Friday, November 30, 2018

These photos are not in any particular order.  Just pics I thought you might enjoy.  This will likely be the last entry in this blog.


If you zoom this, you will see that the Portuguese still have home delivery in the morning of baked goods, mainly breads, hung on their door every morning.  Tempting lol.





At the hostel previous to last evening Paula, our gracious hostess, told us that we must visit this old fort as it commands a wonderful view of the area.  Of course, you don't build a fort in a low area so you see that she was quite right.  It happened to be pretty much right on the Camino route so no problem.  Phil and I were always early starters, up at 6 and out the door by 7.  There were many times that we were in the dark but not this time.  We had the park all to ourselves with the exception of one dog walker.  The park included an aviary.  Enjoying the early morning effects of the sun, we took many photos and I have some video of the whole thing.  Thanks Paula.
 The colors are always amazing walking through this country.  Even thought this building is in disrepair, the colors attract the eye-as did many on this Camino.
 They love their tile!  It is everywhere and the colors vary greatly.  They also use the tiles as a photograph of a saint, a projection of the history of the town's heritage or just something they wanted to share with the public. 
Here is one that you did not expect - a cork tree.  They girdle the tree to remove the cork for crafts, artisans, whatever.  If memory serves, the first few harvests are quite curly and of limited use but subsequent harvests flatten out easier.  There are stores in the larger towns and cities that specialize in items made from cork.  Amazingly, there are even cork shoes and other outerwear that you would expect to get ruined in the rain.  This cork does not soak up water!  Go figure-cork anything can be found in these stores.
 Not a plant guy but thought this was a nice one to photograph.
 This is a typical water point that was put in for the Pilgrims.  Note the tile with a scene on it.  That is Phil walking by.  Many of the older water points had signs not to drink.  Regardless, Phil drank from one, me none, as we carried our water or resupplied at a local café if needed.
 One of my favorite pics.  Walking into a good sized city, Tomar, we encountered this mural.  Tomar is where the Templar Knights stationed themselves to complete their mission of protecting the Pilgrims.  The symbol of the Templar Knights is the Maltese Cross as shown on the tunic on the mural (google it) which, if you are a Civil War buff, you will know that the 20th Maine under Joshua Chamberlain from Maine also fought under the Maltese Cross.  I could go back to this town and get into its history more.




This is a look into the Knight's Chapel.  Many are buried in crypts in the floor.
 A typical café that offered free wifi, a coffee for Phil and augua-gas (seltzer water) for me along with Snickers.
 A typical "way" marker which we took to the bank.  All other marks, wooden signs, yellow painted arrows place anywhere were welcome but sometimes suspect.  Busy intersections and roundabouts were a challenge sometimes as they were so visually busy.
 Was impressed by this homeowners fondness for potted plants.  Not unusual.
 Orange trees, Olive trees and Apple trees are in abundance.
An example of the tiles I wrote about before.
 Many, many chapels.  The Camino route is designed to take you to, thru, or around chapels in all of the villages and towns.  If you look closely at this one it has one of the classic Camino signs on it.

 A café we ducked into on a rainy morning just before Phil was going to go into withdrawal.
 Nice home-note the cobblestones.  They are everywhere!
 Now that is a yellow house.
 Blue house
 These are in almost every town and village.  The local wash house for laundry. Note the angled stonework.  That was where the scrubbing took place.  Many of these has a trench like walkway so that the work could be done without bending over.  These are still in use in some towns and some towns have made them a source of water for folks that want it.
 More vegetation on the patio/deck.
 Church with home in tile next to it. Note the balls on the ground-prevents vehicles from getting in there.

 Some rather fancy rail work-believe it or not, these sorts of railings were quite commonplace.  I think it was a status symbol of sorts.
 Sign
 Vegetation
 A different sign
A tile picture and bright colors of tile.
Not many churches and chapels were open-it's a shame but a sign of the times.  This one was open.
 Shrines are everywhere
Cool bridge-probably Roman
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A neat building and someone's entryway
Yes, they have palm trees-many are dead though-couldn't quite figure out why.  A whole lot of bamboo also.
 Gotta love that early morning sun on the horizon
Ditto
Ditto
The end game-Cathedral at Santiago Compostela-hope you enjoyed it.  I will be putting together a comprehensive presentation of my Camino for ALDHA, Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association next Columbus Day weekend so maybe can share it locally sometime if there is any interest,  have lots of videos and Phil and I have agreed to exchange our photos.  

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