Rain Rain Go Away

(Wednesday, October 9, Viana do Costello) Hurricane/Cyclone Kirk reared his ugly head in the Atlantic and impacted the coast of Portugal and Spain these past few days. So I had a good excuse to give my leg a rest yet another day. We called an Uber to take us from Esposende to Viana do Costello this morning.

The artwork in this region is interesting. A lot of papermache sculptures with big goofy heads. And they all seem to have their mouths open.

Our hotel here is lovely and this town of very narrow cobblestone streets is fun to walk. There is a church high on a hill and we headed that way to get a beautiful view but decided to forego the extreme uphill hike on our “day off.” 

We went to the Museum do Traje (Costume museum). It was fascinating to see the history of dress in this Portuguese region.  Each role women played in life had a different “norm” for wear - from fishmonger wives to cleaners to weavers and on and on. Dang! They wore alot of layers.

Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful day and hopefully gave my leg time to heal. I’m feeling a certain amount of guilt for having walked only 12,000 steps today. Onward tomorrow. Buom Camino  

Grace Under Rain.

(Monday, October 7, Povoa de Varzim Portugal) - Day 2 - an early start from Labruge, just steps from the Camino path. We desperately wanted coffee but would need to walk about an hour before finding an open cafe along the path. Walking thru the village of Vila Cha, we found coffee, croissant for me and French toast for Greta and Eva. 

Walking along the Atlantic Coastline is beautiful even in the rain. However, in a downpour not  quite so pleasant. As I may have mentioned, Eva walks at a marathon pace with the goal of getting to the finish line as fast as possible. I can’t and don’t even attempt to keep up. And when she and Greta get so far ahead that I can’t see them in the rain and wind, I get more than a little testy. My first lesson to learn on the Camino — grace under fire (or in this case “grace under rain”).  They tell me I haven’t yet learned this. But seriously folks, I thought this was a team sport. I am slowly accepting the notion that we each have our own Camino to walk. Theirs is fast, mine is slow and solo. And that’s okay. I would get out the AirPods but I need to focus on the path under my feet and staying upright. No falling!  I just got finished getting my million dollar smile after a fall during training. 

Yesterday we walked thru fishing villages and the small city of villa do Conde, past a lovely ancient church on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic (what it must have been like to worship there), took a detour due to washed out boardwalk (which added at least a mile to our day) and finally a lunch break just short of our hotel where I swear the meat must have been horse meat. Never again. Blech! But the French fries were divine.

And lastly, at about mile 7 of our ten-mile day, I developed a severe muscle strain in my upper thigh. I had to stop every quarter mile the last two. I thought I would never make it to the hotel. Looks like I will be “benched” for day three. Greta and Eva, walk as fast as you please. Buom Caminha.

And we’re off.

(Sunday, Oct. 6 - Labruge, Portugal) Greta arrived yesterday afternoon. After dinner at Vaccarum, a very beefy restaurant in Central Porto, we turned in early anticipating a very tiring next day. 

Day 1 - This morning we started with Starbucks. This was a novelty for Greta because there are no Starbucks in Riga. We then headed to the Porto Cathedral again to get her Pilgrim Passport. Then a Bolt took us to Matisinhos where we officially began our pilgrimage. 

It rained. And it rained. Not really a downpour, but pretty constant drizzle or more. For some reason it didn’t really seem to matter. The temp was mild and no wind. I just felt as tho I’d stepped out of the shower, all day long. A view of the Atlantic was always on our left. The walk was pretty easy on the boardwalk, but always concern for falling as it was slippery in spots. 

       

I am a slow walker, especially compared to Greta and Eva. So my day was  essentially solo, with the two of them way in front. My feet really began to ache at about 8 km. We stopped for brunch just about halfway to Labruge, our final destination. Total walk today was 15 km or 9 miles. I am thrilled to have no blisters. My goal tomorrow is to lighten my backpack considerably. We will accomplish another 14-15 km tomorrow before the big day on Tuesday with about 26 km. 

Dinner tonight was lucky. Only one restaurant in Labruge was open, so we thought. Turns out it was closed. Luckily Zogo Take Out Pizza across the street was open. Order from an outdoor window.  Best pizza I’ve had in a long time. And an excellent bottle of wine. 

Tomorrow — destination Povoa var Zim.  Buom Camino.