Category: Uncategorized
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Shades of Rocky Balboa
Today we made the 16.7 mile trek frim Padron to Santiago de Compostela. This was the final leg of our 260 kms or 165 mile hike from Porto, Portugal. As you can imagine, I was filled with anticipation as we departed Padron in the pre-dawn hours. The hike was a bit longer than our usual,…
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The Rain In Spain
Today, we hiked 13.5 miles from Caldas de Reis to Padron, Spain in the pouring rain. It started the moment we left our hotel (before dawn) and continued for at least the next four hours. Unlike the song, the rain in Spain does not fall mainly on the plain. It falls in the mountains, the…
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The Most Fun You Can Have For 5 Euros….Sober!
Today we walked 11 miles from Porrino to Redondela, Spain. It wasn’t a long walk, but given the hot weather forecast for the afternoon (88 degrees), we left at 8am, before the sun came up. The air was very crisp this morning and so we covered a lot of mileage before the sun rose over…
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A Day of Surprises
Today I decided to start our 13 mile journey from Tui to Porrino with a little surprise for my hiking buddies. Before leaving the USA, I purchased some Ninja Turtle costumes and surprised the guys this morning. (I’ve named our group the Old Age Mutant Ninja Turtles given our ages and obvious maturity.) Everyone was…
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Searching for Happiness
Today we hiked 14 miles from Rubiaes, Portugal to Tui, Spain. The day started with the “ever chipper” (Juan Pablo) looking for a little happiness in the bushes around our hotel. We had our last pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard pie) at a little cafe in northern Portugal, before trying to find a place for…
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Ceramic Beauty
Today, I discovered that the Portuguese love to adorn their homes and churches with ceramic tile. The effect can be quite pretty. These tiles provided the only beautiful aesthetic during our 11.6 mile journey from the outskirts of Porto to the small village of Vilarinho. Most of the trip looked like a visit to a…
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The Long Day
Today we hiked almost 20 miles from Vilarinho to Barcelos. The temperature was hot (80-85 degrees) and the route was up and down, mostly on cobblestones, but sometimes on dirt roads. This will be the longest leg of our trip, so I psyched myself that if I can get through this day, everything else will…
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A View from the Top … and the Bottom.
Today I want to talk about perspective. It is the way we see the world. And it shapes our impressions and feelings. I recall that Manila always looked best at night, so the poverty was obscured by the enveloping darkness. Some cities look best by day or when seen from offshore, like Paris from the…
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Foggy France
Flying overnight is always a mixed bag. Sometimes I sleep, and sometimes I don’t. This time I got about 3 hours of sleep, but that means I’ll probably crash around dinner time. My emotional fog was illustrated brilliantly by the rivers of fog swirling around the french countryside as we were landing. Even the Eiffel…
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Veni, vidi, vici
Yesterday, at 3:30 in the afternoon, we crossed into the city limits of Assisi. This marked the conclusion of our 160 mile hike. The day began with an early morning breakfast at a cafe in Foligno. From there, we quickly walked the 6km (4 miles) to the town of Spello in about 90 minutes. It…
Walking Across Italy 