Moments of Reflection

I knew today would involve walking just a little less than seven hours. So I was out the door, after breakfast, by 8:00 a.m.  It was a little more than two miles of walking to get out of the city of Barcelos. Traffic was frenetic as people rushed to work and to get their children to school on time. I'm guessing it's the same way pretty much everywhere.

I passed the soccer stadium and turned onto a farm road. I came upon the railway just as a train was passing by. Most of the trains seemed to have only three passenger cars, but they were fairly frequent. It was a single set of rails and the trains would alternate going in each direction.

At first glance I thought this sign might indicate some strange side effect particular to Portugal. Then I translated the key word to discover that of course, it meant testing.

When it started to rain, a local man called from his second story window and indicated that I should enter his property to get out of the deluge. I declined and said thank you. I quickly put on my rain gear and got back on the trail. With all the miles ahead I really had to keep moving.  Besides, I'm getting so good at putting on and taking off the rain gear, I would give Clark Kent a run for his money.

I spent the day totally unplugged and let my mind wander. Sometimes I had to deal with traffic, and other times I could just be in the moment with the sound of the birds, taking in the scenery. I looked up ahead and saw the mist hanging on the hill. It brought to mind the film "Gorillas in the Mist," with Sigourney Weaver. I killed a few minutes remembering all the movies that she was in, from Alien, to Ghostbusters, to Avatar, and one of my favorites, Dave, with Kevin Kline.

It started to rain again. Science warning! A quick explanation as to why it sometimes rains more as you get closer to the top of a hill: There is always a temperature where the moisture in the air becomes saturated. That’s when it turns into fog, or rain, or other forms of precipitation. As a cloud travels up a hill, the temperature gets cooler. It doesn't take much to saturate that air if the temperature/dew point spread is small. Sometimes the acceleration of the air as it moves through the hills cools it enough for it to saturate. But enough science for now.

The good news for me today was that on the lee side of the hill, there was very little rain. The moisture had all been depleted by the time it cleared the tops. The temperature warmed up in mid-afternoon, and the clouds lifted, so I climbed the next set of hills without any rain either. Except for one brief shower as I entered my destination city, I saw no more rain for the last 12 miles of today’s journey.

It wasn't one of the ancient wonders, but crossing a stone bridge is still kind of magical in its own way. With all the rain, water was moving rapidly under the span. That was the only sound to be heard, along with the occasional quacking of ducks that played in the shoreline vegetation.

I started crossing into some vineyards. These grapes appeared to be the type used in port wine. Alex, the tour guide from back in Porto, said they were very small. I sampled a couple. They were a little sour and about 30 percent seeds, but there was still a certain sweetness to them. The end product is much more palatable.

It's difficult to convey exactly how beautiful some of this area is – Even the camera in my phone caught some postcard-quality images. Not too bad for an Android. I acknowledge the iPhone does a better job.

The area north of Porto is definitely more pilgrim-oriented than the section I walked starting in Lisbon. There is more potable water available, there's significantly more signage, the trails are in better shape, and occasionally you will see someone put out a table with food and beverages for travelers. This was a small example of one of those stations that we’ve come to call an oasis. Everything was €1 and it was all on the honor system. There were bottles of water and beer along with snacks and fruit.

I really didn't see anyone on the trail today. The one exception was as I left a coffee shop, three Spanish pilgrims walked in. First break was at about seven and a half miles. My second and last break was at just over 14 miles. I found a covered bus stop with a bench and enjoyed the lunch I had packed the evening before.

At one point I passed a yard full of animals: sheep, goats, chickens, and turkeys. As I walked through the small village I saw no other signs of life. But when I got downwind of this home, I could smell roasting meat. I suspect one of the barnyard buddies wound up on a plate today.

I've included a few pictures of the stone surfaces that comprise much of the Portuguese Central Camino. It is generally in good repair. I only use the picture where it is broken up to display how it is put together. It was not uncommon to go from flagstones to cobblestones and back again. Each had a distinctive feel on the souls of my feet. The last two miles into Ponte de Lima were like a Detroit test track, with several different surfaces to check how the rubber meets the road.

Remaining unplugged provided plenty of time for introspection. Early in my Camino journey I reflected on finding forgiveness for people who had wronged me. Today, I reflected that same concept back on myself. Have I forgiven myself for the wrongs I have done to people in my life? The short answer is no. In fact, there is an additional layer of guilt, because when I think about people I have wronged, I generally focus on the positive hours, days, and years shared with them. It has become more and more clear that the most valuable thing you can share with someone in your life is your time. To think that any of the time shared with people I've cared about, or who’ve cared about me, was wasted, would be difficult to process. Those who interacted with me might see things differently. They would not be wrong. I wonder if sometimes I have reached into the pockets of people and taken happiness chips for myself without giving enough in return.

All at once, I was drawn back onto the trail. It was the last 30 minutes of the day and I was ready for a hot shower. The Camino ran along the river and then under trellises of grapevines. It was a nice touch to welcome travelers to the city.

The city’s focal point and main attraction is the stone bridge that crosses the river upstream from the traffic bridge. It actually combines medieval and Roman-era structures, with elements dating back to the 1st and 14th centuries. This stretch over the River Lima was mistaken by Roman troops as the river Lethe of Hades, which according to their mythology would kill anyone who drank or crossed its waters. Tomorrow I will be walking across history as I start my journey up the mountain. 

Before that it's back into the bathroom to use the hair dryer on my clothes again. I'm using it so much during this trip that I'm actually utilizing ear plugs to mute the noise. I don't want mildewing clothes or hearing loss to be the result of my efforts. Nothing dries out here. I’m surprised they’re not growing mushrooms in the closet.