Post – Brexit and best stay yet…

24 June 2016

I set off with a truly great breakfast from Hotel Dighton. Weather was cool under the mist. It did not spoil the views however, as the day was spent walking through the outermost suburbs of Porto. Some lovely chapels en route but this is city walking.

In São João de Madeira, a lady heard me speaking on the phone to Shelley – in English. She politely waited for me to finish speaking – then started to speak to me. Calmly at first then more loudly. If my understanding of her Portuguese is correct (sadly I had to ask her to repeat what she had just said more slowly which I suspect cooled some of her enthusiasm) then I/We had apparently taken the money from the pockets of Portugal by leaving the EU…

I could not get everything she said. When she decided that I was too stupid or at least had had enough, she moved on. A guy then came over and said ‘Well Done’ in English and he hoped Portugal would do the same soon. The U.K. may be divided, but Portugal seems to be the same. I wonder if all of Europe is the same?

Through the village streets to rendezvous with my old friend – the N1. It has truck stops along it and at least one excellent Churrasqueira just south of Santa Maria de Feira.

The mist cleared as I walked to my lodgings the Pedra Feira de Santa Maria.

It has a restaurant on the N1, which is truly EXCELLENT. It specialises in seafood as it is a marisqueira. The difference between a good restaurant and a great one is the ambience. Here it is without comparison in all the miles since Lisbon. I sat at the bar and talked with a great young man called Rudolfo. He is a shoe craftsman as making shoes is the local business. I had passed many closed factories but he kept on making shoes. A great young man. This was followed in the bar by a great bartender – Marco. All in all a day of great experiences on the Camino.