Sometimes things don’t work out like you plan. I said we would not do a 30km+ day again, but today we covered 31km. The maps we are using are not always accurate for distance and don’t include the extra distance covered when going up and down hills.
We started by covering the distance into Mealhada we did not do yesterday when we stopped short of the town, walking through fields to link up with the Camino trail again, part of which was a tunnel of bamboo.
When we reached Mealhada this billboard welcomed us into town, showing we still had 345km to reach Santiago de Compostela. The sign says Mealhada on the way, when translated into English.
We have been seeing these signs everywhere, basically they advise that the land we are on is also used as hunting training fields for dogs. We see a lot of empty shotgun shells, but have not heard any shooting lately.
We have started to see people picking grapes and grapes look plump and ripe. Earlier in trip the grapes had been left to dry on the vines in the heat, but in this area it looks like the crop has survived.
There is an ugly side to the Camino, when we walk through industrial areas like this one. It took over an hour to walk through this area. I am glad to have left that life behind. We had just walked through this area when a car pulled over and a man asked if we were going to Santiago, I told him we were and he gave us each a bag containing a bottle of water and a couple of apples. I have eaten an apple and drunk the water and am still ok. One of the lessons of the Camino is to gracefully accept any assistance offered by strangers.
Other areas we walk through are more colorful and interesting, like these we walked through today.
We are now in Agueda. Our accommodation is an Albergue with bunks in a 10 bed room, shared toilets/showers. Your standard pilgrim accommodation.
Russ and Jan's Camino 