Day 5 - from Ponte de Lima to Rubiães

Today we have a very picturesque stage, but also the steepest and most strenuous one. At the same time, it will be our last stage in Portugal, as tomorrow we will cross the border into Spain. But first, let's talk about today...

Sandra and I didn't quite manage to leave early as planned, so in the end, all four of us left our apartment at 7:30 am. Yesterday, we didn't stay in a hostel, but in a very nice apartment that Luca booked for us😇 Why did we leave later? The pilgrim life takes its toll, so we had to take care of our feet first with all the nice things we bought at the pharmacy yesterday🙈 Well, that's how shopping habits change on the Camino de Santiago😜😂 Thanks to the apartment, we even had coffee before lacing up our hiking boots - a luxury we don't have every day.

We then cross the old Roman bridge and continue along the path, which is sometimes idyllic among vineyards and sometimes runs along village streets, gravel tracks, or even under highway bridges. Eventually, we see the long-awaited sign - a bar in 40m offering breakfast🤤 The joy doesn't last very long, as neither the bar nor the three gentlemen of the service seem particularly inviting, and it takes several requests to understand that we want the breakfast menu 2 four times. But as always, we have no choice and our hunger is simply too great... the bill comes to €13.50, calculated with a little help from Sandra's math skills🙄🤦🏻‍♀️

After replenishing our strength, we continue and the paths through the villages and their surrounding vineyards become steeper and steeper. We are always accompanied by a mass that can be heard up to us due to the valley - a very special accompaniment.

At some point, we reach the last bar for now and also the last refreshment station - buying water and bananas, having another refreshing drink, and using the restroom. For the next 5km, there won't be anything except the uphill climb! Fortunately, we don't have to carry a lot of water due to the slightly cooler temperatures...

So we set off to the summit plateau and make good progress. However, the path gradually becomes steeper and more difficult, so I'm glad to have my hiking poles. Our Luca finds today's path very unfriendly to pilgrims, but we all manage to reach the highest point around noon👍🏻💪🏻 After almost 100km and with about 10kg of luggage on our backs, it is quite a challenge to tackle this steep ascent💪🏻😌 (I have to admit that I'm a little proud at this point, because last year I did this stage without luggage and today, with luggage, it was great to be back up here).

The subsequent descent is quite long and we are all so exhausted that we are more than happy to finally arrive at our "Casa Ninho" hostel at 3:30 pm. We have 4 beds in a 6-bed room and are satisfied. Shower, wait for laundry, and then it's time for dinner - our first proper meal of the day😊🥴😋 We have a Radler (beer mixed with lemonade) with Ute and Klemens, who shared the hostel room with us the night before last, and then we go to bed around 9:30 pm. And now, at 10:17 pm, I'm finishing my report of today's stage.

Tomorrow, we will not only cross the border into Spain but also have completed half of the journey... It's hard to believe how fast it goes!😢

Goodnight to all of you and see you tomorrow from Spain😘