Vitorino dos Piães → Ponte de Lima (oldest city in Portugal).  Could have spent another day there.  Charming.

Stats: 12.8 miles, 30,300 steps, burned 2770 calories

Stayed at Youth hostel
25 euros each including breakfast 

Dorm style twin bunk beds , 2 bunks to a room.  Shared bathrooms down the hall.   

Warning:  “Hard day tomorrow,”everyone said, “Big climb”. I made the decision to have my bag sent ahead for the first time. Toes are definitely turning blue.  

This meant deciding on a place to stay the next night and reserving it so the bag could be picked up the next morning and delivered to our destination.  This is the first time we have planned ahead.

Highs: walking down between huge ancient trees, with weaving stone pattern sidewalk that we had learned was symbolic of heaven and earth intersecting.  Indeed.  

More highs: Getting sleep meds at pharmacy.  400 mg Advil.  Hope I wake up in the morning.  Walking with another 82 year old, a man this time.  He played harmonica for us.  Ran into him again and ate dinner with him.  Best smile.  Cat from England sat next to us. Tons of food for 10 euros.

Low:  not sleeping more than 4 hours a night for days in a row.

Ran into my hero again today: Linda, 82 year old woman that came in after us in earlier post, with 3 generations of family.  Wish I could pull up pics of Ponte de Lima, will have to wait til I’m back.