Thursday 14th April

18 km (369 km)

Hardest day yet

After yesterday’s 35 km hike I was looking forward to a quick wee hop into Rubiães. The guidebook did warn that some consider this the hardest part of the walk but I put this down to the fact that many pilgrims seem to moan at the sight of the slightest incline. Fast forward a few hours and there I was moaning to myself (because I saw no one all day) about the heat and the stones and the steep climbs. They just kept on coming and with a floor of rubble and rock my scabby feet and dodgy hip started to complain a lot! Normally an 18km walk would take around 4 hours even with a coffee stop. Not today, I staggered into Casa da São Sebastian beaten and in need of food and wine after a walk that seemed a lot further than the meagre 18 km showing on my watch. I wasn’t alone in finding this probably the hardest day of any camino and was a little reassured when I saw two young Latvian girls stagger in after me and promptly slump on the floor whilst looking for passports, money, etc…

Roman Roads

It was still a pleasant walk (!) and I was interested to learn that today our walk took us on the Via XIX Roman road as opposed to the Via XVI Roman road (both cobbled. of course), early ‘motorway’ signage I’m guessing. The walk was cobbled almost the whole way which made for very sore feet but with the sound of water never far away, crossing over ancient Roman bridges all day and walking down tree-lined paths it was possible to have a feeling of wellbeing and calm amidst the pain! Tomorrow promises to be easy, here’s hoping