Ponte de Lima is a historical town on the Rio Lima, it maintains much if its medieval charm and is a tourist attraction. We spent a leisurely few hours on the riverbank in the evening having a wine or two and watching the sun go down.
Our room was nothing special, more like a B&B type establishment it was damp and cold.
But as we were tired from the previous day it was hard to get going. We had to deal with a lot of bicycle pilgrims this morning, even they had to pick up and carry their bikes at times due to lack of suitable paths. Breakfast was a toasted sandwich and a coffee about an hour into the day at a dark hole in the wall place that while heavily promoted was the only choice.
From then on we started a steady climb up to Alto do Portelo. We climb for hours, not to steep at first and then we came to the town of Alto. The last chance saloon before beginning the final ascent. Every man, woman, and cyclist was stocking up their supplies. So we grabbed a couple of bottles of water and a couple of oranges, had a good rest and started the ascent. There should be a warning that if you are not a mountain goat, get a taxi. It was very steep at times, with a loose rocky surface. Sorry we were to busy trying to stay upright to take photos. We passed other pilgrims, we stopped and rested, they passed us, etc etc.
A small waterfall on the way up
At the top there was an abandoned Albergue, that had fresh, cool, running tap water. We needed to refill our water bottles.
Yes there is a view too.
The trip down was not as steep, but still care still needed to be taken.
Our accommodation tonight is in the home of a local couple, a couple Germans who moved here. We are sitting on their verandah, in the shade, having the usual, watching the world go by.
Russ and Jan's Camino 