Day 6 - Tamel to Vitorino dos Piães

The route has taken us beyond the cities and towns and into the country now. We’re walking through small villages, past farms and vineyards on country roads. We left the lovely Leonchic mid-morning on yet another sunny day. We were on the Camino as soon as we stepped out of the door, half way up a cobblestone hill. We continued on up, heading towards Vitorino dos Piães, our destination for the day.After a mile or so, we came across the Portela of Tamel, a landmark for pilgrims with a church and an 18th century stone cross in the churchyard. The cross features all the identifying symbols of a pilgrim: the shell, the staff and the gourd. We’ve seen so many stone crosses along the way and learned that they were erected as a way of ‘sanctifying’ the path for pilgrims, protecting them against disease, war, and evil. Portela de Tamel Pilgrim symbols on the stone cross: The shell, the gourd, the staff Wildflowers again caught my attention in a kaleidoscope of colors… blues, yellows, whites,…