Day 5 - Walking Oia to Baiona, Friday, September 29th

We had dinner in Oia with two ladies from Germany, Stephanie and Christine. After dinner, we walked around the property to the beach. The path took us along a hedge that hid secret water lily pool. It was a frog pond, quite unlike our vernal pool in Camden.

The Camino continues north along a gravel path with small farms and pastures on the right and the rocky coast with big waves crashing on the left. There is an abundance of pink granite in Galicia and the houses, retaining walls, fences and grape arbors and roads are made with it.

There is a peninsula between Oia and Baiona, but the ancient roadway that the pilgrims follow is up over and big hill. It got to be about 90 degrees as we climbed and we stopped at most of the springs to wash our hands and splash water on our faces. The narrow road had been worn by wagon wheels over this hill, which seemed impossibly steep and bumpy. There isn’t any noticeable track for a donkey, pony, horse, as you see in Central Park where the carriages drive over hot pavement, so I’m baffled. The morning glories are spectacular!

We hiked most of the day with Johanna, from Germany, who had lived near Philly for 6 years and was walking at our speed. After having lunch together in Baiona, we walked along the beach towards her hotel. She went on her way and we back tracked to tour the replica of La Pinta. And it’s almost Columbus Day! La Pinta returned from the New World to Baiona, where Captain Pinzon delivered the news of the discoveries to the King and Queen of Spain.

Day 4 - Walking A Guarda (La Guardia)

We brought our luggage to the hotel’s reception area at 8am other peregrinos getting breakfast. We were told that the breakfast started at 8, but the hard boiled eggs were gone and many people were already eating.

The way markers give the distance to Santiago de Compostela. 160,000km! The coastline is stunning and the weather was beautiful. We came upon a group from California, two of the women were doing headstands in front of a small building with a large yellow Camino scallop shell. I helped spot them up to the wall, but didn’t take any photos.

Monte de Santa Tecla was visible behind us for quite a ways.

The path was by the ocean most of the way, with occasional sections next to a highway. There were several rest areas for peregrinos and only one cafe along the way, where we stopped for lunch. Mom and I split a large fruit salad that was made to order and a tortilla (baked omelette with onions and potatoes). Another spectacular view.

We started a list of all the plants and animals and were impressed by the large tree kale and the healthy looking farm animals.

Day 3 - Over the River and the Mountain

Wednesday, September 28th

We got up early, packed and took a cab to the train station to catch the train to Caminha, Portugal, the northernmost town on the coast. It was a treat to see the countryside from the train as I was catching up on some work. It was recommended to us to take a ferry from Caminha to A Guarda, Spain, across the Miño river. To our surprise, the ferry was a small motor boat that only takes peregrinos (pilgrims walking the camino), beach to beach.

We got a ride to the top of Monte Santa Tecla, where mom had read about an archeological site and museum of a large Celtic Bronze Age settlement and a more recent, but still ancient chapel dedicated to Santa Tecla (Saint Thekla), who was the disciple of St. Paul, the apostle. The views from the top were so stunning that we sat down to enjoy and paint. Spain is to the right and Portugal is to the left of the beautiful Miño River delta.

After painting, we toured the Celtic museum, circular building ruins and reconstructed houses. The chapel was closed when mom went by, but I was lagging behind and as I approached, the doors opened. We were able to get our first Camino passport stamps! This is especially meaningful since it was our first stamp and marked the beginning of our Camino Portuguese de Santiago. We had received a blessing from Fr. Justin at St. Euphemia’s Orthodox chapel in Rockland, the night before we left, which was September 23rd, Saint Thekla’s day. The vespers readings were about Saint Thekla and Fr. Justin filled us in on her significance as the Protomartyr of all nuns. She was the first nun to be martyred for her faith in Christ.

The hillside was covered in purple heather and scattered with chestnut trees. We hiked down the mountain on the pilgrim’s path toward the town of A Guarda with Atlantic coast of Galicia ahead of us and ended up a block from our hotel.

Pre-Camino Day 2 - Porto

Tuesday, September 26th, our first full day in Porto was spent walking around the old part of the city and looking at the architecture, tiles and churches. The stone and cement buildings turn dark grey, but the glazed tiles stay bright for centuries. Even the streets were beautifully decorated! As planned before we left, we met up with Mom’s Rotary friends, who are walking the Camino from Porto, for a concert of traditional Portuguese Fado music accompanied by a glass of Port wine. The music was singing was very theatrical and band included 2 guitars, 1 Portuguese guitar with 12 strings and an upright base. Look up Fado music of Portugal!

Pre-Camino Day 1 - Part 2

First, a correction… our hotel is the building with black fish scale slate tile walls, in front of the red sided building not the red sided building. This is an error I’m very happy to report because means we are staying in a slate fish hotel 😍 🐟🏨 and what cod be more perfect in bacalau Douro river!

Our room is the one with the small balcony. The rooms with the river view are at the back of the building. Ok, back to the photos the sunset over the Douro river.

Porto is a feast for the eyes and we have been delighted by surprises around every corner, at our feet and above our heads. Stay tuned for photos of tiles and churches.

Pre-Camino Day 1 - Porto

September 25th - Mom and I took a red eye on Air France from Boston to Porto, by way of Paris. We arrived at 8:30am, got picked up by the airport pick up service that was arranged through our hotel. Hugo picked us up in an all electric Jaguar. He offered to drive the scenic route along the ocean and Douro river to our hotel. After checking in, we took a nap and then headed out in our adventures for the day. Our hotel, Guest House Douro, is the red sided building in the center of the photo.

First stop was a cafe where we enjoyed the view and the people a bit more than the meal. It turns out the recommendations were for the restaurant next door. The sidewalk seating was built on metal risers and the stools and table tops appeared to have been made from old wine barrel oak strips. The floor of the platform was made from granite slabs.

We had a long wait for our meal, so we did a little sketching.

We took a boat tour and a cable car ride to the top of the hill to watch the sunset. Next we walked across the top of the bridge and then looked for a restaurant for dinner. By the time we had our meal, it was about 10:30pm. This meal was delicious, thankfully.

The date under the blue cross says 1394!

Part II to follow.

International Sketch A Chicken Week with Urban Sketchers

My plan is to sketch a couple of chickens that belong to a friend of a friend, tomorrow.  It's not very easy to find live chickens in the city!

The last time I sketched a chicken I was sketching Dad picking pears.  The chicken run in under the pear and apple trees since the chickens provide fertilizer and also eat insects that might damage the pears. It is also located close to the garden so the chickens get some choice overripe or damaged produce. They also get kitchen scraps.  

Grandpa Ben did some great chicken and rooster sketches.