Camino Portugues, Day 6, Ansaio to Rabacel

Day 6, Friday, 4/14/17  Ansaio to Rabacel (18 km)

It was so relaxing to stay in for the evening at the Residential Adega Tipica.  Since we didn't go to the restaurant downstairs for dinner, we never met the owner brother, Carlos, who spoke English.  His brother in the restaurant, Joao, didn't collect the payment or ask for our passports as most places did.  We expected to meet Carlos in the morning and pay before we left, but no one was at the front desk.  Rang the bell...nothing.  Finally we put the 30 euros and the room key under the computer keyboard and left.   

We are really sorry that we don't have any photos to help us remember Residential Adega Tipica or of the town of Ansaio, other than of the little bridge we crossed to leave.  Only good memories of the place...

Leaving Ansaio via this little red bridge

 We had morning tea in our room and breakfast of cheese, bread and fruit, but no coffee until we finally came to a gas station snack bar a couple of hours later.  Not finding any places open was getting to be usual and we were getting more used to it.  How thankful we were that we decided to bring our tea supplies with us.  That was the one luxury item we were willing to carry in our backpack that we did not eliminate.  What a gift it was to have that cup of tea every morning in our room before we left.  Our tea supplies consisted of 2 extra-light weight titanium mugs, one heating coil, one spoon, and a ziplock bag of cream powder we found in Lisbon.  When we were low on tea, we would buy a small packet at a market.  
 
Today's walk was from Ansaio to Rabacel.  At some point, we stopped and sat at an old water wheel and had a snack of apples and protein bars.  

Pausing at an old water wheel

On the route from Ansaio to Rabacel

One of the shrines on today's route

After nearly 10 km we came to the pilgrim-friendly town of Alvorge.  We were hungry and stopped at a cafe hoping to find something to eat.  Everything had meat in it, but Vitor, who waited on us, made us 2 salads with local cheese on it and with a side of bread.  Chantelle, our pilgrim friend from Montreal, soon arrived, but she had just eaten on her own.  Vitor had us sign in a big book he had, with signatures and notes from pilgrims from all over the world.  He also tried to explain to us about what we would find in Rabacel, our destination.  He said that the restaurant and albergue in our guidebook were closed but there was another albergue, Cafe Bonita, that was open. 

Leaving Alvorge we met and briefly spoke to Lorenz, a young man from Barcelona who was living in Coimbra.  There were no other facilities or places open until we got to Rabacel and the only thing open in Rabacel was Cafe Bonita with its albergue.  At the restaurant counter downstairs, we paid 10 euros each for a bed in the albergue.  A young lady led us to the entrance and showed us 2 rooms so we could pick our bed.  One small room had 4 beds (2 bunks) and Lorenz had already chosen one bed there.  The second room had 10 beds (5 bunks) and seemed a little more spacious, so we chose lower bunks closest to the door and close to a wall plug in the big room.  One quiet man was laying on the far bed reading his cell phone.  I tried to talk to him and found that he was from Hungary and only spoke Hungarian and German.  He kept to himself much of the time, but mostly because he couldn't communicate well.  The shared bathrooms and showers were clean and nice.  There was a kitchen equipped with dishes, etc. and anything you would need if you wanted to cook.  It was very convenient for making our morning cup of tea.  Outside there were clothes lines and a huge laundry sink with soap. 

Casa Bonita, albergue, restaurant, grocery store in Rabacel

Entrance to Albergue Casa Bonita

 First things first at the albergue...showers and laundry...then we had some time to walk around and get familiar with the town.  That didn't take long.  The entire town of Rabacel was only a couple blocks long and everything was closed.  No signs of people anywhere.  There was a larger albergue down the street, but it was closed, although the door was unlocked.  We just peeked in for a moment.  There was also a place inviting tourists to visit some Roman ruins there, but it was locked.  The church was also closed.  It was Good Friday but there was no sign of any church services happening.

The town of Rabacel

 The only sign of life was at Casa Bonita.  The restaurant had a large outside area with tables and the day was so pleasant.  A number of locals were sitting at some of the tables.  Chantelle, Lorenz, and Jean-hugues from Brittany were already seated there, as well.  Lorenz had paid an extra 10 euros to get his meals included, so he was eating a sandwich.  Later we all ate dinner together and were joined by a biker couple from Barcelona who had arrived later in the day.  It was so nice...seemed like we all cliqued together so quickly.  A great first real albergue experience!  We didn't know if this could happen again once we said good-by in Coimbra, for we knew our plan was to stay an extra day there.  Each time we stay an extra day we will have to say goodby to our Camino companions and meet new friends the next day.

That night was our first true albergue experience.  We would be sharing our 10-bunk bed room with 8 other pilgrims and we would be using our sleeping bags for the first time.  Krishna was prepared with his earplugs.  Soon after we settled in our sleeping bags and starting to sleep, Krishna woke up and realized that he was hearing his own heartbeat.  He decided to remove the earplugs.  Only then did he begin to hear the snoring coming from the bunk beds where the husband and wife bikers were sleeping.  He quickly decided to put the earplugs back in his ears.  Better to hear his heartbeat!