Day 2 - Terras do Bouro to Campo do Geres

The day started with a strenuous climb. Approximately 2km of continuous uphill climbing certainly got the lungs working, not least because I was carrying a shedload of water in my rucksack. It is always interesting to have walked for what seems ages only to look back down the valley and see that, laterally, one has hardly made any progress. The town in the photo below is Terras do Bouro. By the time I took this photo, I was thinking it was time for a break...

The walk today was along mostly woodland trails, some breathtakingly pretty.

Someone had decided to really make the point that this was an old Roman trail. The dramatic silhouette in metal made a super place for a rest.

Quite a long walk today and lunch was intended to be at Covide. This town became famous during the pandemic with people driving to get photographed next to the town signs. There was a cafe Eiras that gets good ratings; while the elderly lady who ran the place was friendly and was happy to sell beer, yet again there was no food. Being a Sunday I was giving up on eating until I was told that there was another restaurant in town, off the trail, but open. Cafe Turismo Snack-Bar was indeed open - I went in and asked if the kitchen was open. The owner checked I didn't want anything fancy and then prepared a perfect meal for a hungry pilgrim, washed down with a Super Bock beer.

It was 4:30 by the time I was ready to restart but I was a bit worried about the final stage on the N307. For a Sunday there was a lot of traffic on this road and there didn't seem to be much in the way of space for pilgrims. I decided that i needed to be sensible and asked the restuarant whether I could get a taxi. There were no taxis available but the young waiter cheerfully said that he and his sister would drive me; which he did. His English was brilliant and we discovered a mutual love of Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred character; it's rare to find someone with a passion to visit Northumberland...

Campo do Geres is the portal to the Portuguese national park, Peneda Geres, and a remarkably pretty place.

To add to the atmosphere, there was a church procession, complete with band.

Pre-dinner drinks and then dinner was at the charming little bar, Chamadouro. The staff were Brazilian and very friendly - the cats were Portuguese and equally friendly.