The albergue in Ponte de Lima was in an old building that had 3 large rooms for pilgrims with 20-30 beds each. The first floor had a common room and a kitchen. I met a fellow American in my room on the top floor, an older man who had been hiking the Camino each spring for the last 10+ years. He reminisced about some of his experiences and then told me about a restaurant with a red door a block up the street and left around the corner. I ended up going there with Kathrin, Giovanni, a trio from South Africa, and an Italian woman, Fabiana. While we waited for our food (I had bread stuffed with mushrooms and cheese) we had a good time around the table talking about our first few days on the Camino. Having had a second exhausting day, I was more than happy to pass right out back at the hostel.
In the morning I was surprised to see so many people in the kitchen frantically getting ready and packing their bags so early. I walked into the common room to find some space but there were more pilgrims sleeping there on the floor. Since it had felt hectic in the kitchen I was thrilled to get out of the albergue and be back on the trail, although the arrows were difficult to see in the pre-dawn darkness. When I stopped for breakfast, I met up with Kathrin and Kaley (from England). We walked on together, united as solo female hikers.
Coming towards us on the narrow asphalt road through the village was an old Portuguese man herding some sheep and a cow. He began talking to us in Portuguese, smiling and patting Kaley’s hand. He motioned to kiss her cheek. “Oh both!” she exclaimed surprised. Then he motioned for me to do the same. “Obrigada, obrigada,” we thanked him as we walked onward.
Eventually we reached “the climb”. Today’s hike would contain the most elevation gain on the way to Santiago – 400 meters. Since I am the slowest-ever uphill hiker I told Kaley and Kathrin to go on ahead. I made my way up the hill with as many breaks as I wanted. It used to drive me crazy that I’m so slow hiking up, but now I just accept it and try to enjoy the struggle.
It felt like the mountain was never going to end just like the day before it felt like we’d never get to Ponte de Lima. A man passed me that I had seen the previous day hiking with a woman. A few breaks later the woman had caught up to me. She and her husband were from the Czech Republic and had been fighting terrible blisters (like most pilgrims) since the first day. We chatted our way up to the summit, both relieved that the most difficult part was literally behind us now.
My pace picked up on the downhill, allowing me to catch up with Kaley and Kathrin. We passed a lady watering her garden so I asked her to fill up my water bottle for me since I was almost out. She kindly paused her garden work to replenish it for me. Throughout the whole Camino, I was never turned down when I asked for water for my nalgene.
When we reached Rubiães, Kaley stayed at the albergue since she had to return home after hiking to Tui the next day, but Kathrin and I continued on now that the mountain was over. Having gone up so much in elevation, we now had a lot of downhill ground to cover. Walking downhill was almost as difficult for me as going up (and more painful!) because our feet and muscles were so sore after the 18 km we had just completed.
Eight kilometers later, Kathrin and I walked into Fontoura on a path made of large stones along a creek. At the end of the creek there was a stone table where we sat down to check the map, too tired to keep going even though the albergue we wanted to stay at was in this village. Once we mustered up the energy it ended up being only 200 m more to Pilger Pause, a private albergue run by a German family. It was worth every penny of the 12 euros we paid to stay there. We got to sleep in real beds with actual sheets! (At the public/St. James Trail albergues, you must bring your own sleeping bag/sheets) We had our laundry washed and spent the remainder of the afternoon resting on lounge chairs on the lawn (under the umbrella, of course! The heat rash on my calves was still brutal and couldn’t bear feeling the sun).
Relaxing out there was incredible and exactly the recovery I needed after accomplishing more than 100 km in 3 days. I couldn’t help but feel so lucky to be a pilgrim in 2017. Equipment like backpacks and hiking shoes are much more supportive, a hot shower is available each night, and there’s the ability to wash clothes with regularity. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be a pilgrim 500 years ago or even 100 years ago!
The family running the albergue was so kind and helpful. They had thought of literally anything and everything you could want as a pilgrim. For dinner, they offered a vegetarian dinner on a “pay for how much you liked it” scale, and it was potatoes! You can bet how happy I was. After dinner, there was even an amazing yogurt and fruit dessert. We were all so full after dinner that we went directly to bed. Even though that was only 9pm, I immediately fell soundly asleep and didn’t wake up until the alarm at 6 the next morning.