Barcelos to Braga and back

Firstly, last night's dinner in the traditional restaurant next to the hotel:

Dinner at Restaurant Bagoeira

Castello Alba Reserva (Douro) 2011

 A beautiful red

Veg soup

Roasted kid w potatoes and cabbage

(Enormous portion - enough for a takeaway tomorrow!)

Total: €27

This was not a meal for vegetarians!

I have just had the remains of the kid for lunch. It was equally delicious cold, washed down with Earl Grey tea (made with some newly purchased Liptons tea bags), followed by cherries which have just come into season.

I caught the 8.25 am bus to Braga this morning; the bus stop is conveniently just across the road from the hotel. It was an hour's ride going round all the surrounding villages and could have been done in 15 minutes by car. But at €2.30 I can't complain.

The valley was covered in fog when I woke up and the sun was struggling to get out when I reached Braga. It never really succeeded, though it felt very warm and sultry as I strolled around the historic centre of town, fortified by a delicious Portuguese Custard Tart. (I must have one of these every day!)

Then on to the Cathedral, where I was given my own personal guided tour in English by a very nice man. He took me up into the "high choir" above the west door, from where I got a superb view down the aisle:

Some other pics taken around Braga follow:

Vila do Conde to Barcelos

Overnight it has turned very hot! I need some summer clothes! At lunchtime today it was 30 degrees in Barcelos. Still feeling tired after my marathon day sightseeing in Porto, I came to Barcelos by bus from Povoa Varzim, since this would have been a 27 km stage to walk. I have now checked into Hotel Bagoeira for 2 nights, so that I can take a day trip to the historic town of Braga tomorrow.

Barcelos is a really nice town, with a huge central square and some wide pedestrian streets full of tempting shops, eg Zara kids.

But I daren't  buy anything yet as I will only have to carry it! I was tempted by shops selling traditional Portuguese textiles.

All round the town are giant wooden statues of cockerels which has become the tourist emblem both of the town and of Portugal itself:

I spent the day exploring the town, firstly from a vantage point of the castle, which overlooks the river and the bridge into the town from the south:

Porto to Vila do Conde

I took the Metro northwards from the nearby Trindade Station. The journey took about 45 minutes and cost €3.30. (There was no point in a boring walk through the suburbs of Porto).

Vila da Conde is a seafaring port and holiday resort on the coast about 30 kms from Porto. The first thing I saw when I arrived was a long and well preserved Roman aqueduct which had brought water to the town. After checking into Hotel Brasau and dumping my backpack, I went across to the Post Office to post my Spanish Camino Guide back to Australia, saving myself 600 gms to carry!

I then set off for a 15 min walk to see the Atlantic Ocean.  There was a very fresh breeze and big surf waves when I got there.  A few brave souls were stripped off and sunbathing on the beach, with windbreaks protecting themselves from a northerly wind.

On the way back I chanced upon a seafood restaurant, where all manner of fish was being grilled over charcoal. This was possibly the best spot to have lunch on a sunny day. I chose JL's favourite: salmon plus half a bottle of Mateus Rose. Perfect!

Opposite the restaurant was a reconstruction of a Portuguese sailing vessel from the C16th.  Being Monday, the actual Museum of Shipbuilding was closed (another sad face!).

Porto

A lovely day to be a tourist in Porto! Porto means "port" and Oporto simply means "the port".  The Rio Douro means "river of gold". This morning, I started off at the railway station, Sao Bento, which is famous for its murals made of tiles, depicting various historical events.

Then I booked a river cruise "Six Bridges Tour", just less than an hour up and down the river going within sight of the sea. My sun hat got its first airing of the entire holiday and I have to say it had got very squashed with being folded up inside my backpack for 3 weeks. There was lots to see and photograph on both sides of the river.

A rare photo of me enjoying the sun:

This afternoon's visit to the Sandemans Cellars on the opposite side of the river was fascinating.  Their vineyards are 100 kms upstream and the riverside cellars are simply used for storage in enormous oak vats. The Sandemans logo "the Don" was one of the world's earliest trademarks from 1928.

We got to try 2 types of port at the end of the tour:

This is their tasting room:

The place In previous times:

Santiago to Porto

ALSA bus departed Santiago at 12.00 noon and made the following stops:

12.45.  Pontevedra

13.30.  Vigo

14.10.  Tui

One hour time change entering Portugal

13.15.  Valenca

14.15.  Braga

15.00.  Porto Airport

15.15.  Porto Centre

No wi fi on the bus.  Sad face!  The bus was huge and every seat taken. In Santiago bus station I took a photo of a similar bus loading up , destination Paris.

