So we started walking El Camino on Friday. Saturday was another trek mostly along the coast with beautiful weather and incredible views. The photo below is the view from a Pizza Hut (!) where we had lunch. So we walked a very doable 9 miles to Vila do Conde where we stayed at at Casa Sonia, a beautifully renovated Airbnb with about 15 rooms. Our legs were tired but we were feeling reasonably proud of our preparations both in terms of being strong enough to do this and the gear — packs, toed socks, hats, ponchos, etc.
Then came the 3rd day of walking. A big one- 15 miles. Turned into 17 miles because our hotel was two miles north of the town of Esposende. The route was mostly boardwalk —incredible system along the coast. So we slogged along, starting at 8:30 a.m. We stopped for lunch for over an hour at a little before noon. The restaurant was again on the water and we blissfully watched the waves.
Then the boardwalk left the coast and started to take us inland. It got hotter, the terrain got boring — lots of agriculture, a golf course, more boardwalk. Then the rain started and we got our ponchos on. Only lasted about 20 minute.
I would say about mile 10 it started getting really hard. My feet were feeling the pressure of the miles and my 25-pound pack. And I noticed that my small toe on the right foot starting to tingle a bit…blister? About mile 13 we crossed a road and completely lost the El Camino yellow arrows. We were tired, feeling foot pain, and not sure where we were going. Not good.
View from Casa Sonia rooftop deck
Susan‘s had downloaded the Google maps version of this route and that is what we followed, with some “where the hell are we’s” thrown into the discourse. Dirt roads, small dusty town, lots of abandoned buildings.
We had no choIce but to put one painful foot in front of the other. At mile 15 Google said we still had 2 miles to go — the hotel was 2 miles north of the town of Esposende. Who knew? At least we finally knew we were headed in the right direction.
We got to the hotel at just before 6:00 p.m.
Everything hurt. I soaked in the pool for about 20 minutes while Susan soaked her feet in the baby pool. On the very short walk (150 feet) to the restaurant overlooking the ocean we saw the most beautiful sunset.
Somehow this raised both our spirits. Dinner turned out to be a wonderful picanha, fabulous black beans and rice, and we tiramisu dessert. Screw the calories today. Slept pretty well that night.
The only trouble was that the next day was planned by some idiot to be another 15 mile day headed into a rest day at Viana de Castelo. Plan B!! We slept late And took advantage of a noon checkout time. And then we took a cab halfway to a gorgeous church, got our stamps on then crushed the next 9 miles. Susan was like a (slow) rocket, I had to keep up.
We did this stretch in just over 4 hours. Checked into a truly sweet Airbnb, Dona Emilia’s Guesthouse where we are starting to feel rested and the blisters are healing. Another amazing dinner last night of hake (local specialty) and a good bottle of wine.
Dessert again! Susan had the local variation on French toast…so good. And the translation of my dessert: Camel Drool. Hard to eat with that in mind but the caramel pudding was just too damn good.
Ceiling of our room at Dona Emilia’s
So we have learned our limits. The Camino has its pleasures and lessons. We hope we are a little wiser in its ways at this point but know that there is a lot more to come. Overall, the satisfactions outweigh even that grueling 17 mile day.
Now to go out and explore Viana do Castelo which appears to be a truly wonderful town. We are right on a large square where a busker is singing and playing guitar. Sounds so good at 11:00 in the morning.
We do miss you all and know how lucky we are to have a community of friends to return to when this journey ends. We wish you all well.
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