Direction Finding

Portugal was once the leader of the world in navigation and exploration.  The Portuguese flag features an Armillary Sphere in its center, an early celestial navigation instrument. 

Despite this storied history, the primary navigational tool on this trip in Portugal is a crudely painted yellow arrow.  These arrows can be hard to find or non-existent at times making navigation a challenge.  

Which way do I go?

Portugese Flag with a gold Armilliary encompassing the center

A typical turn arrow

A more sophisticated directional monument with a blue arrow for the Way to Fatima next to the yellow Santiago arrow

Dave next to a Camino plaque that often accompanies a direction finding arrow.  The design of the yellow camino emblem is based on the idea that many ways (the lines) lead to the St. James Cathedral in Santiago.  The shell above Dave's hand is carried by pilgrims because the lines on the shell are representative of those many 'ways' to Santiago

The arrows are sometimes confusing

Is The Way through this door??

The plaque indicates so, but the painted arrow above it does not.

Faded arrows on a curb - We nearly missed this turn!

One supplementary direction finding tool is to listen for barking dogs.  Portugal does dogs!!!  It seems every gated yard you pass is occupied by at least one dog.  Their job is to bark at passing pilgrims, so where you hear dogs, there are likely pilgrims hiking The Way. 

Half Way

Today we surpassed 300km and are half way to Santiago.  The weather has moderated a little. It has been in the 80's instead of the 90s.  It is still advisable to be completed with hiking by 1pm to avoid the intensity of the solar radiation, so we leave early and often miss breakfast as a result. 

In recent days we have handled breakfast in a variety of ways.  One morning we made boiled eggs and had museli cereal that we made in an Albergue kitchen.  Another morning we had breakfast at 6:15am in a hostel (only because a french tour group was there and had a preplanned early breakfast that we 'crashed').  More commonly we forego breakfast and have it a cafe later in the day. 

The hardest part of foregoing breakfast is hitting the cobblestones without a cup of coffee.  The food can wait, but hiking half-conscious is not fun.

A rare segment of single track

We may be Beasts Of Burden hiking the Camino, but this fella' has it worse!

Just some goats

Looking down at Palheira

Walking in traffic... so fun!

Our albergue room in Cernache

Walking through an open market

Impassable?  Not for us! We managed to squeeze through!

More Cobblestones 

Agueda pedestrian zone

View from our hostel in Agueda

(A green umbrella fell at my feet and was added to my pack)

Locals

Does the route go through this door?

One of many public fountains on the route

A great cafe we happened upon Friday morning... The first scrambled eggs and bacon of the trip!!

Onward!!

Doors of Portugal

Doors

Sustenance

I know what you are thinking... What does a pilgrim on the Portugese Camino eat?

Well, I just happen to have  12 days of intimate experience on this topic and I am happy to elaborate for you.

Bread.

That pretty much answers the question.  Next!

Actually it is bread AND pastries...

And cheese...

Except for dinner which includes a protein and additional carbs.  Salad is a luxury that often must be requested as an extra when it is available at all.   

Why is this even a topic at all you ask?  Well, for people like me that rely on a steady supply of green, leafy veggies to maintain their intestinal functionality.  In the absence of leafy greens, the plumbing stops-up and bad things happen.  This was the case for me during the first week of the cross-country Trans-Am trip, and was once again a problem here.  The only remedy I know aside from  regular intake of leafy vegetables is a daily dose of laxatives.  Aside from these symptoms, the food is actually pretty tasty. 

Breakfast is generally bread with a thin slice of cheese or lunchmeat, a pastry, a piece of fruit, a sweet fruit juice, and espresso.  Sometimes there is a rudimentary cereal like corn flakes.  Breakfast is generally around 5e and served around 8am.  For pilgrims this is difficult as getting on the trail by 6 is the only way to aviod heat-stroke later in the day, therefore, you have to improvise if you are doing any more than about 12km in a day.

Lunch is generally bread with a thin slice of cheese and meat (A sandwich sans condiments of any kind) and/or a pastry at a cafe along the way.  Water or fruit juice as the drink. Figure around 3e for lunch.

Dinner, if you are at an Albergue or hostel is added at a cost of 10e per person. It is generally referred to as a 'pilgrim dinner' and is taken family-style at a long table in the albergue.  Dinnertime is 7pm at the earliest.  Most locals go to dinner at 8pm.  For pilgris, this is not easy.  You are done hiking at just after noon, and have to wait until late for dinner.  You ar hungry and ready for bed at the same time.  

This is perhaps the only full meal of the day.  Often it is 'Bitoque,' or meat with an egg on top, french fries, and salad...or more often... rice.  Bread (of course) comes with the meal and sometimes a soup.   The meal usually comes with a carafe of red wine from the Porto region.

Due to the high temperatures we have been leaving our accomodations each day before daylight around 6am.  This means we get a 'picnic breakfast' which is the same thing as the normal breakfast, but without coffee.  :-(

Today we had instant coffee left with our picnic breakfast.  Better than nothing, but not very satisfying.

We find lunch at cafes along The Way when we can.  On some parts of The Way we do not have a cafe option.  In those cases we pack a 'sandwich' or eat gorp from our food reserves.

The breakfast selection at Vilas Franca

Waiting for the restaurant to open for dinner in Vilas Franca 

Pilgrim dinner at the N1 hostel in Santarem

Cafe 'Meeting Place' in Azinhaga

Dave at breakfast in the hostel at Azinhaga

Cafe con Leche and a custard cup at a breakfast stop

Bitoque - Popular Portuguese dinner

Waiting for a cafe to open at Alvaiazere

8am

Picnic breakfast coffee substitute at Rabacal hostel