Camino Primitivo VI, Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal

Patsy and I were both very sick with a bronchial infection the previous two weeks. We went to a hospitals in Portugal, Hospital António Lopes. Aside from the bronchitis, we were both suffering from conjunctivitis.

I reserved a house, “Casinhas de Levada”, in a tiny village called Sobredo at the edge of Peneda-Gerês National Park through Booking for two nights but we subsequently extended this another five nights. Sergio, the owner, gave us the grand tour, together with hiking and sightseeing suggestions, a bottle of wine, and a plate of pastries his wife had made. He only charged us €85 per additional night. This was the nicest place we stayed at in Spain and Portugal.

It was wonderfully quiet at Casinhas da Levada, which was good because Patsy and I had almost no energy. Poor Ken was chomping at the bit.

After a two-week hiatus from hiking we finally figured we might be able to complete a short hike. I’d earmarked PR6 (Park Route #6), a loop not far from Sobredo, that was bisected by a road. So off we went. We started up the hill and Patsy, as one might expect, was going slowly. I was struggling too and was waiting for Patsy so, for once, Ken was in the lead but he had to stop at every junction because he had no clue what the route was.

It was actually a very pleasant walk, albeit a bit too hot. I had agitated for an earlier start, but whatever. It was a fairly short loop, only 7 km. A group of half a dozen Portuguese people coming from the opposite direction passed us. They were the only other people that we saw.
We intersected the GR 50, the 190 km Grande Rota Peneda-Gerês. It doesn't seem as though finding, and probably camping near, water sources would be a problem on this route as we passed a lot of streams.

Patsy was struggling so she suggested I go on ahead with Ken, pick up the car and drive it back to the tiny village of Germil where she'd wait at the church. The return route didn’t follow the road but it was uncomfortably hot (I'd guess high 80's) so Ken and I high-tailed it back to the car by following the road. There was no traffic except for three motorcyclists.

The following day Ken wanted to go for a walk but Patsy and I couldn’t yet handle the thought of another walk. "I tell you what. Patsy and I will drop you off in Ponte de Barca. You can walk to Arcos de Valdevez on the path next to the Rio Vez, which is about 3 miles. We'll go to Pingo Doce and the pharmacy and meet you in Arcos. Then we can have coffees together.”

We beat Ken to the arranged meeting place by about 5 minutes. Then we went to a cafe/bar with outdoor seating and sat down to enjoy cafés and the scene. It was really pretty, just above the Rio Vez.

I figured we'd better return to the casinha. Patsy and I were coughing quite a bit. On the drive back both my eyes were really stinging. I kept momentarily screwing them shut. As soon as we got back I washed the gunky outsides of my eyes then Patsy put more drops in for me.

The cough suppressant didn't seem to do anything but the nebulizer gave me almost instant relief from my stuffy nose. It's not recommended to use this for more than 3 days lest you suffer rebound and become addicted to its use. It sure was nice to be able breathe unlaboured.

I followed toll roads to Póvoa de Varzim and drove straight to the hospital, Hospital Trofa Saúde. The receptionist checking us in kept saying this was a private hospital. "So how much does it cost for an evaluation in this private hospital?". "Eighteen euros." "Wow, that's really cheap. In the USA it would cost hundreds."

We were sent first to a nurse and then to a cute, young doctor, Joana. I described all my medical problems and then she checked my lungs. "Your lungs are clear", she said. I told her I was concerned about our flight on Wednesday but she told me of course I can fly. She prescribed me several medications, including gentamycin ointment for my eyes. Then she said she had to check out Patsy because the sound of her cough was concerning. "There's no problem with your lungs either so you can both fly". She prescribed Patsy an even stronger expectorant. "You should take this too", she told me.

At reception, when I paid, the cost was €160. Oh! The receptionist had confused 80 with 18. Or maybe it was my ears.

After filling the prescriptions we drove to Pé No Mer, the apartment we'd stayed at on our first night out of Porto on the Camino Portuguese.

We decided to return to the Pingo Doce supermarket one last time. Upon leaving, I drove around the parking lot, spotted what I thought was the exit, and started driving around it. Suddenly there was a loud noise at the same time the front of the car dropped several inches.

Ken got out to look. I had started driving down a flight of steps! Fortunately, the steps didn't have a very large rise and I was able to descend the steps without hitting the underside of the car against the edges. I was ever so glad when I returned this car to the rental agency.