Camino: And We’re Off…

 Sightseeing in Porto was fun.  We did a bus tour where you can hop on and hop off at different spots as many times as you want during the day.  They had several different routes and we did two different ones throughout the day.  Porto is a very busy city and it was fun to see the different styles of houses and business.  Each area definitely had a different feel to it.  

On the Yellow Bus for touring.

The weather was a little overcast and we had some drizzles here and there but nothing a group from Oregon can’t handle.  

But my favorite part was the cathedral where we begin our Camino.  

The Porto Cathedral is amazing.  I’m sure that is true for most cathedrals in Europe.  But since this was the first one I’ve been to in Europe, I was impressed to say the least. 

The Porto Cathedral

We got to tour inside and there was amazing architecture, tile mosaics and arches.  We made our way up to one the of the towers and got to see amazing views of Porto. 

There were a few steps to get to the top.  

Okay, there was a LOT of steps to the top.

Best photo bomb EVER!  Lol

The only bummer of the day was that one of our peeps left their phone on the Yellow bus when we finished up the last tour.  Luckily bus was done for the day and we were able to get the phone back today when they opened.  

This caused a little bit of a delay for the start of the Camino walking.  But luckily we only had a seven mile day planned so we had plenty of time.  

Day 1 of Hiking - June 20, 2023

Left our Airbnb and wandered over to the other side of the river again.  We grabbed a breakfast at McDonalds and hung out while we waited for the yellow bus that had the cell phone on it.  We people watched, traffic watched (it’s fascinating they way they drive!), a couple of us read.  Basically we chilled.  By about 11:30 the phone was retrieved and we were heading out for our first day of officially hiking the Camino!

Backpack loaded up with Pilgrim shell, ready to go!

The shells and passports we got from the Porto Cathedral. (The shells are real!)

The first two stamps were from the Porto Cathedral to prove this is where we started. 

We had 7 miles scheduled for the day which is very doable for us.  This leg was just working our way out of Porto.  

Just across the street from the Airbnb.  Ready to GO!

We walked along the Douro River until we reached the Atlantic Ocean.  Then we turned and headed north along the coastline.  

The entire rest of the day was along the beach.  

About two miles into the day I had a lady walk by me and say “Buen Camino!”  This is what locals say to Pilgrims to wish them a good Camino.  It made me a little giddy.  Suddenly it was really real.  I was doing this.  I was an official Pilgrim with the shell on my backpack and a passport for getting stamps to show the places I walked to verify that I did the whole thing.  

Wow!

We saw a few other Pilgrims as we went along.  A few we chatted with, others were walking fast and just smiled and kept going.  It was awesome!

Me and Joe 💜

We got to the town of Matosinhos and got our official stamp from a Camino building.  The people were extremely nice and had some things to help us on our journey.  

Leaving the Airbnb and stopping at McDonalds. (Watch reset, dang it.)

After our official business was done we made our way to the hostel.  In Portugal a hostel is called an albergue.  Ours was interesting.  There were three sets of bunk beds in the small room.  Under the bunk beds were cabinets with locks.  Each of us was assigned a bed and a cabinet.  Since we are a group of five we only had one stranger in the room.  We met her later.  

We spent some time organizing our stuff and then taking turns getting showers.  It was so nice to be clean!

Everyone got some down time which was nice to just be alone and lazy for a bit.  It felt so good to stretch out on the bed.  

Then Joe, Robin and I headed out to find some dinner.  Josh and Wendie had gone a different direction to find their own dinner.  We ended up back at the beach at a cafe that was right on the sand.  So another opportunity for people watching.  (One of my favorite pastimes).  

The group decided that we should get an early start in the morning because we had a 13+ mile day ahead of us.  That was a good call.  

Sleeping was a bit problematic.  Being a past middle aged women in a special time of life, let’s just say that being overly hot at night is a regular occurrence.  So sleeping in a bunk bed that is fully enclosed because there is a privacy curtain on the side and plywood on either end was tough.  I didn’t sleep great, kept waking up because I was hot and a little claustrophobic.  I definitely missed sleeping by an open window like I do at home.  But some sleep is better than not sleep!

Day 2 - June 21, 2023

Today was a long hike.  It took about 1/2 a mile to get down to the beach to begin the official part.  You know you are on the “Way” when you see yellow arrows.  Sometimes the yellow arrows are accompanied by the shell symbol.  But other times they are just yellow spray painted arrows.  These can be on a wall, a light post, the ground.  Just about anywhere.  So when we got to points where we weren’t sure where to go we had to look around for an arrow.  Many eyes helped that process out a lot.  The first couple of miles were working our way out of the town of Matosinhos and getting back onto the beach.  

Most of the day was walking along a boardwalk that goes along most of this section of the coast.  It was pretty amazing to see how they maintain their beaches and beach areas. They have lifeguards most of the places that are popular.  They also have crews that clean up the beaches regularly.  We saw people raking twigs and other debris off the beaches.  What!?

We also got to pass a lot of historical sites which, of course, made this history teacher very happy.  My favorite was the Roman remains of pits where they would salt their fish catches.  Romans!  So cool.  

Roman Fishing pits.

We stopped about every two hours to rest, take off the backpacks to give our backs a rest and take of the shoes and socks to our feet could breathe and we could wiggle our toes.  That was lovely!

I was doing really great for most of the day.  Around mile 11 I was dragging a bit and by mile 12 I was really struggling.  My husband asked when was the last time I had eaten anything.  Dang it!  I had been doing really well all day making sure I snacked and drank water regularly so I wouldn’t bonk.  But I hadn’t for about an hour and here I was totally dragging.  

I ate a quick snack which took the edge off and then when we got to the next spot with businesses we sat on a bench and took another break.  I had some M&M’s for some quick sugar and then munched on an apple.  I felt much better!

But we still had a ways to go and I was starting to develop two little blisters on my heels.  Dang it!  That has been such a problem all year leading up to this. The new shoes definitely helped with my toes and foot pad but evidently not the complete problem solver for the heels.  

We had to go a ways into town to get to our hotel.  

Because we had been moving quickly to find the place I was pretty hot and tired.  When I get that way, when I stop moving I turn beet read and break out in sweat all over.  While we were checking in the sweet couple that owns the hotel was helping us.  The wife was putting the information into the computer and the husband was telling us about the Wi-Fi and things.  He looked at me and I’m pretty sure he thought I was having a stroke.  He told me our room was on the 3rd floor so he wanted to take my backpack up to the room for me.  I said that was sweet but I was okay.  Then he insisted.  

What do I do?  I start to cry.  

I was so tired.  And hot.  And just done.  

Such kindness was just overwhelming in the moment.  

I felt so stupid!  

But he rolled with it and took my bag to the room for me.  

After a cold shower and a little nap I felt so much better!

I saw him again downstairs when we were leaving for dinner and thanked him again.  I said I felt so much better now and he said he could tell.  Lol  I’m pretty sure I looked like a Mac truck had run me over earlier.  

We had a great Pilgrim meal with the group.  For 9 Euro I had a cup of soup, breaded fish, French fries, rice, and salad.  It was amazing!  I was so full!  

It was fun to talk and laugh around the table with such great people who I am lucky enough to call friends. 

Joe and I left to go find some things to doctor up my blisters.  Trying to keep them from getting bigger since we have even longer days ahead for the next few days.  

Today ended up being over 15.5 miles total.  That was with the extra leaving the hostel to get to the Camino and then arriving in Vila do Conde and then looking for the hotel.  

Hoping I handle tomorrow okay.  

At least I’m hoping I handle the end better than today.  😜