Day 6 - Barcelos to Ponte de Lima - 23 miles (OMG)

Well we made it. Yesterday we were dreading today. But we stuck with our plan of lots of hydration, rest stops, and carbs.  The last hour was rough but overall we did fine. 

Somehow the miles we are scheduled to walk never match up with what we actually walked. We have decided that Santiago miles are just longer than regular miles. According to our tour company information we had 19.5 miles on day 6. According to the guidebook we had 21.5 miles to cover. It ended up at 23 miles. It also took us almost 11 hours, door to door. That included 4 longish breaks.

The weather was beautiful today. Lots of sunshine but not too warm and around 60 degrees. Perfect for hiking. And the countryside was gorgeous.

We were lucky to have lots of dirt tracks to walk on. They were lined with grape arbors and spring flowers. In the summer when the grapevines are leafed out it must be beautiful.

One of the things we have seen a lot the last few days are small smokey fires. These are the local farmers burning the trimmings from their dormant grapevines. The smoke is very aromatic and pleasant.

Because there are few hostels between Barcelos and Ponte de Lima, most pilgrims  make the long trek in one day like we did.  As a result we would run into the same people at our rest stops in cafes. As the day wore on, any likely spot would serve to take a break. At this little chapel we found our "new" Russian and German friends we had shared many previous miles with. Some oranges from the nearby trees tasted wonderful, especially when shared with fellow pilgrims.

Finally we reached our hotel which turned out to be in what was an old general store. The proprietor, the grandson of the original owners, has kept many period details and it felt almost like a museum. But the rooms were modern and the beds soft and comfy!