Day 8 on the Camino - have done approximately 170 km already. Another georgeous day weather wise. We started at the Pilgrim store (opens at 7 am for us early risers) for a coffee/tea and quick bite, then past the Tui Cathedral and on the road again. There certainly is a difference between Portugal and Spain - in the way that the buildings are constructed, narrower streets, no cobblestones and the NO TARTS! We entered the countryside, took detours to avoid travelling along busy roadways. The pathways wound alongside streams and rivers. It is very picturesque - archways of trees hanging over our pathways through the forest, it almost seemed like pictures in some fairytale book. The countryfolk are very friendly and cheerful as we pass by, even the goat herder allowed us to take his picture. We found an off-route cafe and as we were enjoying our meal, who should walk up but Robert and Rita from Holland. We seem to be destined to frequently bump into each other. There are certainly more pilgrims on our journey as we are getting closer to Santiago. Tonight, we are staying at Porrino - an industrial city. Many of the streets in the downtown core are blocked off for some kind of festival. We decided to check it out. It was amazing to see a stage transformed from a semi truck to a 4 story stage - it was like what you would do with a transformer! We watched the live band perform - they were so energetic, both the women and the men had some great moves! The singers were great and many people were dancing to their music. The streets were full of families, bright lights and vendors. It was cool to be part of this. Tomorrow promises to be a hotter day at 28 degrees, hopefully we can get most of our 22+ km in when it is cooler. It is worth mentioning that the bread in Portugal and Spain is delicious, all of us have eaten more bread in one week than we have in months at home. However, because this bread is more chewy than what we have back home, we are certain we are burning off more calories as we eat it.