Living Contentedly

Got to the supermercado opposite the @lbo a half hour early. Got croissant, cappuccino sachets, banana, roll. Visited bombers; "can't sell". Called Australian Bombers " real bomberos".  Citadel awesome amount of stone. Tunnels, layers.  citadel Walking in drizzle was pleasant. Had breaks for barny roll, Snickers, coffee. Only bad part was industrial zone but at least it was straight.  bridge over the boarder into tui. one of the churches in tui.  Fell into this @lbo, WiFi is this network thing & its crap to log in with older phone. Can t do it 

Ive learned that I relish a challenge. Whether I like it or not! Last evening the hostel receptionist invited Pilgrims to catch a "free taxi" to the "water taxi" wharf. The pilgrims ooh'd & ah'd about saving leg miles. I saw red, the way to hell is easy.  This morning I got ready & attended the foyer with pilgrims mustering but my legs moved me out the door & then down the road & then accelerated away.  Over the bridge & far away & before I knew it, headed towards Valenca on the Camino Central.  There was a little drizzle. I ate coffee & custard croissant, then a half a roll, then chicken pasta, then banana roll & biscuits & tonight tuna, tomato crackers.  This was the town where I had little lunch. This was further upstream on the Mino - it reminded me of the Huon Valley. Beautiful.  Despite doing a complete loop around this albo it was easy to find, & €8 cheap. The hospitalero knew...

Considering that I am (28+14=) 42 days into a 60 days adsence from my comfy home of 20 years, I am doing very well. I can't deny that of late counting down the days is keeping me happy (looking forwards to the Next Big Adventure). But my daily routines are keeping me elevated, such as:-    * locking onto the goal of walking being my job . I get up & without delay, get ready & hit the road.    * walking the majority of the day, never less than six hours, sometimes closer to ten. I just never slack off.    * stay positive & on task. I font dwell on doubts or troubles, & when I attained my major goal ( a Compostela for my Camino Francis ), I pretty well immediately flagged a second goal that had a challenge & personal merit - the Porto Camino. Already, I have a third target to reverse the Frances towards Madrid until times expires.    * I stay disciplined, as alluded to above, I stay on task & don't waver.    * prayi...

M 27. Caminhah              714. √      Hostel €16 T  28.Villdesuso.             737      Alojamenta de Port €16      On R of the way W 29  Ramallossa.          755      A Pasa de Pios €18 T. 30  Vigo.                       778      AdP Vigo €12 F. 31. Pontasampaio.     800      Hos-Alb Meson S. 1.   Caldas de Reis      826      Alb CdR €12 S. 2.   Esgravitude.          852      De Capilana €12 M 3.   SANTIAGO d CO   869

Breakfast was lush.  Then I began seeing cats. Butt Ugly Mottles, on the window sill. Monochrome; wanted a pat zo bad he couldn't stand still & grabbed my calf as I tried to go. Hissin' Mama: was on the garden shed roof. When i raised the camera the kitten vanished & Mama hissed aggressively. Sebastian; sat up on the food van step as the ham came out. I left some ham for him & he got a chin scratch.

Escaping an Albergue with no one to bother is quick & easy. Outside it was immediately obvious that Day 2 of a Four Day Rain Event wasn't going to script. It was cloudless!  Actually the wind was northerly, perhaps northeasterly, slightly offshore & with the slight wibdchill earky, reminded me of the best days surfing before school as a kid.  The Caminho ran an elevation about coastal settlements, before scaling a mount then descending on a narrow trail through eucalypts. It couldn't get an more like home. Until I discovered a pristine little stream heading westwards. A stone bridge provided a great spot for Little Lunch. Then it was up & down on rough rocky ground, very grungy & dangerous. Flew through Antas.  We rolled out onto a plain, with noisy village, heading NW. The noise was tied to a running festival & market. A guy on a loudspeaker was going off & the police were playing music w...

