What a day of adventure and beauty!
From our first steps out the front door onto the Camino, through meeting a charming lady from Belgium named Agnes, to sightseeing at the archeological site at Monte de Santa Tegra, the day was fun, peaceful, and successful.
We got an early breakfast and purloined sandwich for lunch courtesy of the busy desk clerk/buffet manager/bakery truck unloader. (Angel #1).
We stepped out by 7:30 ish and almost immediately met Agnes, who was funny, kind, and multilingual, which came in handy later (Angel #2)
We knew that the ferry was not running today (Monday) and had a thorough detailed map of how to find an alternative way across the river. You will see how we could not go wrong with this level of information.
We were able to follow the directions with the help of two Portuguese workmen who did not speak English or French but happened to speak Flemish (how is THAT possible???) and could talk to Agnes because she is Belgian. You gotta love Europe. (Angels 3 and 4)
So we found the trailer where the sign below told us to call Jose or Mario, and Agnes talked to Mario and made arrangements to have Jose take us across the river in his fishing boat. You will see that the price is €7.50 for most passengers, but only €5 for pilgrims. Angels 5 and 6.
We boarded the boat, had a lovely passage across, and were let out on the rocks where Jose anchored up not far from the sandy beach.
We walked another 4 kilometers, found our hotel in A Guarda, and checked into our hotel. We wanted to go sightsee at Mt Tegra, so I went back to the kitchen area to ask about a taxi. The proprietor jumped up from his dinner, told us the taxi was closed for dinner, but offered to drive us himself. I tried to decline, to pay him, but he insisted on taking us. We ended up in the most beautiful spot in the world.
We could see the entire trip we had walked that day, plus a Celtic village. Amazing!