Unlike yesterday when it basically rained all day, today there were heavy showers interspersed with periods of sunshine .

Good bye to the albergue.

Today, 1st May, was a holiday and the little bar next to the albergue was closed, so I headed off looking for an open bar.

The Monastery of Grijó has a large property surrounded by a high stone wall. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see inside .

I found my breakfast just a few kilometres down the road and I satisfied a craving for chocolate.

Blue skies make a brief appearance.

Once again today I was following the route of a Roman road heading north to Porto, or Portus Cale as it was called by the Romans.

The cobblestone road eventually reverted to the original Roman surface on an abandoned stretch .

It was very quiet and enjoyable walking along this road for a few kilometres.

A chain of ponds.

I’d planned today as a short 15km walk to give myself an afternoon off, and mid morning the outer suburbs of Porto came into sight.

Before long I was into the suburbs.

An abandoned house amongst the high rise apartment buildings.
Pilgrims heading south to Fatima

One of the things I’ve been looking forward to on this camino has been walking across the top level of the  Dom Luís I Bridge. This double level bridge was designed in 1881 by Théophile Seyrig, an associate of Gustave Eiffel, who earlier designed a nearby railway bridge.

The view from the bridge of a remaining section of the city walls, and the funicular railway connecting the upper and lower parts of the city.

My first destination was the Sé Cathedral where I needed to get a stamp for my credencial. This is the pilgrim’s ‘passport’ which allows you to stay in pilgrim only hostels and get a certificate or ‘Compostela’ on arrival at Santiago.

The queue to get into the cathedral was daunting but I discovered you can jump the queue if you’re only after a stamp.

My credencial is staring to look a bit more impressive.

Then I made my way down to the riverside area where I’m staying. The area is jammed with tourists.

My cosy little room .
Sardines with rice and beans for lunch then a nap. Prices are at least double those in the countryside.

I’ve visited Porto before as a tourist and there’s so much to see, such as the Livravia Vello bookshop. The photos are from my previous visit.

My Relive video from today …

https://www.relive.com/view/v8qV3491y3v