Gathering at Porto - Sept 17, 2018

Ola - after having taken various routes and bumps along the way (including a broken down plane - causing unplanned overnight stays and other delayed flights - we finally all gathered in Porto, Portugal by September 17. We have 3 newcomers to the pilgrimage and 3 more experienced (some might say veterans, other might say "just not quite new") to the Camino experience. We have Gerry, Lise, Ben, Dave, Marilyn and Sandy on this Camino experience. We had an exciting day in Porto (managed 26,500 steps today, tomorrow it will be in kms). It was a foggy and rather chilly morning, the fog cleared and the bright sun brought warmer temperatures in the afternoon. We got our first stamp in our passbook at the cathedral, toured along the river, both sides, walked the high and low bridge, and saw Portugal's incredible history depicted on mosaic tiles at the railway stations. One would not expect to see this kind of fabulous art in a train station. Who does that? Simply stunning...you walk around with your mouth wide open as your eyes fixate on the story beautifuly displayed on the walls in front of you. The old world architecture is really stunning - it is a beautiful city along the banks of the Douro River. The churches, old stone buildings and cobblestone streets and friendly people greet you as you venture out. Thankfully they are happy to help you out, as we learned that none of us are good with selfie sticks. We had several highlights today - we stumbled upon a tart factory - with fresh out-of-the oven Portugese tarts. The crust - incredibly flakey - and the warm custard-type filling - mouthwatering! Yup, we will for sure stop there on our way out of he city. I wonder if a six-pack will travel well in my backpack? Secondly - we tasted our first Franceshina sandwich, made our of a thin pizza dough folded over, filled with ham, cheese, roast beef/pork and served warm with a unique gravy made with tomato and beer. Very, very good! Definitely worth the trip to Porto. Oh one thing to note, the tea comes in rather large cups and the coffee in very small cups - no McDonalds or Tim Horton's large coffees here. You can order a double Amnericano - but that is double the coffee strength not double the size! Think I am switching to tea!!!! It will be an early evening, as we are trying to adjust to long flights, time spent in airports and a loss of 7 hours. We head out at 8:00 am tomorrow. Boa Noite (good night).