Nothing Between Here and There Tomar to Alviazere 35k

                                   Wooded paths.

                                       A santiago!

Dinner at the BBQ chicken place. 

We had no choice but to just walk as far as we possibly could today which means the next town 20 some odd miles away, since we didn't bring a tent. There was a café early on, where we stopped to top off water and have a couple of coffees and meet two other pilgrims who've been trailing us for a while.  Frank from Oslo Norway and Rolf from Hamburg Germany.  Two older gentleman, Rolf in his 70's!

Today's walking was more what we expected and love with wooded paths through eucalyptus forests which smelled so good!  Many tiny little villages and quiet hamlets sure beats dusty farm track and hot asphalt with speeding cars. We did have to walk some road but it was minimal.  As is typical on these long stages, it's at the end when you just want to get there and it never happens like you want. Like today being met with lots of hard on your feet cobblestones or as John has dubbed them, "hobblestones " and more than our fair share of snarling dogs behind fences....so glad we have hiking sticks. 

We would stop to rest and take off our boots about once an hour.  Everything hurt so bad. My hip is still hurting but it is the new normal.  It's not stopping me. I'm doing the stretches Diane showed me a few days ago. I wonder where we can get a hold of some of the doping drugs that the Olympic athletes use?  That would really help a lot. 

Made it into town about 6pm after stopping for a beer on the outskirts.  Oddly Rolf and Frank were at the local bar all showered and drinking wine and beer. They never passed us after we first met them, how are they here now?  Taxi perhaps? Found the only alburgue in town and the owner informed us that he was completely booked with about 25 bikers  (the lycra type, not leather ). I was thinking we'd just have to  taxi somewhere else. As he took us upstairs to stamp our passports rather elaborately with wax and matches and such, and give us some glasses of port as we wondered what we were going to do,  he said we could just stay in his family home.  What? Then he took us next door,  showed us the bathroom and our room which had two twin beds and looked to be the kids room. We met Neil from Australia who was staying in the master with his wife.  I think the owner was prepared for this as all the linens were clean and ready. Very nice guy. 

The recommended dinner in the local take out chicken place was very filling and fulfilling. Tomorrow we will cut the stage in half and only walk about 9 miles or 15k or so, and stop in Asaio. Sounds good to me. 

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