The way to Barcelos

We had a very fun and restful stay in Vila do Conde. Fortified with a healthy breakfast we swung out the door of our hotel and wandered down to a nearby taxi rank. A tap on the window got our driver at the ready and soon we were off to Arcos about 8 kms away. Our driver was a funny and expressive guy. He spoke almost no English but I could follow most of what he was saying in Portuguese. He brought us to the small village of Arcos where we immediately spotted Camino arrows.  We paid our bill, included a nice tip (for the entertainment value if nothing else), and bailed out in front of the church. As our driver blasted off (no one in Portugal drives slowly) we saddled up our packs and set out to follow the yellow arrows to Barcelos where we would spend the night. Weather wise we caught a break. The wind and rain in today's forecast was now expected to cross our path around 2:00 pm.  We hopefully would be in Barcelos by then. So off we went. No one else in sight. The temperature increased a bit ask we moved through Rates and Robin and I shed our rain jackets. Onward we went enjoying the early rural kilometers. Later in the day we found more road work and more crazy drivers that added a bit of anxiety to walking the shoulder of whatever road we happened to be on. The Portuguese just seem to enjoy driving fast, hugging the inside corner (where we were walking) and leaning on the horn approaching blind turns (not slowing down). But, all in all it was another fun day. Robin did very well and despite a lot of cobblestone walking our feet were none the worse for wear. That was good news. So we plunged on keeping a steady if not breathtaking pace and arrived at our hotel in Barcelos at 1:30 pm. Our habit is now, after making arrival, to go right to lunch. We skip dinner as this just seems more convenient. As it turns out there was a wonderful restaurant right next door to our hotel. In we went and continued to explore the seafood side of the menu. It was grilled sea bass for Robin and grilled salmon for me. Both were superb. But, an unexpected highlight was the grilled octopus salad. Wow, says enough. It was a fantastic meal (no menu del dia) that finished off another fun day on the Camino. Now back in our room the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Heavy rain and strong winds are now lashing our hotel. We arrived just before all this settled in. Perfect timing. We are off to Casa Fernanda tomorrow and God willing the storm will have passed by then. All is well.

The church in Arcos

Getting ready to go

Roosters in a tree. First time for me.

These yellow blossoms smell great.

More eucalyptus. 

At lunch. We did eat.

My happy pilgrim Robin.

Artwork from our hotel. The Portuguese have a major rooster thing going on.