We had started the day with a good breakfast.

Then out the door we went. We wanted to start our Camino on the Coastal way and then change the route inwards to the Central Way. Weather forecasted for rain today. No matter. We have rain jackets/ponchos. We first had to take Bus 500 from Praça da Liberdade Porto to Matosinhos.

We began our Camino at Matosinhos close to the lighthouse.

Strong wind and rain clouds looming. We walked on. All we had to do was find the yellow arrows and walk with the sea to our left.

Then the sun came out when it around lunchtime. Karen found a picnic spot for us to have lunch.

Beans and rice from yesterday’s leftover dinner. Yes we had cooked. Gonna show what we had for dinner last night and again today for lunch.

DOB time:

Right after DOB, the weather changed quickly. It was windy and rainy again. Wow, we only had a very short time good weather for lunch.

Here are the rest of pictures of our walk with slightly rough weather.

We reached La Bruge and had to call it a day. It became way too rough to go on. We got a nice hostel owner in La Bruge to call us a taxi to take us to Vila Do Conde. There we bought a couple of bunk beds at Albergue Santa Clara.

After claiming our beds, we bought groceries, cooked our meal and shared it with our ‘Perigrino Family’ for the night.

The common way to say thank you in Portuguese is Obrigado or Obrigada if you are female. I learned a special new way for saying thank you today. It is “Bem Haje” which means

thank you from the heart.

Bem Haje my family and friends. Boa Noite.

It has been two days since my last entry. A lot of things have happened. Karen arrived safely and together we stayed a night in Lisbon. One additional day for me. Here’s a picture of her with our Trekking Poles in an IKEA bag. She checked in our poles for us on her flight.

There wasn’t much time to take Karen around the city. All I could do was take her out to dinner. Where did I take her? The same restaurant where I had lunch, PSI restaurant.

Here’s what we had for Dinner: panko olives, beet falafel and Malaysian Curry Laksa.

James, the Curry Laksa is not the same as what we are used to but it still made for a satisfying meal. Just so you know that Lisbon has Laksa too.

Yes, we finished our dinner right down to the last bite.

The next morning we took an early train to Porto. Two fresh perigrinos at the start of the Camino De Santiago 2018. We may not look like this when we are done.

We reached Porto at almost 11am. The train ride was three hours. We checked into the Passenger Hostel at the Sao Bento Train Station and took the best room there. It was only €10 extra per person from the regular price of a bunk bed. A bunk bed alone costs €20. A room is €60. See what I mean. Because Karen was sharing the room, we were able to splurge for a private room just by paying a little bit more.

This is a wonderful hostel. They have everything. Full functioning kitchen and breakfast is included. I am liking the fact that I am walking with a friend who sees no reason why we cannot spend a little extra (due to pooling our funds together) just to be comfortable and enjoy the Camino.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Porto and also getting a stamp from the Porto Se Cathedral.

And now for our Harry Porto fans. Did you know that Porto is home to the Lello Livraria? This bookstore was frequented by JK Rowling and was the inspiration behind Hogwarts Library in the Harry Potter films. The bookstore is beautiful but small. You pay €4 to get in and then when you buy a book from the store, you get a €4 discount. Great marketing!

Miki, I have now been to Hogwarts Library. 😊

No DOBs for this day but one pastel de nata for Karen. It was her first one but she needs to eat eleven more to catch up to me.

No I did not eat one. I am going to stop eating them for now and may leave my 13th one for the day we leave Portugal and enter Spain. This then will allow me to say that I had a bakers dozen of this additive pastry in Portugal. That’s the intention for now.

I am going to post my first day on the Camino with my next entry. Please see next post.

My first item on my agenda was to visit Se Cathedral Lisbon. The second is to find the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Lisbon. I originally wanted to try another called Terra but having done some research I will try this old PSI restaurant instead. Third item is to pick up Karen at airport and then take her out to this vegetarian restaurant if I find it.

It is a rainy day. Rain jacket is a must. Purposeful I head out the door after breakfast. This will be my last breakfast view of the salon for this trip. I have enjoyed the space very much for the last 6 days not missing one day. LOL.

The quest begins. I am in search of the Cathedral and my first Camino stamp. I don’t know what it looks like but it is located near the Rossio Metro and also the Baixa Chiado Metro Station. Whichever station exit I choose, I must head east thereabouts. That free walking tour experience I took a few days ago was helpful. I know this area a little bit already.

The rain and wind were my companions on this quest. A bit of a downpour but the wind is not cold so all is good. I decided to revisit the Arco de Rua Augusta again and use it as my starting point for my bearings. It is also by the sea so I can take a nice walk there.

