Day 12 – Sernadelo to Albergeria a Velha – 44km/27.5 miles
This turned into a monster of a day that was neither scenic nor easy. It’s the farthest I’ve ever walked in a single day, and the body is definitely feeling it. It did serve an important purpose allowing us to cut out an entire day which gives more flexibility getting to Porto on Saturday. Yesterday we sort of made a logistical mistake of of not going 8km more to Arcos. Not only would that have made today a little shorter, it would have been a better place to stay, and cheaper! But such is life on a new trail. It was decided that we’d play the day ear and see how we felt to walk more. Basically it was going to be a 25km day or 44.
To make today even tougher, it was basically all on pavement aside from about 6km in forest. Walking on such a hard surface of great for speed but hurts the feet more. We passed through village after village as cars and trucks wizzed by us fast. This wasn’t exactly a pleasant day compared to the days before Coimbra. With many coffee shops, ibuprofen, and music, the kilometers go by. Stopping in Agueda for lunch it was nice break from the walking. The city is known for its street art and they had a really cool street lined with colorful umbrellas. I am a bit worried about my shoes wearing down since this is their second Camino and it will be over 1000 miles. We’ll see if they make it. A few highlights of the day include a doctor driving by and handing walkers bottles of water and apples and the final stop Albergeria. Here I had one of the best meals I’ve had this trip. It was a mother daughter team who cooked a three course meal for us with vegetable soup, pork chops with baked potatoes and then desert. It was the perfect meal for the 2500+ calories I used today. After a quick glass of wine with Fin and Lis we got to sleep before 10. A day like this gives the deepest sleep you can have.
