Hill Difficulty

CAMINOPORTUGUES Day 11

"I beheld, then, that they all went on till they came to the foot of the Hill Difficulty; at the bottom of which was a spring."  John Bunyan "A Pilgrim's Progress"

The highest point of our route today was 485m but the paths leading up to it made for some nice walking, through olive groves, vineyards and limestone villages with cobbled streets. The sun shone, too, which made the 15.5 miles pass more pleasantly. I feel that my body is becoming stronger after these consecutive days of walking with a pack on my back, although there are still achy bits by the end of the day and it's so good to stop and to have a shower.

We have made it a rule that every time we see a drinking fountain like this one, we should stop, have a drink and fill our water bottles. The fountains usually feature a Saint and St João (John) is very popular. He makes me think of Joe :-)

We are staying in Ansião tonight in a clean and modern hotel with no visible staff - let  ourselves in using a key code and rhe same with our room. Very odd.

It took us an hour or so tonight to find a suitable (open) ace to eat and even then it wasn't ideal. Very hard to get a plate of vegetables around here, which is strange when they are growing everywhere in such abundance.