Walking around I found a Museum of Beer in the Arco square but it is not really a museum. It is a cafe restaurant. It was just a play on words for a restaurant name. Darn it!

Anyways, distractions are abound for this quest. Focus required. Lol. Took out the map and I see that the church is close. I can see the top of the cathedral amongst some of the buildings. I got lost a bit and came on to a graffitied building. Is it safe to go on? Of course. There is nothing to fear in the daytime. LOL.

Finally I reached the Cathedral after passing some Touristic Souvenir shops and street lanes.

Here it is:

Ok, before I go further, I have to mention this next observation. Lisbon Portugal has Tuk Tuks. These are mini motorized taxis pulled by scooters and I thought they were only popular in Thailand. Go figure! I did not know they are popular here too but perhaps only in the Tourist areas.

All right, onwards or rather inwards into the Cathedral I go to search for a carimbo or stamp. The info desk inside the Church is where you get it. The gentleman behind the desk placed it onto my Canadian Pilgrim Credential.

Operation Stamp Objective achieved. I looked around the Church and lighted a candle by an altar to officially mark the start of my Camino Portugal 2018.

All of this walking around and when I finished my Stamp Objective, it was close to lunch time.

My next item on my quest was to find the PSI restaurant. Reputed to be 15 years old and blessed/approved by the Dalai Lama. It is close to the Marquês De Pombal Metro Station. Got lost again after exiting this Metro station so I asked a nearby hotel reception how to find it.

With some directions in hand plus a couple more ‘ask the locals’ who spoke English, I found the place. It is across the street from this graffiti street art.

I will know how to find it when I take Karen there tonight.

My owl-ly lunch partner and my lunch:

I was satisfied.

Now it is DOB time. Remember that it is raining so even dogs wore raincoats on this day. I encountered two.

Cute fellas!!!

I will sign off this post with the DOBs. Oh, pasteias count is now 12. Yes people I have eaten a dozen pasteias to date. LOL.

I woke up early today. The retreat began early. Apart from myself, the guesthouse also have other retreat participants. We all got to the breakfast room as early as we could so that we can have breakfast and catch the metro to the retreat venue. Excitement buzzed due the anticipation of what to expect for this last day. All of us having coffee, fruit and pastries were first timers to this retreat. I quickly took pictures of our dining room to show you what was offered for breakfast at this guesthouse.

Look closely and you will see pasteias de nata on offer again. They go really quickly. I am taking count and have now consumed 11 of them over the course of several days. I should start a counter log for real so I may know how many I’ve had exactly on this trip. May be a fun exercise, yes? Well, fun for me as I am the one tasting them.

The last day of the retreat was overwhelming for some people who cried and expressed their feelings out loud. Just to be clear, I am not one of them. LOL. I observed and observed simply. Most retreats of this nature allow the space for people to let go. I respect that and know it is helpful for the ones who feel the need to discard emotionally. Having done a few retreats of this nature myself, I must say this one was done very well. It scored an A Plus for organization and caring for all participants. If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to pass on the info when I return home.

The next picture is showing my eleventh Pastel de nata 👌 accompanying my simple lunch. I just could not resist.

Tomorrow I will meet Karen at the airport. She is bringing our trekking poles. She will stay the night in Lisbon and then we will take the train to Porto the day after.

Until my next entry, Boa Noite Calgary.

Both sides of the same coin! Sunny hot or rainy wet weather. I cannot complain because I AM in Lisbon Portugal 😊

Rain jacket, fleece top, toque and light gloves came out today. Woo hoo. Why? No winter jacket required. I must be Canadian eh as I don my Macabi Skirt today. Got some stares from the little old ladies who wore winter coats on the Metro. They could also be staring at my total unusual assemble with water proof hiking boots. No picture here so I will leave it to your imaginations. However when Karen gets here, I will get her to take a picture. LOL.

The following are pics of rainy Lisbon.

Tomorrow is the last day for the retreat. I have enjoyed it very much and obtained answers to my many questions. Sad to see it end.

No food blog today. No cooking today. Just heated all leftovers and had that for supper.

I did find a vegetarian buffet restaurant in Lisbon called Restaurante Natural Terra and will definitely visit it when Karen gets here.

Take care and Good night Calgary!

The retreat agenda was full today so I did not have time to walk about or go back to the guest house to cook a quick lunch. We did have our break for lunch but it was a short one to make way for an earlier afternoon session and an evening bhajan session.

