Old People Walking A Long Way

So we left Madeira on Wednesday. Flew to Lisbon and took a train to Porto. The train was little more exciting than it should have been, but such is the nature of travel. I had purchased the tickets online (a good thing because the ticket line at the station was long), and had the tickets on my phone - another advance in technical skills on my part. The problem arose because I do not read Portuguese, the language of the ticket. Had I been able to read Portuguese, I would have understood that our assigned seats were in Car 1. We entered at Car 4, stowed our 2 bags and 2 huge backpacks, and sat down. So the train starts moving and a very nice couple tell us we are in their seats. With their help we understand that we have seats 4 cars away. And then ensues the discussion about whether to take our baggage with us as we move to our distant seats. I assume Susan is being irrational because no one is going to steal our luggage on a train. Her (unexpressed at the moment) concern is that we will never be able to get our luggage and get off at our stop because these train stops for a nanosecond to stay on schedule.

Fish sausage at Akua - last dinner in Funchal. A great last supper.

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Last day at Formosa beach. Worth the 250 foot climb back up to our place.

Last sunset in Madeira. A good one!

As usual, we were both right (hah!). After some very public discussion a negotiated compromise was reached without the help of skilled diplomats or written agreements. We proceeded to Porto without further issue. Took a taxi to our Airbnb and then found Gazella - a restaurant whose claims to fame are wonderful hot dogs (actually tasty sausages) and that Anthony Bourdain had visited in 2018 while doing a show on food in Porto. After two beers, a pica pau (look it up!) and a hot dog, we were very happy. The train incident was forgotten.

Our Airbnb host had kindly left two Camino credentials in the room for us. Yesterday we visited the Se Cathedral and got our first stamps. It is like a passport where you get stamped along the way and by the time you have suffered the Camino long enough to complete the journey, this credential acquires some serious meaning. We also got our excess luggage to the transporter to bring to the end of the journey and we found a place selling good ponchos — rain is predicted for some of next week and walking wet and miserable just sounded wrong.

A Camino Credential book

And then on Wednesday night we met our dear friend Susan Hester and her walking companion, Jan, for dinner. We had discovered months ago that Susan was planning to walk the same route at almost the same time as we were. Such a pleasure to meet up and talk and laugh, anticipating some overlap of our walks where we could commiserate and compare stories. And w e all end up in Santiago de Compostella the same day and will stay together for a couple of days. It makes it all the better to have friends along the way.

Crystal Palace - downtown Porto

At the Porto Se Cathedral to get our first stamp on our Camino Credentials

With Susan Hester after a night of heavy drinking before our first day of walking.

FIRST CAMINO DAY: It was going to be a short day - 8 miles to our first stay in Matosinhos. What I did not realize is that the guest house was three miles north of downtown Matosinhos. So it was an 11.3 mile day. With heavier packs than anticipated. But it was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze to keep us cool. The route was mostly along the Douro River coming out of Porto and then along the coast. We were amazed at the long stretch of beaches running from Porto north —just gorgeous. And all in an area that is industrial and a port town. Interesting juxtaposition. Also, there ws this huge refinery that ran over a mile along the coast — perhaps 300 yards from the beaches in most places. We found out that the refinery has been shuttered, to be redeveloped into housing, recreation, a college campus, and an innovation center. Good plans. Plus, the waiter who told us all this was happy that the air was no longer getting polluted by the refinery.

Anyways, we took about 6 hours to get here. Then we walked across the street to the beach hoping to jump in the water. We got our feet in the freezing water and that was a far as we got. The feet and bodies are feeling remarkably fine after dinner and two beers. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Our first El Camino yellow arrow/signpost. We were not lost!

Walking out of Porto - Douro River view.

Part of the stretch of beaches that went for miles up the coast from Porto.

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