The Night Before :  Rosa's place is a little too plush from that I've gotten accustomed too in the albergues. The worst thing is the lack of humanity, it feels cold & dead, well at least lifeless. I turned the TV on for company long enough to learn that a shitty weather front was due in from the Atlantic. Four days rain; three of light drizzle followed by a bucketing. I cant say whether its my swim in the surf or relative freedom, but I lay adrenalised most of the night, unable to sleep. Delaying bed time, I laid out my gear for tomorrow & bought wet stuff in at dusk & hung it in the kitchen.  After what I've endured on the Camino Frances I'm not going to let a little moisture get me down.  Its just weather & no great drama. My tomorrow goal is Marinhas only 18k away. By Monday I hope to be close to CAMINHA which happens to be the last cheap albo in Portugal where I'll park until the rain finishes.       X.    X.    ...

Left a very sleepy Albo at 7 or 8. The only young person stirring early was a mum with a baby doing a Camino. I met a beaut Korean woman, who with her husband were just about to complete a twin Camino from St Jean via Santiago. I was feeling like "woe that's a long way" for them. In just over a week I plan to be in the same boat! just below this 1700s church are the remains of a Bronze Age roundhouse. maybe near via de conde mural povoa de marzin. Today's walk was under 20k but felt more, & I ate quite a lot of food?  The coast was immediately better today; way fewer blocks of units, more deserted beaches, fishermen's camps, surf outfits & outpost cafes.  Reaching my destination, I bartered with Rosa for a non twin share room price, then had a dip in the sea. Then showered, washed clothes (someone switched socks!), ate, did posts & headed to bed.   

Chloe the Westy @ porto Hit aldi, river, coast ... Beard trim, located albo way back, but €26! Restart for labruge. Long boring coastal/ dormitory towns without shops exc waterfront bars, many closed. On on wet until LEBRUGE relied by @   

I guess my seat number on the Oporto bus, #7, should have tipped me off. But as we neared the city, I was already awestruck by the sound of crying Atlantic Gulls overhead. Yes, even in a coach, on the highway in the rain, I could sense their dreamy wheels.  Then, realising I'd booked to alight at the aeroporto which was some way from the city. Luckily the cranky driver was unaware & I got away with the longer ride into town.  At the autobus estacion it was raining hard, the Camino began at the Se Cathedral "on the hill overlooking the [little] city". Well from my perspective I could not see any cathedral let alone that hill. A short taxi ride fixed that, as I landed nearby.  i went to the cathedral office & got a fresh Credencial & set off downhill to the north. For about 45 minutes I poked along hunting arrows, until I was satisfactorily lost.  I found a nice taxi driver who drove me back towards town & delivered m...

10:00: @ autobus estacion awaiting ALSA service to Oporto. Local buses only run before or after school, I missed that detail. So I had to rush to taxi rank at cathedral zone. Left myself time, so no haya problemo.  Porto weather seems a little better, 18° 1.75mm rain through the day.  I have no worries here, but at home Joe is fighting fires in 40°s +. Thankfully Julie is monitoring outside work hours. I wish he'd open up, but he's got Gally Grit in him.  10:23 - boarded bus, cranky driver, but a new bus & I have seat #7. To Porto Aero Porto which, of said quickly makes me go cross-eyed.  When times are stressy, Buddhism provides relief. But the Pilgrim Experience is supposed to teach me to see difficulties as learning opportunities & to know that I can overcome obstacles or accept them with grace.  Even better!   13:08- still on the bus . wet. But Port. seems friendlier, at least the signage seems more comprehensible?? ...

