step, step IV

Strengthened and in good spirits, we set off from Barcelos at half past eight. A glorious morning - cool, a bit of wind, and beautiful paths awaited us. Today we were supposed to have a higher climb ahead of us - so to speak, a mini alpine route 😀 we'll see. 

In any case, Sophie was able to stride off with her pimped hiking shoes (take the padding from the bra and sew it onto the insoles of the hiking shoes) and left me behind on the climbs - oh great 😀

Through many small villages, past cute little churches, a huge eucalyptus tree suddenly stood in the middle of the path, over medieval bridges, and through a very green plain, we made our way to Casa do Rio - a centuries-old building, our lodging for today. We were curious. 

Since we are now experienced hikers, we arrived here around 3pm. Another pilgrim was at the door with us and wanted a bed - but unfortunately in vain - only with a reservation - and he had already walked 33 km 😒 Sophie says he looked very sad - luckily we were prepared and had booked a room. The next accommodation is 6 km away.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed the amenities of Casa, including the pool and the beautiful garden with very old olive trees, as well as the laundry service (it's almost decadent). Also included in the service was an evening trip to the restaurant - which we didn't refuse - and on the way back, the driver proudly showed us the small village festival 😀 and said we can dance here 😀 well, it wasn't quite our music - Greek wine in Portuguese and all that, but the atmosphere under the lights was beautiful. 

So we politely declined the dances and played another round of billiards in the Casa - well, that's really amazing here - there's even a private cinema. 

But we still didn't want to see 'The Way' - we're on our own way after all 😀

We will sleep in the king-size bed in our room tonight, like the marmots - boa noite.