Barcelos to Balugães

This stage splits in two the classic day between Barcelos and Ponte de Lima, one of the longest of the Central Portuguese Way, allowing first-time pilgrims, families or walkers preferring a slower pace to tackle it calmly. The departure from Barcelos is via the medieval bridge over the river Cávado, one of the most photographed corners of the Minho, and soon connects with rural paths that leave the last urban outskirts behind. The first section runs along tree-lined secondary roads and crosses villages such as Vila Boa, where pilgrims often stop at a fountain to fill their canteens. The route continues over gently rolling terrain, without relevant gradients, alternating little-trafficked asphalt with compacted dirt sections. The yellow arrows, omnipresent on the Central Portuguese Way, guide without difficulty. Past Lijó, the journey enters the parish of Tamel São Pedro Fins and then Tamel Santa Leocádia, two typical rural villages of the inner Minho, with granite houses, traditional granaries and small chapels. The landscape is essentially agricultural: cornfields, family gardens and "vinho verde" vineyards cultivated on raised "latadas". The arrival in Balugães, a parish of the municipality of Barcelos, is via quiet country roads. Pilgrims find here rural houses and restored estates accustomed to receiving walkers, as well as the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Aparecida as a nearby devotional landmark.