Fart 1: at the albergue after the first section of the meseta, the village beyond carrion de con or something like that.  I arrived a little late & took a top bunk opposite two quite thin older women on the lower bunks. They were probably only 3m away.  After a while one of the women was stretching out some muscle tension when she let out a real cracked whip of a fart. And to prove that everyone knew she was the Author, the entire dormitory went deadly quiet. Amazing. Fast Two: Santiago de Compostela. This albo is a bit of a maze & a group of Europeans that arrived this afternoon, have a new room to themselves, next door. Every so often one will turn in one doorway too quick & finish up in my wing.  Anyway, they're using our loos & showers & there's a continuous stream of freshly doushed women. Just now, one woman, sensing something indelicate about to happen before she entered her dorm, stood statue still & eased it out. Unfortunately for her it w...

I slept in a little & hung out waited on reception to ask about laundry but had no luck.  09:00 took off in tights!! (Everything else was wet & smelled bad.) to attend cathedral mass.  09:30 Despite being in Spanish, the priest reached out. A religious sister presented the mass & had a majestic voice. No boto profumo. :( 10:30 Pilgrim Mass: this was a bit holdy hands sit on a circle, but I suppose it went towards creating a pilgrim network vibe in English. The volunteers are a nice & inclusive group of people.  Afterwards, i went to another local church Cathedral San Francisco. I was keen to attend here because Saint Francis is my favorite due to his love & kindness towards animals. St. Francis walked the Camino Frances in 1412? Hungry, i got a heap of groceries: 2x bananas, tomato, grapes, pastor & baguette for €4! Got money from the bank there - turning my phone off first.  Back at the Albo I ate & did laundry. I queried early flights ...

WC blocked + rain = risk of grumpiness. But found a cafe in Sal serving fresh croissants, coffee with hot water! Rock on.  Long walking day. I was expecting 27k but the last third or so dragged on and on. I walked right passed my Albo, so I dropped my pack & walked another 2k or so to the cathedral. It was massive, archaic & solemn. I walked down below the main altar & then up around the top rear of the altar where all the artefacts & remains are stored. Obviously one of them was Saint James!?   Meeting Pilgrims is a thing apparently you sit there & wait for known Pilgrims to come along & celebrate. I saw only one Pilgrim, the Fellow & Cranky Dog Lilly who rode in a trailer. I congratulated him by shaking hands. He smiled, for the first time Lilly did not bark! But, she did give me a curious look. May be she recalled seeing me at dawn earlier when they were camping in ...

Feature: rain. 7am off, sprinkling, undulating but pretty steady elevations all day tho I recall one uphill pinch. Met Dr Paul from Noam Alaska. Really enjoyed talking about life in Alaska; hunting, keeping warm, surviving outdoors. Being a doctor he couldn't help lacing his presentation with feats achieved by his father, son & himself. He painted himself as a comfortable in his own skin guy. *** Afterwards I reflected upon my need to be comfortable in my skin, to care less about others & more about myself. *** I reflected on my life as a kid, young teen, when i was most happy. Here was a boy who lived without question, just charging into every activity; surfing, early morning surfing, walk/jogging/cycling to school. no doubts, no second guessing, no asking anyone else if what i was doing was ok with them. My goal was to be very good at what I did. Not to "compete" against others for the sake of winning, more to be a better surfer, to do hi...

Just hauled into Palaus de rei without a coffee today. I might get another.  Walking v pleasant, gentle, path of quartzy gravel by a quiet road.  Lucky to snag a bar before falling out of this town. No supermercado spotted. Would love a baguette, vanaba & biscuits!  Booked at Melide, walking very slowly; Hungry, exhausted, enjoying second last day?? At some point the Way got quite fertile,  a permaculture property, green arcades etc. A Peruvian couple were offering wax stamps for €1.  Walking, walking a long boring run onto MELIDE. I bumped into a young Canadian & was surprised that everything I assumed was wrong. She had walked 500k of Norte before swinging onto the Frances at Ponferrada. She had walked a Camino previously, had been to Morocco & south America & was on her way to live in England. She is from eastern Canada.  @ was €13 for comfy but average. Sent fwd to book @ Salceda. Next stop Santiago de...