- we still would have ended up in the basement.

She pointed out that she hadn't, for a change, gotten stressed out and snapped at me when plans started failing. In fact, she'd been almost casual about the whole ordeal. To her credit, she didn't rub it in that I would have locked us out. We stated our mutual appreciation of each other's efforts and toasted.

I hoped that nobody had broken into the basement and stolen out stuff.

Grandpa made another appearance, coming into the restaurant to check on us. He went over to a large group of men at a table, trying to join discussion. The two men closest to him subtly turned away from him, shutting him out. Man, nobody likes that guy. He shuffled out.

Back to this basement, we washed up, bundled up, and went to bed. I slept pretty well.



Sunday, January 20, 2013

Day 11- I Am My Shadow

The sun is strong behind me and I am my shadow. My legs are miles long and my pack weighs nothing. As long as the sun shines, this is easy.

JH and Gyu eon are speaking in Korean and walking ahead of me. I am my shadow. I exist, but have no substance.
I am with them but I am not.

It is a bright day, I am wearing colorful clothes and my pack is orange. Everyone can see me. I am a shadow, an elusive figure that will disappear from their sight as suddenly as I appeared.

I don't think or feel, just follow. I am a shadow. My beard isn't itchy, the top of my right foot doesn't hurt, my clothes don't stink.

I am walking to Santiago.


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Day 9, part 2

We crossed over an ancient Roman Bridge. I imagined that the sounds of our walking sticks were the sound of the wooden wheels of carts.

Everything was going well today. It had been one of our easiest days. It was all just a set-up though.

The course split at Lameiro, old route and new route. Since we consider ourselves bad asses and bad asses always go old-school, we took the original route, ignoring the long insistent yellow arrow pointing up the hill.

We looped around the base of the hill, under a long and high bridge (I theorized out loud that the new course goes over it). Around another turn we saw a smaller bridge with two barricades clearly blocking the bridge. A yellow arrow pointed in the direction if the bridge. I took out my trusty Brierley guide book but it was no help. We took a break and wondered what to do. I climbed over both barricades-- maybe we can still walk it. Nope, about halfway across, the bridge ceases to be. Not even Gyueon would try to jump it (fortunately he wasn't out there with me). We had no choice but to turn back.

Just under the big bridge, a woman popped out from behind a high fence and pointed to a steep embankment. "Just climb up there", her gestures said. It was steep but it saved us a ten minute loop back.

On the bridge, we rejoined the trail, JH took pictures and I suddenly panicked about the guidebook. It wasn't in our bags. JH remembered leaving it on one if the road blocks (I think it was me but thanks, honey). I dropped my pack and ran full speed back across the bridge, leapt down the embankment, and sprinted to the barricades.

I saw a car. I saw a man walking around outside as if looking for someone, perhaps to return something precious he had found. I called out, "libro!" He smiled and handed it to me and said, "Bom Camino". I thanked him and sprinted away.

The car, which had to go the long away around barely beat me to my travel partners. He beeped a couple times, cheering me on.

The day was saved and I was the hero!



Photos

Lunch place

Barricade

Barricade

Embankment

View from bridge if nice lady's house









Day 9, part 1

It was a leisurely morning. We slept in a bit and took advantage of free breakfast, enjoying exotic food such as eggs, bacon, freshly squeezed orange juice, and yogurt. We went back for seconds and thirds.

Agueda is the first town I've seen that looks to be prospering, with at least 5 large construction projects going on, and much fewer empty buildings.

The water front is very nice. There are a dozen or so men fishing, some with poles long to use to vault over the river.

The check-out clerk had told us in a clipped British accent told us the weather forecast-- rain. No surprise. So far we've only had light showers. Finally the sun broke through and the clouds dispersed. The real rain never found us. Somehow we ducked and dodged and managed to avoid it all day.

Then the dogs started barking again. One collie charged the fence followed by an angrily quacking duck. We congratulated them on successfully protecting the house and walked on.

