Albergaria-a-Velha to Oliveira de Azemeis

9/20 – is it my imagination, or do the names of towns get longer as we move north? 13 miles today, doubling back through town to pick up the yellow arrows that mark our path. The sun was out this morning, with about the same sights to see: more dogs, more eucalyptus forest, more little towns. Here’s what the trail looks like the morning after the big rain:

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Yes, that’s not a river, that’s the trail.

Part of our path today was the original Roman road that the medieval pilgrims walked on:

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We came upon a statue of Mary in the middle of nowhere: image
And a shrine to Senhor Jesus: image

When we got into town, we found, for the third day in a row, that the residencial and the pension had gone out of business. I called the tourist info, and the lady suggested that we ask to sleep on the floor at the fire station, which is common practice here for pilgrims in towns with no hostel. Fortunately, this town has a 4 star hotel, and the hotel offered a discount because we are pilgrims. It’s more than we are used to paying here, but it sure beats the floor of the fire station!

So now we are in a king sized bed with extra pillows, a sleek modern bath with little shampoos, and a lavish buffet spread for breakfast. If this isn’t nice, I just don’t know what is!

2 thoughts on “Albergaria-a-Velha to Oliveira de Azemeis

    1. That’s an easy one, Brenda. People place candles in the shrines for the same reasons they light candles in church. Some shrines have so many candle containers they look trashed. Usually, someone who lives nearby takes care of the shrine, clearing out expended candles and sometimes adding flowers. We see lots of shrines in towns, but this one was sort of in the middle of nowhere. Thanks for following!

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