Two tired pilgrims, Porto Sept 8

Porto, on the Rio Duero is a very beautiful city.

We are two very tired pilgrims and have not started to walk yet. My inital notes were written at 11:35 pm last night, when we were finally on the correct, but delayed, bus to Porto. Yesterday afternoon was a leisurely wait after leaving the Prado, had a glass of wine in an outdoor cafe, then read for a while in the park. We had an early (by Spanish standards) dinner at 6 in a bar, very good tortilla bocadillos. Then we took the Metro to the bus station and waited for the 10 pm bus. Finally one got there going to Lisbon. We thought it was going to both Porto and Lisbon, but that was not the case. So we hurridely exited as it was leaving the station. Turns out the bus to Porto was very late, which we did not know, at the time. It is very difficult to get any decent information about the buses at the station. Asking at the ticket counter, the agent said there was a bus leaving for Porto from another bus staion at 11 pm. So we made a mad dash on the Metro to the other station and found that indeed there was supposed to be a bus to Porto at 11. We went to the platform and, lo and behold, there was the original bus to Lisbon, but nothing to Porto. At least this time we found there were some other people going on to Porto, so we were able to confirm they were waiting for the bus too. It showed up late at 11:30 and we were on our way. Marge and I both slept fitfully for the 6.5 hour ride. Then it was a two mile walk in the dark and drizzle to our pension. Luckily a local who was on the bus helped us find the way. We checked in to our reserved rooms at the pension at 7 am then retired to our separate rooms for much needed showers, naps, and clothes washing. Later on, we did a walking tour of the city and the waterfront of the Rio Duoro, Lots of other tourists. We visited the cathedral and got our pilgrim credentials stamped, so that we will be ready to start walking tomorrow morning. Believe me, we will get plenty of sleep tonight. We just finished a lunch of codfish with rice and guess what-- fresh pimentos de padron!