Stage 8: October 1, 2017 - Aldea del Obispo to Almeida (13km)

The walled city of Almeida
We left the albergue shortly after eight and had to deal with a long climb at the start. Within 30 minutes we had crossed into Portugal. Halfway along the route we could see Almeida and it did not look to be a further 6.5km away but it was every centimetre of it, and walked with the temperature in the mid-20s.

Throughout its history Almeida has been the scene of many battles and it is surrounded by what looks like impregnable walls and moats. Nevertheless, during the Peninsular War it was taken by the French and retaken by the Allied forces.

We had booked a room in Casa Morgado and checked in shortly after noon local time, Portugal and Ireland, are in the same timezone. I'm not sure you could call Casa Morgado a hotel but it had all we needed and the price was right - €35, breakfast included.

We spent the afternoon sightseeing, on and inside the walls - Almeida is well worth a visit. In the evening we had dinner in a restaurant across the road from where we are staying. It was just a little more expensive than we had become used to, but the food was very good.

 More images on the road to and in Almeida
Location: N332, 6350 Almeida, Portugal

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