“The beauty is in the walking — we are betrayed by destinations.” Gwyn Thomas 

Day 18

Of any day on our entire Camiño, this is the one I had been looking forward to. I had heard so many people say that it is the most beautiful day of the Portuguese Camino and possibly of all the Camino routes. While I know that opinion is subjective, even the name made my heart beat faster… Ruta da Pedra e da Agua (the Route of Stone and Water). I knew I would love it and I wasn’t disappointed. 

We walked through our little rural town of Armenteira…

… and very soon arrive at the turnoff. This picturesque trail follows the river for the entire day… and weaves through ancient abandoned water mills (muiños), cascading waterfalls and moss-covered rocks and fairytale woodlands, offering a sense of tranquility and communion with nature. Within minutes of entering the forest I was in tears, overcome with the beauty of creation. 

Over the next 5 kilometers along the Ruta da Pedra e da Auga we passed at least 20 muiños in many different stages of preservation…

… stairways that led us down by the river banks… canals that channel the water into the mills…

… several more cascading waterfalls…

… and still, freezing pools you just have to paddle in …

… moss-covered rock walls…

… and filtered sunlight on beautiful ferns giving lots of shades of the most intense greens you have ever seen.

Many will know that I am obsessed with moss… it makes everything feel so alive and there is a thick bright green layer of spongey moss blanketing the rocks and trees. 

This is a magical place that is a walk back in time! All day the soothing sound of gentle water accompanies us, birdsong surrounds us and butterflies flutter around us everywhere. 

“Nature lulls me in her enchanted woods; soul flowing through greens, and roots, and tangled loves.” – Angie Weiland-Crosby

Aaaand….. there was some kind of huge slug too 😂

We meet up with another family walking the Camino together who have stopped for a swim, where I decide to paddle. Jenny and Carson are travelling with their spirited eight year old, Caden and ten year old, Jane. What amazing parents to take their children adventuring like this and show them what a big wide wonderful world we live in… definitely my heroes of the day. 

Today we were slow… but mostly because we wanted to relax and breathe in its compelling beauty… lost in time and space… a feast for our senses. This peace will have to sustain me when we rejoin the hoardes on the road to Santiago. I feel I’m not made for the hustle culture. I was made to witness the blue sky… the sound of birdsong… to walk amongst ancient trees and listen to the babbling brooks and cascading waterfalls. I was made to fall in love with the peace of this world and all the astonishments it has to offer. It’s hard to carry this when everything returns to normal. 

This route is also slow because most of the way it is quite steep and rocky and full of jutting tree roots, just waiting to trip us up…

… but eventually it does widen and flatten out a bit as the small stream joins the Rio Umiathe.

We continue along the river even once we’ve left the forest… bordered on one side by the river and on the other by small villages, vineyards and fields of Padron peppers that are so popular here in every place we eat. 

We stay in a cheap hotel/hostel that we only booked last night when I realised the one we’d booked was too far off the trail. It feels like we are the only ones here. We walk to the end of the street and eat pizza for dinner and are glad to get back for an early night. It will be very hot tomorrow, as it will be each day now until the end… and we will not have the comfort of shaded woodlands as we did today. Actually not looking forward to the walk and Anne’s feet are still causing her grief. Please say a little prayer for us as we head into our last few days… 🙏🏼🤞🏼

Steps today- 17,808

Kilometres today- 12.93

Flights climbed- 9

Temperature- 33°