Day 4: Cossourado to Ponte de Lima

This was probably Allie's toughest day on the Camino. Her feet hurt (blisters). We had another climb. It got hot. We had a lot of cobblestones. But it was a good day! We were rewarded at the end with a very nice hotel in a great location and with an awesome dinner.

If there was a cloud in northern Portugal on this day, we didn't see it. We enjoyed beautiful scenery all day.

We found an exercise park, and Allie got a few reps in followed by a drink from one of the many fonts along the way.

A rather famous option for breaking the Barcelos to Ponte de Lima stage is Casa Fernanda. It has become legendary for hospitality and caring for peregrinos. On another Camino, I might stay there, although almost everyone sleeps in one big room. There is no charge - it is all "donativo."

We stopped for lunch in Vitorino dos Piães

and had our usual ham and cheese sandwiches with cold water.

After lunch, we did another climb of about 500 feet. It wasn't difficult, but the temperature was getting much warmer.

The final part of Day 4's walk was beautiful but definitely harder with cobblestones, pavement and heat.

This is one of the many St. James shrines along the Camino.

We were glad when we got closer to Ponte de Lima.

The approach to Ponte de Lima provided much needed shade, but it was still on cobblestones! As we entered the town, the Camino took us through a park along the river.

It was Sunday, and there were a lot of people enjoying the afternoon. There was a horse festival in town, and the park had a lot of food and craft booths. It was a bit strange to be walking at our Camino pace (and probably not smelling very good) through crowds of people.

We soon found the Mercearia da Vila hotel - a small and very nice one in the heart of town. The temperature when we arrived was 34C (92F) - the hottest day of our Camino.


Allie made a new friend.

We chose the Encanada restaurant for dinner based on finding shade. It turned out to be a great choice. The food was awesome. We again ordered half portions, but they were huge.

Desert was great. I had crema Catalana.

As we were eating dinner and looking at the bridge built by the Romans, I realized that Matt and I had visited this same place when our Habitat team took an R&R trip. Several years ago, we had walked across that same bridge that would be the start of our Day 5 Camino. Here's a nice photo that I found online.

Today:
Distance:    21.3km / 13.3mi
Walk time:  4:05
Stop time:   1:17
Avg. pace:  11:30/km / 18:25/mi
Ascent:       941 ft
Descent:     1160 ft
Weather was sunny and hot with a high of about 34C (92F)

Progress:
Distance:    81.5km / 50.9mi
Walk time:  15:40
Avg. pace:  11:32/km / 18:28/mi
Ascent:       3252 ft
Descent:     3475 ft