It feels a little funny calling a day with 25,000 steps a rest day, but since none of those steps was carrying a backpack, it was definitely a rest day.
I allowed myself to be really lazy and hung around in bed until the 8 AM breakfast at my hotel. served as part of the package.
After eating breakfast, I wandered over to a nearby Merdato, which is essentially a farmers market in a permanent structure. Lots of fruit and vegetable stands as well as a fish market and several butcher shops all under one roof.
I wandered up the street to explore town a little and walk-through both the courtyard of a church under repair and what appeared to be an ancient cemetery. However I discovered most of the graves were from the 1880s or newer.
After dropping off my groceries at the hotel, I wandered up the hill to the Castle of Tomar, which I wrote about in a previous post.
I wanted to see the aquaduct that fed the castle and was told it was only about 1.5k up the hill. I started my walk only to have my phone app continue to increase the distance even though I was heading in the correct path. Given that the temperature was approaching 90°, and I had only a small portion of water left. I decided to abandon that effort and went back down the hill.
Near my hotel was a café with a beer tap and I ordered a large beer expecting to get something akin to a pint. Instead, I was brought a huge beer stein, which I felt obligated to finish.
After that, it was back to my room for a shower and a nap.
Late afternoon I made another excursion out to buy some bottled water and some grapes for my hike tomorrow.
I then met up with John and Sherry for dinner and we had a delightful evening together. They are planning to go further tomorrow than I do, but we will hopefully catch up further down the trail.
