Day 5 - Walking Through Barcelos to Tamel

After a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast (did I mention the scrambled eggs?) at the historic Top ‘Otel, we headed off across the Ponte de Barcelos, a medieval bridge dating from 1325 that crosses the Rio Cávado. High on a hill above the river is a huge stone edifice that we assumed was a fortress or perhaps a monastery or church. The Camino path headed in that direction and we soon discovered the enormous Gothic building was the ruins of O Paço dos Condes de Barcelos… The Palace of the Counts of Barcelos. Built in the 15th century, the building served as a residence until the 17th century. It fell into disrepair, was donated to the city, and is now an open-air archaeological museum known for its famous medieval stonework. Absolutely no one was around. Other pilgrims passed by without stopping. The site was open and we roamed freely, ducking through narrow, height-challenged doorways and admiring stonework, statuary and carvings, spellbound by the beauty and history of the…