Rios e Pontes - Day 17

Rivers and Bridges

Fão - Viana do Castelo (18.6 miles) 

Breakfast was served at 7:30 am by our fantastic hostess. She had set out bread for toasting, strawberry jam, orange juice, milk, fresh rolls, and of course the customary ham and cheese. I had my fill and then left with Xenia. We walked together for just about the entire day. It was good to have someone to talk with occasionally and help keep me from straying from the route in each city. The way today was not very coastal. It started along the Rio Cávado and crossed on the Ponte de Fão. I spotted several Eurasian Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) from the other side of the river.

Next, I walked through Esposende and saw the Forte de São João Batista. There were people going to church in Marinhas this Sunday morning when I passed by. The church was near the Red Cross which is where some pilgrims spend the night, so I am told. Xenia and I found a café to stop and have a break in. This place was wild. The owner is overly enthusiastic about Che Guevara and soccer. He has pictures, paintings, and stickers of Che as well as an entire room dedicated to FC Porto. He even had a small replica of the Dragon Stadium in Porto.

I crossed the Rio Neiva on the Ponte do Sebastião. This simple stone bridge over the river was a beautiful site. I lingered halfway over the bridge and pondered the biology and fish of this system. It would be fascinating to be able to study these river systems. I hope someone is!

After the bridge, the trail went uphill to the Igreja de Santiago. I found a stamp inside and took a brief rest on a pew in the back row. I'm surprised not to have seen any priests or nuns in any of these churches I have looked inside. They are often empty.

With just a little more uphill and through a forested trail, I came to the Caminho stone marker. It was cut into the shape of Portugal and Northern Spain. Engraved in the stone were the routes and major cities along the way. It looks like people have been leaving stones with messages or random objects at the base of this monument.

At this point, the trail moved downhill to Chafé, where Xenia and I stopped for a lunch break. A Spaniard and Floridian, I had passed earlier, arrived at the café and ate and drank their fill of wine. These older guys were funny and enthusiastic. They met last year on the Camino Francés and are on another adventure together this year. The rest of the walk went by quickly and I found myself crossing another river on an impressive bridge into Viana do Castelo. The names of these were the Rio Lima and the Ponte Eiffel. Built in 1878, this iron bridge was designed and constructed by Gustav Eiffel and his partner, Théophile Seyrig. Any idea what else they built?

The albergue tonight was located inside a convent. It seemed a little spooky walking down the long hallways with the many doors and side hallways branching off. Xenia was worried about seeing ghosts! Hütte dich vor Geister! I just had a quick pizza for dinner next door and was back to the room getting ready for bed. The Spaniard and Floridian were in a room with more Spaniards and a Mexican woman. They were all having way too much fun after walking all day! I could hear them until bedtime. There were two older Italian men in my room. One of them usually kept quiet unless he needed to translate for his companion. The second one would often shout out random words like computador. I expected to have a long night with some early rising Italians waking me up in the morning. Boa Noite!

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