I’ve been motivated to re blog this post by caminoforums member Lucimi. She made a lovely comment in response to the post, which in turn inspired me to seek out some bridge-related quotations. The most delightful aspect of this research was that I ended up on a Winney-the-Pooh website and spent an hour or so languishing in the charming words of A A Milne. I am a few quotes short and would welcome any suggestions in the comments section below.
The sun rising behind the Vasco de Gama bridge spanning the River Tagus in Lisbon. Completed in 1998 in time for the Expo 98 World Fair. Europe’s longest bridge at 17.2 km (day 2)
“Hi Magwood, great photos, especially the one of the Vasco da Gama bridge, what an impressive feat of engineering. I wonder what is it about bridges that makes them so fascinating. They join fields, forest paths, villages, cities, countries, even languages and cultures. We can bridge our differences, and when we’re finished we burn our bridges behind us.”
~ Lucymi, pilgrim
Raised timber walkway through wild riverside scrubland at Tagus Linear Park between Sacavem and Alverca do Ribatejo (day 2)
“With stones, you can build walls to separate people or build bridges to unite them! Do the second thing in the name of ethics and honour, for the glory of love and goodness!”
~ Mehmet Murat ildan
Quinta de Cardiga (day 7)
“Stop telling me not to burn bridges. Some bridges are meant to be burnt, some roads are never meant to be traveled again.”
~ Steve Maraboli
The bridge over the Rio Mondego at Coimbra (day 12)
“Politicians are the same the world over: they promise to build a bridge even when there is no river.”
~ Nikita Khrushchev
Ponte do Cabeço do Vouga – a Roman bridge, probably built in the second century, located in the village of Lamas do Vouga, in the municipality of Águeda (day 15)
“Happiness is……..looking over bridges”
~ Anon
collapsed bridge at Lamas do Vouga (day 15)
“The hardest thing in life is knowing which bridge to cross and which to burn.”
~ David Russell
Standing on the Dom Luis bridge looking towards the AutoEstrada-do-Norte bridge with the familiar Sandeman logo in the foreground (day 18)
“Faith is the pierless bridge supporting what we see unto the scene that we do not.”
~ Emily Dickinson
Ancient bridge between Vilarinho and Pedra Furada (day 20)
“We can’t jump off bridges anymore because our iPhones will get ruined. We can’t take skinny dips in the ocean, because there’s no service on the beach and adventures aren’t real unless they’re on Instagram. Technology has doomed the spontaneity of adventure and we’re helping destroy it every time we Google, check-in, and hashtag.”
~ Jeremy Glass
Medieval bridge between Pedra Furada and Lugo do Corgo (day 21)
“Sometimes you get the best light from a burning bridge.”
~ Don Henley
Ponte de Lima (day 22)
“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”
~ A A Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
looking back towards the town from the Ponte de Lima bridge (day 22)
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
~ A A Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
On Spanish soil! Looking back towards Valença having walked out of Portugal across the Rio Miño (day 23)
“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.”
~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Walking through the woods between Tui and Porriño (day 24)
“Pay attention to where you are going because without meaning to you might get nowhere.”
~ A.A. Milne
Bridge over the Rio de Vigo at the pretty town of Arcade (day 25)
The beautiful bridge crossing the Rio Lerez in Pontevedra (day 25)
Entering Padrón day 26)
Trepidatious traveller - camino blog 
Lovely pictures and some great quotes! Just what I needed on waking up with a cup of tea in my hand 🙂
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Very glad to oblige, I really enjoyed putting this post together.
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I have really enjoyed your blog – my daughter and her friend and I (all from Cape Town) walked a section of Camino Frances from Virgen del Camino to Santiago this May/June and she has just arrived back from further travels in the UK. This afternoon the 3 of us are getting together to share our photos and to reminisce and hopefully to decide which section to do next! Your photos and comments feel like you walked it with us!
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Thanks for such a lovely comment Karon. It is so nice to share – my daughter is not much into reminiscing, but it get my share of sharing via my blog and on the forums. I hope you will let me know which route you decide upon. I’m thinking of doing the Mozarabe from Málaga next year.
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Lovely pictures, I’m hoping to walk the Portugese route within the next few years.
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Thanks for the comment Donna. Are you planning to walk from Lisbon or Porto?
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Reblogged this on newfoundlandtraveller.
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I love the addition of the quotes. They feel more real because as you read you’re forced to look over their distance. Nice touch. ❤
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Thanks Tess, it was fun. 🙂
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~(~_*)~~
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These pictures and quotes are amazing! I especially love the Winnie-The-Pooh quotes. I am partial to the old stone bridges. Just think of all the travellers that crossed them over the centuries!
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Thanks Darlene, I really enjoyed making this post – I’m still waiting for someone to suggest some more quotes though – do you have any suggestions?
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I started reading your blog when you where walking out of Lisbon. I arrived inTui and walked to Santiago before you left Portugal.
Your early posts convinced me I could do my much shorter walk. Your daily updates kept me going.
Your posts on the Tui to Santiago section helped me remember some fantastic experiences.
I have exactly the same pictures of the bridges in Pontevedra and Arcade.
Thank you!
I am now a committed walker and am working out where to go next.
I love the bridge quotes.
Lucymi’s was especially beautiful.
I like this one ….
‘It is better to build bridges than walls’ (Swahili proverb).
Jenny
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Thanks for the comment Jenny, lovely to hear from you. I am very glad that my blog gave you some confidence to set off. I was desperate for information before I walked and wanted to provide as much useful information as feasible.
I often look at other pilgrims’ photos and recognise the exact angle. There is one shot on the camino Frances (the photo in the banner at the top of the page) that I see over and over again in different seasons. I think that walking over the rise of a hill and seeing the path winding through the fields just inspired everyone to get their camera out.
Do let me know when you decide where to walk next!
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Greetings, I spent two weeks on the Camino Francis last September. Loved every minute of it and am totally hooked on the whole backpacking/hostel thing. Loved the ‘equality’ of being a pilgrim. My question to you is this, do I go back and do more in Spain or do the Portuguese Camino? I loved all the ‘Buen Caminos’ and people watching. I have retired since then and have more time. Love your blogs and need advice, thank you, Pat
Sent from my iPad
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Hi Pat, many thanks for the comment. I was torn between the Frances and Portuguese route this year. Walking alone for the first time, the familiarity of the French route was appealing, but eventually the lure of the Portuguese worn out. If you want lots of company then the Portuguese route from Lisbon is not the one to take – there are very few pilgrims until you get to Porto. I had no regrets, absolutely loved it.
I have just put a video on youtube of the wild spring flowers along the route http://youtu.be/6UJE_8VLamQ
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