thelongcamino

The Hot Day

After a wonderful sleep at On the Way Mindelo Beach House, Ana and Antonio, our hosts, greeted us with a delicious breakfast. We had homemade raspberry jam on toast, fresh fruit, yoghurt and muesli followed up with a pastile de nata fresh from Porto where Ana & Antonio live.

The boardwalk from Mindelo is under reconstruction and we thought we may have to head inland. Ana told us the tide was out and walking on the beach was the best option.

The view from above Mindelo looking north

Ana was right. It was a glorious morning and the walking was easy.

Claire and Maureen had sent their packs ahead and were striding out without the weight.

We soon reached Vila do Conde and headed inland to cross the Rio Ave.

We were making good time, though yesterday’s onshore cooling breeze had disappeared and it was getting hot walking under the sun next to the beach.

It was quite the slog as we chased whatever shade we could find.

Eventually we reached Povoa de Varzim where we stopped at Igreja da Lapa for a sello.

Close to the church was the local casino, a bizarre juxtaposition of uses.

We called into the local tourist office where we not only got a stamp and a great lunch recommendation, but learned of the strange symbols that we saw only in this town.

It turns out each family had its own symbol, a simplified coat of arms if you like.

The lady on the left looks super happy that the bloke with the guitar has turned up to the picnic

The restaurant recommended for lunch was full of locals. We’ve termed the phrase – hashtag, eat where the locals eat – for all the good restaurants. We weren’t disappointed as our chilled beers and plates of fresh local fish arrived.

Okay, a few chilled beers, did I mention it was hot?

My sea bass was delicious.

After lunch, we trudged on in the heat with no wind for a few hours.

As we turned the last headland, we were met with a cooling wind from the north-west. What a relief!

We were sweaty, stinky and our feet were so hot, blisters weren’t far off.

We met our lovely host at Pe Na Areia who offered to wash our clothes. What a champion!

We washed and while Claire headed to the beach, Maureen, Steve and I visited the supermarket for supplies.

Claire took a dip in the icy waters, then retreated to the beach bar for a beer.

After a lazy afternoon where we stretched and rolled on my cork ball and drank chilled beers, we headed out for dinner. Only thing, it’s Monday evening and a lot of places are closed.

We decide to do our own dinner and grab some supplies from the supermarket.

After a hot day, we’re happy for the cool night breeze.

Tomorrow we have another long day, over 25km. But that’s tomorrow, no need to worry about that now. I just hope we have a cooler day.

Camino Portuguese Day 1 – The Long Day

To paraphrase Bill Bryson in A Walk in the Woods, plans hastily mapped out at home while drinking wine and looking at a map, come into stark reality when you actually arrive and have to walk.

We’d given ourselves a challenge on day 1, 29km. Seemed easy. Seemed flat. Seemed like an easy start to our Portuguese Camino.

In reality it was a long day.

It started well, up early to have breakfast and walk to the Cathedral to start.

Then a short descent to the Douro River and follow it to the sea. From there turn north and enjoy the view.

The walk along the river was fantastic. There was a great path with quite a few pilgrims. To our right, the road was set up for the Porto marathon.

After turning north, we stopped at a beach cafe for pastile de nata & coffee. 45 minutes later, we were walking again and making our way toward Matosinhos.

A giant fishing net in honour of the local fisherpeople

Matosinhos is known for the best fish in the world. After getting our credencial stamped at the information centre, we had to try some of the local produce.

The sardines are legendary and were delicious as was the pulpo (octopus) and squid, all cooked on a charcoal BBQ, Uncle Pete would be happy.

After lunch we had a long walk along the coast.

The hours passed as we wracked up kilometres. It was easy walking with a cool sea breeze which we were thankful for.

By mid afternoon, we had done over 25km and we’re getting tired.

We finally made it to Mindelo and our lovely accommodation at On the Way around 5:00pm.

After a shower, we headed back out for a sunset dinner by the beach.

What a first day on the Camino Portuguese.

Yes, it was a long day, but everyone is content with what we achieved. Buen Camino!

A “Rest Day” in Porto

After a late dinner at DiverXO in Madrid, we had 4 hours of sleep before we rose to catch our flight to Porto.

DiverXO was quite the experience. The food was amazing and the matched drinks were divine. After 4 hours, and knowing we had an early start, we headed back to our hotel. An evening well spent and one we’ll never forget.

Madrid airport was buzzing at 5:00am with people getting Iberian Airlines flights to all over Europe.

It was a quick 1:15 flight to Porto where we arrived just after sunrise.

Porto is an hour behind Madrid so we arrived shortly after we left. The streets of Porto were quiet as our taxi made its way into the old town and our hotel Moon & Sun.

It was time to get eating pastille de nata (Portuguese custard tarts, mum would’ve loved it here) and het walking. I’ll let the photos tell the story.

Lunch – port and a cod & cheese croquettes

Scenes from Harry Potter were filmed here

We had a delicious dinner at a small restaurant near our hotel then retired to the rooftop for a complimentary drink. What else but port. Tomorrow our Camino begins.