After cleaning ourselves up we strolled outside to a bar for drinks. Stephanie and I asked for gin and tonics and were amazed when the waitress brought all the glasses out and the entire bottle of gin! They are certainly generous in their portions as she filled half the glass and there was only one ice cube in it. With a few tapas in us as well as drinks we wandered off to walk a bit on the  Roman wall, then viewed the church. Very grand, but not my cup of tea. At least I appreciate the architecture.

We came down off the wall and wandered into the center of the city where there are loads of small meandering streets lined with cafes and bars with most people enjoying the weather sitting outside. It’s wonderful to see the life of the city reflected in the generations all out for the evening. As it tends to happen we ran into other pilgrims we know so we took their advice on where to dine. It tends to be late when we eat here so it was off to bed afterwards.

We all met up at 0730 hoping to find coffee along the way. Luckily the first place we came across was open. Unfortunately we had “Mr. Happy ” not so much at the ready to deal with customers. Actually, he looked pissed to have customers. We ordered our coffees and toast and waited while he hung over the espresso machine like it was a life saving device. When Stephanie had the nerve to ask for butter and jam for her toast he slammed them down  the counter with great disgust, much to our humor. The next thing we saw was the poor guy leaning up against the counter holding his head. Then he disappeared under the counter… Sleeping? Obviously he had a big night the night before.

On we went through the city, seeing an old bridge with a centurian statue that of course we had to pose by. We walked along the river, enjoying the views. Eventually we left the city but still had to walk on roads a good way. Tough on the feet and legs. Soon we came across an old man walking along with a huge stick. Now, what was that stick for? I thought he was going to try to drop fruit off the trees, but no, instead he banged on the shed to get his goats out. Right after that there was an old woman leaning out her second story window shaking out a sheet who happily responded to my morning greeting. I love seeing the local life.

Next along was another older gentleman herding a bunch of sheep along with his dog on the road. We were amazed at how much more respectful drivers were of them than they are of pilgrims walking the road.

Finally were were coming upon the first bar of the walk when Tony said he could divine upcoming beer, just as folks do with with water. He was right. Hence he is now dubbed the Diviner. It was a charming place that didn’t even look open until we saw an old guy in the window smiling. Soon Stephen showed up looking a bit different as he didn’t have his head bandana on. His hair was sweeping over and he said it was his weather predictor. Then he proceeded to tell us a story, as usual. He’s now referred to as Stevie Wonder… Not for any musical talent but because we are always wondering what’s going on in his head.

We finally got some trail walking, much to the gratitude of our feet. We came upon a leather guy, so we paused to have him make a necklace for Stephanie.

And finally we found our albergue at Ferreira. A delightful spot where we’re sitting outside having drinks awaiting dinner of paella.