Oliveira de Azemeis to Grijo Some days really test you physically and mentally and today has been one such day. Over 95% of the terrain in the 8 hour walk has been on asphalt, through fairly uninspiring towns, suburbs, light industrial areas. In the morning there was also heavy drizzly rain to contend with. Mentally, you have to break down the day into three or four chunks with cafe stops to have a coffee and piece of cake to keep you going for a couple of hours....

Albergaria to Oliveira de Azemeis Most days so far, we have walked on our own or with good companion Richard and not seen too many other peregrinos. Today has been a little different. In our dormitory were three young men (lads) from Hastings who are walking the full route. They are two brothers and a friend who clearly are enjoying the experience together. They are wild camping, staying at fire stations (which is a feature of this part of the Camino) or in alber...

Agueda to Albergaria-a-Velha At 2 o'clock this afternoon, we crossed the half way point on our journey from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela. So 308kms completed and 306kms to go! It's a psychological boost and particularly in knowing that the best bits are still to come. It has been really tough up to this point with lots of walking on asphalt and in high temperatures. Today was the shortest day at only 16 kms and pleasant walking too. They try to route you...

Mealhada to Agueda I thought I would give an idea of what a day on the Camino is like. We were on the road at 8am in the cool morning air and immediately lost the yellow arrow or Camino signs. There is usually a helpful local to point out the route. In this case, into a eucalyptus forest where trees were being felled with chainsaws. We chatted about last night's meal of suckling pig and sparkling red wine which is a delicacy in this area. We walked through woodla...