Leaving A Guarda Sept 18/19

Today was a shorter hike/walk.....only 14km to the next town.  There is an interesting site one can visit ......problem is, it’s up a mountain and not on our route. We decided to hire a taxi to take us there, it was a harrowing ride. The road curled around and around until we were above the clouds. The roads here are not known for safety rails! It was quite an experience to be above the mist of the town and then above the clouds in blue sky. You could see Portugal in the distance.
The site is a Celtic hut settlement dated 500BC, it was in remarkable condition and there were dozens of individual huts, all circular and built close together. There were many stairs leading to other structures, churches and such.  We took photos while our taxi driver waited to tak3 us back to tow to begin our walk.
We again chose the coastal route and had it for about half our journey, this is the day that the coastal and inland meet up, so we were at times on hard pavement 😡. We came across a roadside hut that was run by a single young man, who was very busy making drinks for about 10 pilgrims that had arrived before us. We all agreed the cappuccinos were the best yet! It is always fun to chat with other pilgrims, where are you from? Where are you going? Have you hiked here before? Is this your first Camino? Many are not on their first......just like us.
Back on the sea route it is quite cool as the mist was with us all day, it never lifted. The “way” is peaceful. Towards the end of the day we came across a little church that was open for pilgrims. Inside there was a simple alter and two rows of wooden chairs. A little basket contained strips of paper with prayers written on them. The idea is you chose a bit of paper and say a prayer as indicated.....problem was the writing was in Spanish.  We all had a little quiet time, I was being grateful for my life, family, and for the ability to be “here”.  The church had a bell over the entrance and we were able to make it ding dong.  Leaving the church about 100 yds down the road there was a fountain, someone had placed a leaf in the spout to create a good flow to fill your camelback.
We were coming into the town of Oia, our hotel is the Casa Puerta Oia, pretty much in the town center. As we like to have grande beer when the day is done we went up a flight of steps to a rooftop terrace where lots of people, locals and pilgrims were kicking back enjoying the area and the view out to sea. Oia is a port town built around a piece of the Atlantic Ocean. It was only 2:30 in the afternoon. 14 Km was the distance town to town but we had a lot of side tracking so actually had clocked more.
A rest, shower and a little laundry in our rooms and back out for dinner at 8 pm. Dinner was hake, with potatoes and a fresh green salad. Desert was called “grandmas cake” . There were just a few in the restaurant.....all pilgrims, a couple from New Zealand, couple from Germany, couple fromPerth Aus, and guy from Paris.  After dinner we went to a small lounge in our hotel and the four of us played a card game called golf, that has nothing to do with golf!
I will mention here.....a couple of days ago I wrote about  a long very high bridge we crossed, it was call the Eiffel as it was designed by Gustav Eiffel of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The bridge is 580 meters in length.  .