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Ponte Lima to San de Pedro Rubiaes. Portugal.
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April 10th, 2017
I am writing this blog on top of a mountain. A bloody big mountain actually. It took me 3.5 hours and 22,000 steps or 18kms to get here and climb it.
Competitive, must win Dave was to the fore, as I was determined to summit first amidst a group of other younger climbers & to then rest at the top.
So, counting out my paces in sets of 10 and keeping my heart rate somewhere in the 125-135 range with the odd burst to 150 ish, I knocked that ******* off.
It was tough going, with the track mostly loose or locked in rocks, covered in pine needles with some bits quite steep. Overall this was a lot more tramping then walking.
- The track to the top of the mountain
The view was worth it both along the way and when I got there.
The day had started with a leisurely breakfast which was served at 830. I hoovered some fruit & two cups of coffee and left to spend 20 minutes looking around Ponte Lima which is a beautiful river town with a medieval bridge & castle. Legend has it that when the Romans landed in what is now Lisbon they marched to the Rio Lima. However the soldiers refused to cross believing the river was haunted and full of demons. Democracy won out even with the Romans, and they turned around and walked back again.
- The Ponte (bridge) and church over Rio Lima
Working my way out of town, I was quickly into a valley full of farms and was walking along narrow and muddy or rocky tracks, and then started to climb up through some forestry tracks which followed the lovely and fast flowing Rio Lubaja.
- Ponte Lima riverfront looking pretty at night
Along the way I came across Yoda and Maria who were struggling ‘because Holland has no hills’. Sharing some of my half kilo of lollies with them, Yoda reciprocated when they caught me up buying Agua, by tying a spare scallop shell she had to my pack. (This is the historical sign of the Pilgrim). So on one side I have clogs from Maria & on the other a shell from Yoda. Very generous people the Dutch.
After coming down the mountain for around 4 kms, I reached the village of Rubiaes where my accommodation was staring me in the face at the end of the way.
It’s pleasant and out in the country but doesn’t have wireless that actually works in my room.
A few more kms before I cross out of wonderful Portugal and into Spain again. I know that I will be back.
MLC THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Scaling heights is bloody difficult and not without some pain. How I do that past 50 will have to change without sacrificing actually winning.
PORTUGESE LEVEL: 2/10
WEIGHT: I am but a shadow of my former self after that effort
BODY STATE: 7/10. Hips are sore but the feet seem great
WILLERTONS WORLD 