Sept 28
I stayed up late last and was rewarded with a double overtime win for my Ducks. I turned off the radio at about 4:15 and tried to get some sleep. At 6:30 the roosters started crowing. So much for sleeping in…
I still got off to a slow start because I was only going 20 kilometers and my alberge didn’t open until 2 pm.
I finally left my hotel about 9 am and walked back through town with a woman named Sue from the UK. As we neared the center of Barcelos, there was loud music coming from some event going on. As I got close, I discovered a big bike race getting ready to start with hundreds of cyclists in a shoot getting ready to start.
Barcelos is a fairly large city, but the way out of town was mainly on residential streets and being Sunday, traffic was not an issue.
Portugal is a country where the vast majority of people are Catholic, but on Sundays there seem to be many more people at soccer fields or on bike excursions. I passed many churches and chapels, but only saw one with a service going on.
My Alberge tonight is Casa da Fernanda. It is rated as one of the best Alberges in this Camino. For 35€, you get bed, dinner and breakfast. And all the wine you can drink.
The only familiar face here is Noum, the girl from Isreal. Our congregation tonight includes individual travelers from Oregon, Washington & California, Australia, Croatia, Isreal and Norway. There are couples from Boston and Paris, a mother-daughter pair from Vancouver BC and two best friends from St. Louis.
In the “it’s a small world” department, Taya, the daughter from BC, used to date a guy who went to the same high school as Noum in a suburb of Jerusalem. What are the odds?
While we wait for our communal meal, Fernanda whipped up a large batch of cod fritters and keeps bringing our pitchers of chilled vino Blanca.
Dinner was served at a giant table in their kitchen. Pumpkin soup (from the garden), bread, rice, beans (from the neighbor’s garden), potatoes, beef and salad (from the garden). And lots more wine.
When the plates, our host brought out a guitar and a songbook. Both Dave & Ruth could play, so they took turns while we all sang.