As I had thought ahead in the morning, I had packed a cheese sandwich, pasteias de nata, an apple and water (from the daily breakfast offered at the guesthouse) just in case the line up at the cafeteria was long. And I predicted the lineup correctly. Patting myself on the back!!

Pastel de nata or pasteias de nata if plural, is the famous Portuguese national pastry. If in Portugal you must have it or you’d be considered to have sorely missed an important Portuguese experience. It is very good. Looks like a burnt Chinese egg tart but taste more like a creme brûlée with a moist flaky buttery pastry shell. I have been here only a few days now and have probably eaten 5 or 6 (including the ones pictured here). The guesthouse serves mini versions so I really only had 2-3 of actual size pasteias. My tricky mind game! 😉

I know that my blog is sounding more like a foodie blog but I am not on the Camino yet, so I can only report on food and weather for now. Truth be told maybe I am an inner foodie. Your insights are welcome here.

Weather is So lovely. Basked in the sun again. Just so you have an idea how everyone was doing the same, see following pictures.

After this day ended, back to guesthouse and cooked me up some pasta.

Ingredients, cooking and final product:

Oh yes, I discovered a type of hot sauce called Molho Piri Piri. Spicy and vinegary!!

That’s all for today. If you don’t like the “fooding” part of this blog, I can take pictures of dogs. I know there are so many dog lovers amongst my family and friends. Reggie, Snoopy, Aquilo, etc. You know who they are. I believe there is a blog called “Dogs on Blog” (DOB). I will DOB more often once on the Camino. Haven’t run into cute dogs in the City yet. 😌🐕

Ok. I thought I would just be busy with the retreat. Well, I was wrong for this day only. I have a midday break and wanted to upload pics what I have been feeding myself these two days. I have not had a meal at a restaurant yet.

Firstly, the guesthouse has a full functioning kitchen and secondly the supermarket Pingo Doce is on the same street half a block away. I have been using the opportunity to buy what I like and then cook it.

Yesterday lunch ingredients and final product pictures:

Before you get ahead of yourselves, there were no shrimps, merely a picture of these suckers on the microwave basmati rice packaging. LOL

Dinner is repeating the items so I don’t have to think aboutwhat to cook or make additional purchases.

Today’s lunch ingredients and final product:

Also used leftover frozen grilled veggies from yesterday.

The guesthouse has cookies, juices and sometimes sponge cake out for guests everyday. Dessert is covered unless I want something else.

So today’s dessert:

I hav leftover veggie stew to look forward to for dinner tonight. Maybe I will get a baguette at Pingo Doce before I return to the guesthouse tonight. What is missing?? 🤔. You got it. A nice glass of wine for those of you who drink. Have one for me please!

That’s it for today. Break time over. Maybe tomorrow or maybe not. We shall see.

Got up at 8am today. Showered, dressed, ate a good continental style breakfast with coffee and juice. Then took the metro to Aula Magna and registered for the retreat. Registration is for the facilitators to know you showed up.

Registration was quick and easy. Retreat starts this evening at 5pm. After registration I was free to do as I wish. And so I did. Laid out in the sun for a bit.

After soaking some rays, it was time to sight see Lisbon. I just wanted to walk Lisboa Touristic district just for fun. So off to Baixa Chiado I went. As luck would have it, I came across a free walking tour right after I exited the metro. It was about to begin so I went along with a gathered group. Our guide is Francisco Cruz. Very polished and did not miss a beat.

He gave us the history of Portugal and Lisbon. He gave some tips of where to eat and how much to pay too. While he was doing this, we were standing next to Bel Canto restaurant (Miki you know this one) and I asked how much a meal would cost there. Too much he says minimum 100 €. So I won’t have my meal there but I can take a picture of the outside. LOL.

He gave the story of Fernando Pessoa a famous writer who like Van Gogh the famous painter was a pauper when he was alive. Fernando was a drug user and heavy drinker. Wrote many unpublished materials and critiques them himself as he did not remember he wrote them. ‘Schizo’ perhaps. Some of his works were mystical as well. I must look him up to find out more later.

Rest of the tour was walking in the marvellous weather. I feel for you as I looked up how cold it is there today. -18 C.

Encountered problems loading rest of pics from tour. Will have to do it later, maybe on another post.

Whole day and half of travelling from Calgary to Portugal and I am quite tired. My room is nice. Looking forward to turning in early and getting up in time for breakfast then the retreat. Here are pictures of my room for the next seven nights. Comes with its OWN ground floor veranda sitting area and outdoor patio table and chairs. All of this to myself and later Karen as well. Weather is lovely! Good night Calgary!