I was up before Anna or Cole so decided to leave them sleeping and sneak out of the dorm, making some orange tea using the abundance of wild oranges left in the kitchen.

Today I could choose to walk just 16km to Barcelos or 27km to Portela Tamel! I decided to head to Barcelos and take the alternative ‘green walk’ which added on an extra kilometre at least!

The three of us left the hostel within minutes of one another with plans to meet for coffee at ‘the’ bar but unfortunately nobody specified which one… Myself and Anna headed to the closest but we suspect Cole headed to the lively one from yesterday evening – any way, we lost him! No doubt we will see him somewhere on route in the future….

We walked through farmland and green fields, past sheep filled Eucalyptus forests, and in to the small village of Pedra Furada (about 8km) where I needed feeding!

There was a cafe which the Brierley book mentioned had been serving pilgrims for donkeys years, and inside they had all sorts of news clippings in frames dotted around the walls. Although the articles were in Portuguese I could make out that they had won praise as a foodie venue and was quite excited to see what such a place would do to a simple cheese toastie. Unfortunately, the toastie that I was presented with was not of award standards. Processed white bread with sad limp cheese… But for 1E85 it filled me up and got me on my way again….

Leaving the village there is an option to turn left at the timber yard to take an alternative route through forests rather than along the road. The turning is not marked so look out for that yard! Once you are on this route there are plenty of waymarks, and although it adds 1km to today’s walk, it is worth it. It offers some peace and tranquillity and on this hot, sunny day, some welcome shade from the tall trees. The route starts off on a quiet road gently climbing to a point before steadying out and the descent is along sandy tracks and stoney steps until you come out at the village of Carvahal.

From here the walk to Barcelos is not the best! About 3km of uninspiring roads and suburbs as you head in to this large-ish town. Barcelos itself is beautiful. It has a medieval atmosphere, with it’s original town walls and Torre de Porta Nova (dating back to the 15^th century,) some beautiful churches (the Templo do Sao Bom Jesus da Cruz was fantastic – look inside!) and even a municipal swimming pool! The real Barcelos begins after you cross the Medieval Bridge over the Rio Cavado.

The two cheap hostels in town (5euros) are just before the bridge, a 5 minute walk in to town! We checked them both out and although the Residencia Snr. Do Galo Albergue had a great location next to the river, we opted for the ultra modern albergue ‘Amigos da Montana‘ – set back off the street and run by the Friends of the Mountain Association, as it had a kitchen! It also had fantastic heating throughout, a great terrace and all mod cons! The internet worked super fast everywhere and it was a great place to chill and cook in the kitchen/diner/lounge.

A couple of German women arrived too. Anna and I popped in to town to take a look at the churches and wander about the streets. We bought some chickpeas, veg, rice and a caramel Viennetta and headed back to cook. A new pilgrim had arrived – Lucille from Montpellier. Also a teacher, she had taken some time out and had been hanging out in Lisbon for the past 7 months doing Yoga and singing! We invited her to eat with us and she, of course, brought out some fabulous French cheese to elevate the chickpea chile stew! The Vienetta was shared between all 5 pilgrims and it was a lovely, calm evening, sipping Camomile tea, writing and reading before a lovely sleep in the very warm dorm….