Day 5 - June 24, 2023
My leg was much better but not good enough for the longest hike of the trip with significant elevation. So even though it was very hard I made the decision to not join the rest of the group on the hike. I would stay in the room and rest longer and then I had a few ideas for some adventures of my own. The plan was to eventually make my way to Caminha to meet up with everyone at the hostel.
It was hard to see them leave without me. We went outside and I got a group shot and said one last goodbye before they took off for the day.
 |
| Heading out for the longest hike of the trip. |
But it was easier watching them walk away while I was in a good place with a plan than it had been leaving them the day before in tears after trying unsuccessfully to make it work.
The owners of the room we stayed were fine with me staying later than I had originally planned on. I spent a few hours just resting and reading. Then I started working on getting my stuff organized and packed away in the backpack. Why is it that when I only have 20 pounds of stuff it still manages to get spread out all over kingdom come?
Around 10:30 am I checked out and wandered around the neighborhood that we were in. So many beautiful things and places to see.
 |
| This beautiful church was just around the corner. |
 |
| This fountain was just around the opposite corner. |
I mean sweltering hot.
Sweat dripping down my back hot.
Sweat dripping down the back of my knee hot.
No air, how much longer is this going to take hot.
Fortunately it is less than 10 minutes to get to the top. It was such a relief to get fresh air.
Oh boy was it worth it!!
This is the Santuario Dosagrado Coracao de Jesus. Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is also called the Basilica de Santa Luzia and is a treasured monument in Portugal. It is an absolutely stunning building, inside and out. It was started in 1904 and completed in 1959.
 |
| View to the west and the Atlantic Ocean. |
 |
| View to the south and the Rio Lima. |
 |
| One of the stained glass windows from the inside. |
 |
| Beautiful ceiling. |
 |
| View from the funicular, looking down. |
I decided I should probably start working on making my way to the next town to meet up with everyone. I was exploring my options and thought the train would be a fun experience and very inexpensive. Only 3 Euros to get from Viana do Castillo to Camhila and it would take me about 20 minutes. Sounded awesome. And bonus! The train station was near where I got off the funicular.
I made my way to the train station and went to the ticket booth. Unfortunately there have been strikes going on and off for months with the train workers. There were no trains because of the strikes.
Well darn!
Then I tried the bus because it was also inexpensive and wouldn’t take much time. But when I tried to buy the ticket for the buses in the early afternoon they were sold out and the one I could get tickets for was late in the evening and I didn’t want to wait that long.
I decided I had better try to get an Uber.
That took a bit. No one was picking up the trip. Finally someone did. He wasn’t the most pleasant Uber driver I have ever had and he was the first one who didn’t get out and open the trunk for me to put my bag in. He just barked at me to put my backpack in the trunk and then got impatient that I wasn’t figuring out the latch to open it. Needless to say, I sat in the back and didn’t chat with this driver like I had with the one the day before.
**Side note. We have done without cellular service this whole trip and just done Wi-Fi in the evenings at the hotels. But when I was alone I really needed to be able to access stuff like directions, bus tickets, and that sort of thing and needed that extra connection to information. Very different feeling when you are by yourself in a different place than when there is a group of you. Getting lost with 5 people feels different than getting lost along.
He got me to the hostel we would be staying in, pulled the car over and said, “This is it”. So I hopped out, went to the back and retrieved my backpack. I had hardly had the trunk shut and he was driving off. Obridgado! (Thank you in Portugese). Guess being a jerk isn’t exclusive to Americans. Lol
It was about 1:30 and I knew that everyone wouldn’t be arriving for several hours. So I wandered down to the city center and found a cafe to park in. I got a stamp at a store for my Camino Passport. I may not be walking but I’m still traveling! Then I had some lunch and people watched, texted with a friend, located a grocery story so it would be easy to find later. Then I had a margarita and read my book. 
It was rough. 😜
It got to be later in the afternoon so I decided to head back to the hostel. The gentleman running the place was happy to let me hang out on the couches by the window while I waited for my hubby and friends. When I got to the hostel the lady we met a couple of days ago name Irina was there. Talking the ear off of the person running the hostel.
Joe and the gang showed up maybe 20 minutes later and we got all situated in our bunks. Yep, another bunk bed situation, lol. I’m pretty sure I’m WAY too old for this shit. We got all showered and situated and Joe and I went out to the common area and visited with other guests. Since I had been alone all day I enjoyed the conversation and being social. Irina was there talking a million miles a minute. I talk a mile a minute and I thought that it was a lot. Irina makes me look like I’m thinking too long before I speak. But she has a very kind spirit so it’s all good. I met another gentleman that Joe had met on the trail named Mark. He was from England but had lived in Seattle for awhile. I enjoyed talking to him as well.