A few bikers zipped by in colorful Lycra kits. Gyueon commented on how nice it would be to bike instead. We pointed out that he doesn't know how to ride a bike. "Still better" he insisted. An old man on a rusty bike with a basket squeaked by. "Still better?", I asked.

Gyueon is shy, even among other Koreans and we are trying to encourage him to try some simple Portuguese phrases like "thank you" and greetings. It's a project-- he barely speaks to us.

I know how JH feels about me when I'm with her family and friends. I'm naturally shy, and more shy in Korean. I know it's frustrating for her that I don't interact much with her family and friends. Maybe if I can help Gyueon, I can improve myself. Regardless, I will try harder.

JH's mother passed away a few years ago (her father, before we met). She was a wonderful person, kind and a fantastic cook. My only regret in my life is that I never got to have a deep conversation with her.



Friday, January 18, 2013

Day 8, Agueda

We planned to stay at an albergue in Agueda but we were enchanted by a Siren's song on a sign, "good breakfast, possibility of washing and drying clothes" and changed our plan. We walked past two places close to the town center, past the turn off for the albergue, and kept walking. So long that we thought we must have past it. About to give up, we saw another sign pointing ahead. We continued for I don't know how long. Long enough that I asked a homeless guy for directions, ignoring the sight of the food my wife had seen him pick out of a dumpster (I didn't know this until later- all I knew was that the food in his hand was nasty). He cheerfully encouraged to keep going. I thanked him, and spotted a sign. Just 200 more meters. 200 more giant meters, more like.

Celeste looks like a great place but the guy on duty gave a vague answer about about laundry and then told us the ridiculous price (58) for one night. Bye! We left, noting that we would have had to walk back down town to eat (no restaurants nearby) and then walk back to the hotel.

We walked to the albergue. Actually we walked past it twice before finding it, locked up right, looking like nobody had been there in years. I guess we should have called first.

Now, desperate, we went onto the hotel. 70,000 for a room, plus 20,000 for an extra bed. Too much, thank you.

The clerk was very nice and chatty, very interested in our walk. We thanked him and left, no hard feelings, we'll just stay at the fire station (I'd forgotten about another alternative). Just outside, JH decided to run back in and use the bathroom. The desk clerk came out to talk more. He asked what our budget was. I said "50". He offered to add the extra bed for free.

I said, "OK, 70."

He said, "You can stay in a fire house another day".

I'm sure you've noticed that we agreed to spend 12 euros more for this. Why? The guy was nice. And it was actually in town. And we were tired.

We cleaned up and Mr Manuel recommended a restaurant, explaining its mid range price but you'll like it.

The O Ribeininho restaurant was great. The waiter was funny and helpful even though he could only "do easy English". After the meal, he asked where we were staying. He chuckled at the answer, "you could have stayed here. It's nice. And cheaper."

D'oh! In all of our scrambling I'd forgotten about my original first choice.


Photos

1 we are going the right direction!

2 ignore the Siren's song



Day 8, continued

After lunch, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear ahead. We took the rain covers off and JH put her sunglasses on. 15 minutes later, we scrambled to put the rain covers back on. Showers came and went. We saw a rainbow! Clearing the trees, we saw it was a full rainbow. No, a full doubled rainbow. One end was so bright, it appeared to be engulfing a distant house in rainbow flames.

We walked on. JH spotted abandoned building with a large awning and declared break time. We were barely under when a downpour struck. Great timing. We stayed until it passed.

Soon after, we met another perigrino walking the other way. He crossed the street to greet us. He'd walked from Fatima to Santiago and was now on his way back to Fatima. Having no common language, we couldn't talk but we shared some laughs and smiles. He mimed that his legs were tired and he had new boots. He looked happy. I envied his small pack and low tech equipment, garbage bag rain cover, umbrella. I guess he knows what he's doing by now.

We don't quite know yet. Every day we've had some fiasco or gone on some wild goose chase.

Photos

1 out of the rain
2 look at the sky! You would have taken off your rain covers too!
3 fellow pilgrim

4 full double rainbow all the way!