We're still alive and talking

Well just wanted to take a moment to say hello! We are all well, finally dry, for the moment! This is our second FULL day of hiking.

Our first day was from Valenca in Portugal, to Tui in Spain all of about 5k...talk about your easy beginnings! We did spend the entire afternoon looking around the fort in Valenca and exploring it. And getting an introduction to local cuisne (as anyone who has traveled with Ramondo the Reluctant Pilgrim can relate to)

Our 1st full day of hiking was still relatively easy, from Tui to O'Porrino which was 16.8k. All though the weather was supposed to be really bad, it was infact absolutely lovely! To the point where I had to strip off my jacket and light shirt and wear only my tank top shirt! Then I actually had to worry about sun burn! Our feet held up well, and although it was Sunday, when nearly everything is shut we were able to find things to eat along the way! For dinner our alburge (hostel) hostess, steared us to a very small local restaurant, and we had a perfect sampling of local cuisine, and beers and wine. The wine was an amazingly dark red, served in small white ceramic bowls. Very interesting. Our hostess in the cafe didn´t really speak much english...but as it turned out not a big problem, as she lived in Germany for a number of years. So here we Americanos are in a Spanish restaurant, ordering and chatting in German! Then to cap it off, The other full table, was filled with pilgrims too, and strangest of all, someone I have chatted with on line for the last 3-4 months! Rose Louise and her group are from down under.

Our 2nd full day of hiking wasn´t quite as easy. The weather, as our hostess form the night before warned us, was predicted to be bad. Well this time the weather folks got it right. It was raining when we woke up, it was raining when we left, it was raining when we bumped into Rose Louise and her group. It was raining essentially off and on all day long, up hill and down hill, thru trail and thru roads! We´ve made the most amazing discoveries about our gear! Gee there´s a surprise! We are in the process of looking for a box to ship odds and ends home. These things seemed light, and essential when we were leaving home, and now, if we hadn´t spent good money on them, they´d go by the wayside altogether! Adrianne and I hate our rain jackets, they keep the rain out...but lord they keep the heat in! She still toughs it out, I on the otherhand have found an intriguing way of putting the hoodover my head and down my back, with out my arms being in the sleeves. This keeps the rain from running down my back and off my head in the worst of it. But it keeps my front and arms in the open, which keeps my body temp better. Joe and Ray have ponchos and are less than thrilled too!

Tonight we sleep in Rendondela, in a converted Manor house in the middle of a medieval city. We are heading out in a moment to find a Super Mercado and procure some things for dinner. We´re thinking pasta, and we´ve invited our alburge compatriot, an older lady from France, to join us. So I guess that means I´d better get a move on. We will also be buying our breakfast and lunch items.

Tomorrow we hike something like 18.2 in, once again questionable weather conditions! Guess their drought is over, lucky us!

Till tomorrow or the next open internet cafe´

Karin, Adrianne, Joe and Raymondo