Another beautiful hike today with great views and several cute towns. It was a lot shorter than yesterday but hotter and steeper, so I was still tired when I finished. The last few miles were on a narrow rocky hiking trail. It was very steep and the footing was challenging, When I got to town, a local saw me taking a photo of the church, and unlocked the door so I could go inside. That was kind.

Rainy Days & Mondays…

The weather was great again today (although hot), but it’s a Monday, and Mondays can be a little challenging on the Camino. Many stores and restaurants are closed Sunday and/or Monday. When I arrived today, there was only one restaurant open for lunch. There are no restaurants open for dinner, so I just grabbed some snacks at the grocery store that I can eat later.

Internet Famous!

Last night after I posted on my blog, I finally got dinner. It was quite an experience. The owner said “you like meat?” And “beer or wine?” I said “yes” and “wine,” and shortly afterwards a full meal was in front of me. I was famished, and it tasted great.

Afterwards, I gave her a postcard with a thank you written in Portuguese. She made a big show of it, took my picture and the bartender gave me a souvenir (a ribbon from the restaurant to hang on my backpack). He was impressed that I was from “Detroit” because apparently Detroit is known for techno-music. Someone needs to introduce this guy to The Temptations.

The next day, when I went to breakfast, my friendly host at the hotel said “I saw you on the Internet.” It turns out the restaurant that I ate at added me to their Facebook page.

Their town, Amiais de Baixo, will remain in my heart due to the kindness their residents showed to me during my short stay. FWIW… It’s easy to walk through these towns and just see them as some sort of monuments or tourist site, but real people live in these towns. People raising families, working hard and proud of their home. It’s fun to meet some of them.

Parlo Italiano!

After my first Camino, I promised to learn a new language. I’ve kept that promise and I’ve been learning Italian. At this point I have a pretty good vocabulary (about 1000 words and phrases), but I can’t really speak the language. I know very little about grammar.

So, of course, the first pilgrim I meet on the Camino is from Rome and doesn’t speak hardly any English! I had to use some of my Italian, and I did pretty well. No full sentences but we were able to get by. I learned her name, where she was from, what hotel she’s staying at (which is the same as me) and her plans to do half the Camino this year and the second half next year.

It’s a very small victory, but I felt really good about it. It motivates me to learn more.

Today I walked 9.63 miles. Over 27,000 steps. Another 1500 feet of vertical climbing. It was a little longer walk than I expected since I had to walk around town a bit to find lunch. It was a high of 88° today, but felt hotter than yesterday because there was no breeze.

Tomorrow, I arrive in Fatimá.