Soon it was time to go to bed. It was pretty hot in the rooms but I managed to get some sleep.
Day 6 - June 25, 2023
I got up in the morning and felt really good. Today was supposed to be just a little over 10 miles so it would be a good day to see how my hip was feeling and how it stood up to a long day of walking again.
We had a quick breakfast and headed to down to the river. First thing we had to do was cross the river. 
 |
Today we left Portugal and entered Spain.
We bought tickets for the ferry across.
Now when I think “ferry across” I think of a ferry boat like we have at home. Really big, and holds people and cars. There was one sitting right there and I thought that was what we would be riding on.
Nope.
We went in a little boat that could hold maybe eight people tops. 
 |
| The boat in the background was what I thought we would be riding in. 😄 |
It was interesting getting into a boat that is moving up and down while wearing a backpack that makes your center of balance all out of whack.
The crossing was about 1.25 miles and didn’t take long at all. When we were coming up to shore I couldn’t figure out where we were going to get out. He wasn’t pulling up to a dock or anything. He was coming along side a stone wall. Then I saw it. Stairs in the side of the stone wall. Narrow stairs. Lol. I was so glad I didn’t fall in!
 |
| The boat and the steps we disembarked from. |
We got situated and decided to take a little bit longer way around the coast line so that we didn’t have to go up and over a big hill.
I’m glad we did because it was very pretty.
I was enjoying myself immensely because my body felt so good overall. Some twinges from the blisters but the awesome blister bandages I have work amazing so that was totally bearable.
We cruised right along and didn’t take a break until about mile eight in a town called A Guardia. That town was so perfect. Joe and I talked about how we could totally see living there. Small, but cute and a great city bay/beach area. 
As we were leaving A Guardia there was a castle (what I called a castle) and I was taking pictures of it when I saw people coming out a doorway. I was so excited that I might be able to go inside. I went and checked it out and they had a small maritime museum in there and a place to get our Camino passport stamped. Made my day! 
When we left A Guardia we all kind of split up so Joe and I were just the two of us most of the day. After missing the last two days of hanging with my guy during the day I enjoyed having him all to myself. There was lots to see and we chatted throughout the day. Or just walked along in the quiet, which is awesome in a completely different way.
As we have learned, the mileage we have and the mileage we actually do are not the same. We were supposed to do around 10 and I got 13.5 on my watch. It was not as hot as the days before and we had a lovely ocean breeze, quite brisk at times, that helped it not feel quite so hot. 
I cruised along doing really well overall until about mile 12. My hip started having a niggle and I knew that if I didn’t pay attention to it I would end up right back where I had a couple of days before. So I ended up undoing the hip strap on my backpack so that I didn’t have anything pressing on the top of that right hip. And I slowed down. Both of these things helped keep the niggle from getting worse so that was good. Of course, not having the hip strap on meant the backpack pulled on my neck and made that sore.
There is always something.
We made it to Oia and found our bed and breakfast. It’s a sweet building and the rooms are beautiful. Although I don’t quite understand how two twins or one full (double) bed are the only options everywhere we go. Joe and I can barely manage a queen size bed without bumping elbows and knees all night long.
Robin’s wife finally made it to Spain and was waiting for Robin when she arrived. I know Robin was missing her wifey a lot so that was a good thing. ❤
Joe and I showered and hung out in the room until we could meet the entire crew for dinner at 8:00 pm. The restaurant closed in the afternoon at 4:00 pm and reopened for dinner at 8:00 pm. Way different from home for sure!
Joe and I went and watched the sun go down in a garden area that belongs to the bed and breakfast that looks out right over the ocean. Beautiful!
Tomorrow is supposed to be just under 11 miles. So I’m figuring on 14. There is a pretty stout hill that will really help me know how my hip will handle elevation for the rest of the legs. Then I will have to make some decisions on how to handle that if my hip isn’t up to it. Joe and I had a good “what if” conversation this afternoon and we will be able to figure things out tomorrow when we see how it goes.
But today was a really good day and my body did WAY more than I thought it would be able to do.
So I’m smiling!
Officially we are 76 miles in with another 103 to go.
Unofficially the rest of the crew has done WAY more than 76. But that’s okay. They are badass like that.
Looking forward to more adventures tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing in my journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment