Salud! Thirsty pilgrims

I am going down the memory line today. A few years ago, Robert and I did the Camino de Santiago, the Portuguese route, walking from Porto (Portugal) to Santiago de Compostela (Spain), about 300 km. It was one of our best experiences ever. I could probably write a book about it, but here I will only focus on one aspect of the journey: beverages along the way. Since we were not on the French route, we did not try the free wine fountain. But we certainly did consume lots of local wines. Don’t get me wrong; there was no excessive drinking. After a day of walking 30 km with a heavy backpack, in high heat, you do not take chances. But I have to say that we have tasted magnificent beverages in all the places we visited. Here are some of the highlights:

In Porto, it is essential to try their port. We did, at a little market. I did not know that there was a white variety as well. We normally don’t drink port; it gives us a headache. However, when consumed in its birthplace, port did not give us any trouble. I prefer the white one, by the way.

Also in Porto, when we were exploring authentic food places, we ended up at a local small restaurant, with just locals, no tourists, and we tasted the homemade agua ardiente (a distilled liquor resembling brandy). Fantastic. Smooth, balanced, and absolutely delicious. 

When we entered Spain, we had local wine every day. Our most favourite was albariño, but truly they were all wonderful. Crisp, fresh, no preservatives, no headache. In one of the little villages where we spent a night, wine was served in ceramic bowls! It was quite unique, and I think this way of drinking did affect the flavour. Or maybe it was the laughter and the company. Either way, the wine was excellent. 

We thought that the agua ardiente in Porto was the best one ever, until we got to La Coruña in Northern Spain. Their agua ardiente was out of this world! Original, herbal, honey, and many other varieties we tasted made us add significant weight to our already heavy backpacks, as we were adamant about bringing a couple of bottles home.

Oh yes, and coffee was excellent too! Especially in tiny cafés in small villages. Pure strong coffee. No decaf, no hazelnut flavours, just plain goodness.

Salud! Cheers to good memories!