Good morning Portugal. What a beautiful sunrise we had this morning. In fact, what a glorious day. Today is an easy stage. Less than ten miles and flat as a pancake. The only bugaboo will be the extreme heat. But like I said, the miles are doable and we will take our sweet time.

George and I packed up and headed down for breakfast. Another extreme espresso machine was waiting for us. Push a button and obtain a luscious shot of pure caffeine. I’m thinking this is actually better than my Death by Coffee concoction I had on the Appalachian Trail! And that was good stuff. But it took a bit more work than pushing a button so Portugal Delta Espresso Machine wins. Some more meat and cheese, with fresh fruit. I am definitely getting used to this.

After breakfast, we hit The Camino promptly at 9AM. I can’t get over the fact that we can get the miles done by leaving at this time of day. But we can and we do. The morning walk was through town. There were a few locals running to the train station but more than that, many were sitting having their morning coffee. Espresso is a big deal in this country. And sitting around socializing is more important than most anything else.

Within 20-30 minutes we were back on the very nice paved trail. George equated it to a tennis court. It is smooth and flat with painted lines. Bicycles are on the left and pedestrians on the right. And for the most part, everyone stays in their lane.

After following the river, we broke off and we’re back on the dirt path, heading through reeds with lots of birds and flies! I’m not sure why all the flies but they were swarming around George. He doesn’t stink, he’s been showering everyday but they were on him like you know what. We saw one other Pilgrim, Carlos from Spain. But he was the only one today. The others have jumped ship and who knows where they are.

We meandered through some small farms with pigs, cattle and cats. Most of the fields have been plowed so whatever crops that they planted earlier, are harvested by now. There was a field that went on for over a mile and they obviously had grown small Roma Tomatoes because there were hundreds of them smashed on the roadway.

Around noontime, we found a place off the trail that had tables set up. That to me is a sign that there is food and drink available. There were three guys standing around and a couple of dogs greeted us. We found a young man working inside and he reluctantly took our order for two sodas. As we sat, we watched a ultra glider and two small planes take off. Evidently this was a small runway for locals. We drank our soda and were off again.

The dirt road turned to asphalt and we followed it to a very small village named Regungo. It seemed like it had seen better days. There was a small bar that was open in town and felt persuaded to help out the lacking commerce. We ventured inside, the only patrons were George and I and had our Brock Beer, the local Portuguese Brew. It’s a very light beer, like Ultra. This would be my hiking partner Blue’s kind of beer. The lacking of taste is made up by the fact it cools you down, and it’s cheaper than water. We finished it up without much complaining. George grabbed an ice cream for the road and me, icy cold water. I was dehydrated and needed to replenish my shriveled up body with nothing but good old fashioned water.

As we headed out of town, there was a berm that we walked upon. It reminded me of the old routes that Jesus would’ve walked. There is some discussion that many of the roads here in Portugal date back to the Roman Times. That would be right after 60 BC or a bit before. There is no doubt in my mind that these paths were used by merchants, villagers and Christ Followers for thousands of years. That to me is pretty darn exciting.

We made it to Valada before 3pm. Our Hostel’s name is Albergue Dois Caminos which translated is the Two Caminos. The section that we are on follows a path to Porto and also Fatima. We have been talking about which route to follow and I’m leaning towards Fatima. It is rich in history and very important to the Portuguese as this is where the children had the vision of Mother Mary. We have a few more days before we verge off.

Once at our home for the night, we met Paula, the Albergue Hostess. She situated us and being we were the only Pilgrims with reservations, we had the pick of the rooms. We went for the two single beds, no bunk beds tonight! I immediately took a shower and to my surprise, there was a washing machine. Hallelujah, that is the first time I would not need to hand wash my clothes. It’s incredible how the small things bring such joy! George cleaned up and we headed to town.

The town is situated on the Tagus River which we have been follow since Lisbon. This section was the first time I saw kids swimming, jet skies playing, and river boats taking tourists for sightseeing adventures. There was a Beach Bar that was loaded with locals and a few tourists. We continued to support the local economy and hydrated ourselves. We both had chicken salads with real potato chips. Afterwards, we walked to the south end of town and went to So’Rio, the finest restaurant in town. It also is situated on the river with music and many locals. We ate Pesto Salad with some libations and closed the place down. Now I’m feeling like I’m on vacation!

Walking the Camino has opened my eyes to a different way of doing things. There is something so satisfying when you finish a good days walk. Today was not a long hike but a hot one. I think with my lack of conditioning to heat, it’s hitting me worse than George. I’m used to rain, mud and muck but not heat, sweat and dehydration! George on the other hand has been working in the yard all summer and he’s acclimated to this unseasonably warm temperature. That’s One for George!

Tomorrow will be our first climb of sorts. I was looking around for a mountaintop and didn’t see anything. I’m thinking the climbs around here are not the climbs that I am used to, but rather a bump in the horizon. We will see, and I’ll report back tomorrow. Until then, stay hydrated!