What a day! 16 miles of walking and on top of that a start with the train to Mealhada, then some walking to Anadia, followed by a taxi ride to Aguada de Cima that a lovely lady in Anadia arranged. She spent a half an hour with us to help us find a specific restaurant with a superb reputation for suckling pig (Cochinillo in Sp. or Laitao Assado in Portuguese). We left her at the highlight of the day. We thought the restaurant was in her village, but turned out to be some 20 km further on. She arranged a taxi ride there, but we found it closed. We "cried" but walked on to Agueda, our destination for the day.
Nearly at our accommodations, Recidencial Celeste, we spotted a mom and pop restaurant that advertised Cochinillo--they also spoke French there. It all looked rosy again. We agreed to come back later, and he even showed us the pig as he put it in the oven. It made your mouth water! We checked into our place, got settled, and came back only to find that what we got served was an old leftover portion--cold at that. Then came two guys that bought the whole pig that we thought was destined for our tummies!!!!! Unbelievable, but true. We complained. No use. We left nearly all except the bottle of sparkling red and chalked it off to a lesson learned.
Here are some pics of an up-and-down day (tiled Cochinillo going into oven; closed restaurant; our Anadia angel; before and after disappointment):
