Camino Day 5: Rain, hail, and choices

Lugar do Cordo to Ponte de Lima on the Camino Portugés Central Route

Distance walked: 10.0 mi (16.1 km)

Total walked so far: 66.6 mi (107.2 km)

Route taken: Lugar do Cordo to Ponte de Lima

A few pictures from Casa Fernanda

Last night at Casa Fernanda was a lot of fun. Tasty dinner and great conversation with 11 other peregrinhos. Also plenty of vinho, port, and song - supported nicely by one of the German guests who’d brought a guitar along. In all, our mini-UN team: 3 Americans, 2 Spaniards, 2 Canadians, 1 Russian, and 4 Germans - plus our two Portuguese hosts. On the way there are no national borders, only fellow walkers enjoying their time together!

After a hearty breakfast and plenty of strong coffee, we all set out within a few minutes of each other. As a result most of us formed a loose pack throughout the day. Today’s journey is only ~9 miles from Lugar do Cordo to Ponte di Lima. Most of our group from the albergue are doing the same route, so perhaps we will find each other in town.

Barring a brief hailstorm (we also had one at the albergue before breakfast) and some rain on and off, the walk was good. There was a little climbing to do, varying scenery, some good conversation, and then Ponte de Lima came into view. It seems to be a bigger city than I thought! I’m definitely getting very used to walking in the rain. I truly appreciate my poncho :)

It was fun to walk with and encounter people from my time at Fernanda’s today. However, it once again reminded me of the value there is to walking alone. I intend to go solo tomorrow on my journey to Rubiães. Absent conversation and company, I love how meditative walking can be for me. I’m already looking forward to the time spent with only thoughts and the sounds of nature around me.

I’m typing this at the laundromat. Tonight, I’m staying in an inexpensive private lodging a 15 walk from the center of the city. Cleaning and drying all my clothes “well” seemed a nice luxury, so here I am. All done, so it’s back to my room now

Thinking a bit before heading out for dinner. At 50, I am of a divided mind on housing choices: albergues are great for a community experience. But it’s nearly impossible to overestimate the value of a good night’s sleep and time spent alone to think. I was awakened a number of times last night by snoring, doors shutting, and the rain. I’m going to sleep a lot better in my private room tonight, and have already enjoyed a great, hot shower. I’m also loving my quiet time. Surely there’s a place for both options! I’m willing to gather more data on this trip but I’m starting to lean towards better housing - though private albergues may strike a happy medium. We’ll see!

Lastly - I’ve enjoyed recording my daily video updates but I’ve decided to end them for now. I’ll continue blogging my journey and all that I learn from here. Thanks for all the support and great feedback on the videos. Take care, everyone. Mahalo. 🙏