The driver drove cautiously as there were many viaducts and bends on the freeway. He made one 5 minute toilet stop with dire warnings not to be late!

It was exciting for me to arrive in new territory when we pulled into Porto bus station. I had no idea where I was since it wasn't marked on my map, so rather than mess around I jumped into a taxi and showed him the booking slip for the Porto Lounge Hotel. It proved to be fairly close - a €7 ride.

I was keen to get out and explore as the weather was sunny and warm.  The streets are narrow and busy, a nightmare for car owners. They are also either steeply up or steeply down.  To get to the waterfront I must have walked down 100 steps. On the way I stopped at the Cathedral to buy a Credential for the Portuguese Camino.

Then I had to find something to eat as I'd only had a banana and an orange on the bus for lunch. The waterfront was busy on a Saturday afternoon with people wandering about looking at market stalls or watching the riverboats go by. On the opposite bank all the famous port wine lodges like Sandemans could be seen.

I enjoyed a meal of 4 big grilled sardines with potatoes and a half bottle of Albariño. I was thinking I don't want to walk back up all those steps, when I came upon a funicular going up the cliff. As it set off I photographed the famous bridge across the river: JL will know about it I'm sure!

Santiago

My celebratory lunch at the Parador yesterday:

Octopus pate with caviar

Roasted baby lamb shoulder with potatoes and pimientos Padron

2 glasses of Muriel Crianza

Aqua con gaz

Total: €53.80

(This was a nice change from the Pilgrim Menu for €10 which I'd been having nearly every day on the Camino and which had become very predictable and boring!)

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Menu at Casa Marcelo with Fresca Tours  in 2011  -  €45

Vino Mein Ribiero 2010 (wine list was on an iPad!)

Olive oil from nr Barcelona

Pumpkin soup w orange foam (from a spray)

Ravioli w boletus stuffing and topped w mushroom dust

Hake w green pepper "calapena", served skin up. (This dish is in the Spanish top ten list).

Pork w waxy potatoes and peppercorn sauce

Santiago tart w a soft almond centre - just perfect!

(I discovered these notes made in 2011 on my previous visit to Santiago, on the back of a map of the city I'd brought with me).

When I went back to Casa Marcelo yesterday, it was still a small gourmet restaurant near the cathedral, but changed into a "fusion" semi Japanese style restaurant, with uncomfortable-looking high stools. I cannot sit on a high stool when I've just walked the Camino!

Today my plan was to visit the Pilgrimage Museum, but of course it was closed for renovations. It was said to have models of the different stages of construction of the Cathedral. So I had to proceed to the Cathedral uninformed and sit for an hour waiting for the Pilgrim mass to begin at midday. I got a bit cold and stiff waiting, but it was raining outside, as usual!

There was a big military presence in the Cathedral, with soldiers taking up the entire seating in the south transept.  Afterwards, I saw 3 US personnel, so I interrogated them. There had been a competition between various Spanish companies and themselves, to walk on the Camino Portuguese from Tui to Santiago (about 100kms), which they had completed in 27 hours non stop! Not bad! Here is a photo of th plus some of the botofumeiro swinging after the mass:

Vilamaior to Santiago

I arrived at Casa de Amancio yesterday at 5.00 pm, which was quite late for me. There were many uphill bits that slowed me right down at the end of the day. It was a lovely sunny evening and everyone was sitting in the sheltered garden when I arrived.

This morning promised to be even better weather wise: a perfect day to arrive in Santiago! I set off walking in bright sunshine and arrived in the outskirts at about 11.00 am. As I was passing near the bus station, I went there first to buy my ticket to Porto on Saturday (€30). 

Then I decided to find my hotel (Virxe da Cerca) in order to drop off my backpack. After that the order of the day was to claim my Compostela from the Pilgrims Office. As most people would have gone to the Pilgrims Mass in the Cathedral, there was hardly any queue. There was a big assembly of military in the Cathedral Square. This was the culmination of some exercises, as far as I could understand. The explanation from a friendly soldier was drowned out by some protestors banging a tin drum (aka a big cooking pot!). 

I decided to celebrate my arrival by having lunch at the Parador. Full details to follow, but here is a photo of the dining room: