Yesterday & the Rooster: I was wrong; nobody turned up at the Casa de Santiago in the evening. I had the whole pilgrims’ hostel to myself; it felt a bit strange, and I missed having a chat with the other pilgrims.
But I used the quiet evening to think about my future and to plan my visit to Barcelos and suddenly realised why I’d been given a kitsch miniature rooster as a welcome gift at my accommodation.
The Rooster of BarcelosThe Rooster of Barcelos (Galo de Barcelos) is Portugal’s unofficial national symbol and represents justice, truth and good fortune.
Actually, I thought someone had given me the cockerel as a present, because I was constantly hearing hens clucking and cocks crowing here – unfortunately even at night. I suspect that more than one pilgrim here was on the verge of wringing the cockerel’s neck.
Today & the Cobblestones:
I left the hostel at 8.15 and walked along pavements and cobblestones through villages and the countryside.
Cobblestones
I’ve never seen so many cobbled streets as here in Portugal. Not only in the villages, but also between them. And when I imagine that every single, tiny, individually shaped stone was laid by hand, it seems quite unbelievable. However, I passed a few building sites where, even today, after the pipes have been laid, the workers are still laying the paving stones by hand whilst kneelin.
Today, for the first time, I saw a special footpath between two villages, paved with flat concrete stones, which made walking much more comfortable.
Cobblestone walkwayBut the Portuguese have a penchant not only for paving stones, but also for walls. They don’t simply mark out their plots with fences, but erect all sorts of walls – and not just in residential areas. Unfortunately, this significantly increases the level of exhaust fumes from traffic when you walk along the roads.
Barcelos:
At 12.30 pm, I reached the centre of Barcelos, a town about the size of Bamberg, after walking for about 3 km through residential areas. My first stop was the Feira de Barcelos, which, at 150,000 square metres, is Portugal’s largest weekly market and takes place every Thursday – and, quite by chance, I happen to be here on a Thursday.
It was really huge, with all sorts of things on offer, such as fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, clothes, pottery, household goods, furniture and of course all kind of roosters.
Feira de BarcelosFeira de BarcelosFeira de Barcelos
I’d assumed there’d also be ready-made food to buy so I could have my lunch there, but all I got were hot chestnuts roasted over glowing coals. And for dessert, I had bananas.
Anyway, I enjoyed the warm weather, carried on with my sightseeing tour of the city centre and visited two churches.
Church and the Rooster BarcelosBarcelosAfter another 1.5 km, I arrived at my motel-style single room at Casa das Pombas.
The location is a bit noisy, due to the nearby school, which finishes at 5 pm, and the road traffic. On the other hand, it’s only a 3-minute walk to the supermarket to buy some water, and 5 minutes to the pizzeria, where I’m just sitting here with a beer, waiting for the pizza oven to heat up for my Hawaiian pizza. And here it comes:
Pizza Hawei
At a glance
Automatically extracted from the post
Length of time
1 Day
Weather
Autumn
Accompaniment
Alone
Mood
AdventurousCulturalSolo
Highlights
Walking along Portugal’s cobblestone paths
Visiting the Feira de Barcelos weekly market
Having a beer and Hawaiian pizza in Barcelos
Topics
CultureArchitectureEatAdventure
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