Wednesday 18 February 2015

Alcoutim to Mertola . . .

. . . well the morning brought fresh legs and the usual youth hostel breakfast at 8.30, so it was ten to nine before I set off for Mertola . . . climbing steeply to warm the muscles, cutting over the plain as the river looped east before swinging west to Mertola . . . the head was set for a brisk pace and the first coffee came at 9km and under two hours . . . met the first pilgrim on this caminho . . . Miguel, a young Portuguese, who left Irun last March, walked the Northern route along the Spanish coast, down to Fatima, across to Seville, up to Santiago again, now heading for Tavira, Cape St Vincent, up the west coast . . . with a very heavy pack . . . anyway, he was heading for Alcoutim, so we parted with "Bom Caminho!" . . .

. . . and on to Espirito Santo for a late lunch from a very friendly woman, who had served Miguel earlier and very tuned into the pilgrimage . . .

. . . into Mertola after another long hike, easier than yesterday without the head wind, a short leg tomorrow, so time for a look around, some photos, before strolling on to Mina do Sao Domingos, under 18kms.

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