Caminho do Norte: Day 12 – Ansião to Rio de Couras

Ansião was just as sleepy when we left town as when we’d wandered in yesterday. Once again we’re doing our own thing in terms of distance and destination. Not only is the next official stage of the Caminho do Norte extremely short at 13.5km, but it finishes at a hostel in the tiny hamlet of Bofinho. Experience has taught us that short days and blink-and-you’ll-miss them destinations are not a good combination. Thus, we’ll be forging ahead to Rio de Couros, which is equally sleepy, but more than twice the distance to walk, ensuring we’ll be exhausted by the time we arrive.

Harri thinks it’s unlikely we’ll see any pilgrims today. The Rota Carmelita, which follows the same route as the Caminho do Norte, diverges from the main Caminho Português de Santiago today. It’s unlikely the majority of pilgrims following the Lisbon to Santiago pilgrimage will opt for a detour tto Fátima and, even those who do can decide between two routes from Ansião. Of course, having expected to see nobody, we passed six pilgrims almost immediately.

We’ve mostly escaped blisters and feet problems on our long-distance hikes – I learnt what not to do on our very first backpacking trip in 2014 when an ill-conceived shoe-sock combination led to five very painful blisters on my feet. Nowadays, I choose trail running shoes for hiking. They are much kinder to the toes and I’ve rarely experienced any issues until this trip when I have managed to pack a black toenail, a patch of sore, chafed skin and a nasty bite onto one toe on my right foot. I’ve been wearing a plaster for days, but today it was time to summon up my courage and yank it off!

One of the reasons I love long-distance hiking is the incredible sense of achievement I get by putting one foot in front of the other. And so it was this morning, when I realised yesterday’s distinctive summits now looked a long, long way behind us.

Thankfully yesterday’s scenic walking wasn’t a blip and once again we found ourselves striding through a very pretty landscape, full of drystone walls covered with ivy and moss, olive trees and beautiful Iberian oaks. An interpretation board informed us that this area has the largest number of Iberian oaks in Portugal, which confused me a little until I learned that Iberian oak is not a single species but an umbrella term for several species: Holm oak, cork oak (so ubiquitous in the Algarve), Portuguese oak, Pyrenean oak and Downy oak. I couldn’t begin to tell these trees apart, but suffice to say the wooded paths were extremely pretty.

A Rota Carmelita waymark informed us that Fátima was just 58 kilometres away. It’s incredible to think we’ll have walked almost half the length of Portugal by the time our heads hit the pillow tomorrow.

We’ve coined a new phrase while we’ve been walking this caminho: ‘Pick up a pilgrim’. Obviously, it’s a play on the old ‘Pick-up-a-Penguin’ chocolate biscuit adverts and it arose when we saw a hairy pilgrim ahead and started to worry about catching him/her up. (It quickly transpired it was a man and he was actually walking towards us.) Please understand that we love stopping to talk to other pilgrims, but it can feel a little awkward to end up walking in the same direction and at the same speed as a stranger. Our observation got us wondering whether solo pilgrims frequently encounter the ‘pick-up-a-pilgrim’ problem – or perhaps they appreciate the company so it’s not an issue for them?

Talking of pilgrims, we’d spotted two more in the distance. We eventually caught up with them because they kept stopping to pore over their guidebook. This couple was clearly confused about their onward route, but rejected Harri’s offer of help (they were French and didn’t speak English). We bade them farewell and never saw them again. Harri wondered if they might have been confused because the route split into two, with the alternative heading to Alvaiázere. I’m lucky that I never have to worry about these things.

Seven kilometres into the day and I was really enjoying the landscape. It’s no secret that I love, love, love boulders and here there were some really interesting karst ones. What was fascinating was the evidence of past farming: locals had once linked larger boulders with short stretches of wall to create small fields. Isn’t that amazing? When I say I’d like a bigger garden, what I really mean is ‘I want some boulders of my own!’

The walking continued to be delightful as we followed a quiet, tarmac road across an open landscape with panoramic views – and when I say ‘quiet’ I mean that not a single vehicle passed us for ages. In fact, Ansião was already 11.5 kilometres behind us by the time the first vehicle of the day passed us. Why, oh why, couldn’t more of the caminho route north of Coimbra have been like this? Today’s temperature, too, was perfect for hiking … until we reached a killer of a vertical clay track and suddenly the sun ramped up its output.

We reached Bofina and were very relieved we’d decided against staying overnight in this one-horse place. Bofina is nothing more than a road junction with a hostel (in a former school building) and the obligatory church. With no bar in sight, we perched on a wall, sipped water and munched on some nibbles.

At O Olho do Tordo (The Thrush’s Eye), we searched for – and failed to find – the springwater which apparently gushes from a very deep well and only stops flowing during very dry summers. I guess it was only early October so maybe it hadn’t rained for some time in these parts. Still, who needs a gushing stream when you have boulders scattered all over the place? The landscape along the dry riverbed was incredibly pretty and provided brief respite from the sun. There was just one problem … and it was a problem we’d encountered earlier today when we were walking among the Iberian oaks: thousands of tiny, midge-like flies filled the air and swarmed around our faces. When the Iberian corks were gradually replaced by olive trees, they disappeared as if by magic.

The Rota Carmelita waymarks were extremely motivating. Despite a badly aching left foot – undoubtedly the result of last week’s endless cobbles and hard surfaces – I was constantly looking out for the next one, and the next. The 40km waymark confirmed Fátima was now within spitting distance.

At least we reached Freixianda and settled down outside a café situated in the sprawling car park which doubled as a village square. It was hot so we lingered longer than usual. In fact, it was three o’clock when we finally heaved our rucksacks onto our backs and got going again. We’d barely left town when we heard an unfamiliar sound: a flowing river.

After Freixianda, the afternoon saw us following a sandy track through what appeared to be a felled eucalyptus plantation where only saplings were now growing. There were other plants – vines, bamboo, yellow-flowered plants and tall, spindly pine trees – but overall the landscape felt surprisingly bare and open.

The last few kilometres of our journey was reminiscent of many of our hikes in Madeira, in that we seemed to get very close to our final destination before veering off in an altogether different direction. I wasn’t entirely convinced that we weren’t walking around in circles, although Harri insisted otherwise.

Summary

Another really enjoyable day of hiking, albeit one with very little shade. It’s ironic that, just as the Caminho do Norte changes from tedious and unappealing to interesting and scenic, the majority of our fellow pilgrims have disappeared.

Accommodation

We paid 57 euros for the one-bedroom Mustache Studio near Rio de Couros. The traditional cottage had been nicely modernised and located just 500 metres from the caminho. The accommodation provided everything we needed, including a decent kitchen. The only downside – and this would probably not even be an issue during the summer months – was that the property did feel quite cold and humid. None of our washing dried overnight and the strap on my camera actually felt damp when I put it over my head the next morning. In early October, we’d say we were on the cusp of the property being a pleasant place to stay.

Our route

Our penultimate day of hiking the Caminho do Norte was mapped at 30.2 km with 242 metres of ascent.

Harri made several amendments to our route before we set off today – and then made more tweaks to it when we were actually walking.

This is the route we actually walked – which Harri recorded as 29.8 km with 221 metres of climbing.