Day 22

Since we deviated from the typical route to find lodging for last night, today was a strange day. We saw very few people, and there were no services available for a lot of the way. We walked about 2.5 miles through fog along a stream. It was quaint and probably beautiful if there had been enough light to capture it. We tried, but it doesn’t capture the true view well. We could see the mist particles floating in the air in front of our lights. 

After the time by the steam we soon entered a quarry  area. Seemed mostly abandoned, but some large blocks of granite remained. Saw a huge stone formation with a cross on top, and something that looked like an inscription on the stone. 

After the quarry, we walked through pasture lands, then just walked on for a long time After about 15 miles, our path crossed one of the normal routes and we saw people, and found a place to have a Coke and a smile, and a bit of food. Then we went back to our unorthodox path, and we were alone until we reached our hotel.

Our hotel was really nice. The building was a 1900 era structure, and totally renovated into nice modern rooms. The dinner option provided was freshly done local style food and delicious! The host was generous and friendly.

Lisa-Walking in fog and mist

After climbing up out of the foggy valley.

Lisa-Huge rock with cross on top. We tried to find out about it, but don’t know. It was cool anyway. There appears to be a sign or plaque attached, but we could not read it.

Lisa- We saw this shrubby tree for the first time today. It is a Scotch broom. It’s a deciduous, leguminous shrub native to this part of Europe. It’s flowers and pods are used for medicinal purposes, but come with strong warnings from medical professionals. We probably won’t be trying any soon. 

Lisa- We walked along a ridge lined with wind turbines. We sat on the steps of one for a fruit and nut break. 

 

Lisa-This is from the quarry area we walked through. 

Lisa-Pasture land

Lisa-This green bug was huge and different from what we’ve seen. 

We see a lot of logging activity, seems to be eucalyptus and evergreen trees. One day recently we saw a truck, and in the passenger seat was a large teddy bear. Lisa expects that the driver talks to the bear while driving.

Dinner tonight was really nice. Provided at the hotel we stayed in. The cook is a local lady, and brought the lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers from her own garden. They were fresh and delicious! 

The meat on this dish is pork loin. The pigs  are fed chestnuts, so this is an upgraded version of pork loin. It was great!

Dessert was cheese and quince, sorry no photo!