10 day camino
10 days to do complete the Camino de Santiago? Yes, if you do the Portuguese way, with a side trip on the Spiritual Variant and hop on a bus or two along the way.. No problem!
Day 1 thoughts: Porto is hilly! We landed in the morning, and spent the day forcing ourselves to stay awake. After finding walking up and down the many hilly streets, we found a local food market.. Vinho verde in hand, and a few pastel de nata, mission accomplished.
I underestimated the Camino. The first few days walking along the beaches in Portugal, with a light breeze (sometimes fog), and the soft sun on our faces.. It felt so much easier then we thought. Although we made the rookie mistake most do, we overdid the walking(and many more after that), along with some mild heat stroke. Turns out, 4 hours walking is probably my max.. 6-7 hours.. My sore feet regretted those days very much.
After two days walking through Portugal from Porto (and a bus on the last day to reach the Spanish border.. Which was a river!), we took a short boat ride across the water into Spain.
The plan that day was to take a bus part of the way.. No bus showed up(note to self, do not use google maps to find the schedule), so it was our feet to take us there. This happened to be my favourite part of the trip. First, while we were waiting for this fictional bus in A Garda, this lovely Spanish lady came to greet us at the bus stop. In my broken Spanish and her broken English, we said hello. She gifted us a small rock and shell, both freshly painted with the symbol of the Camino.
A few hours later, we made an Eastern European friend, he was determined to walk every single step of the way the Camino. When we came across him in Pontevedra (Spain), his feet were destroyed by blisters and he was walking barefoot along the route. He had at the most cheerful attitude, and we were so pleased to meet him again a few days later in Baiona.
Speaking of Baiona, if you pass through, I recommend a glass of wine and some pintos at Bar A de Sabas.
I also recommend a quick trip to the Cies Islands. Absolutely stunning nature reserve.
One moment that will stay with me… Was when the Camino veered away from the ocean, and went into the mountains. Spain had some terrible forest fires over the Summer “The most devastating of the 21st century”. When we got there at the end of August, the charred remnants remained.
There is so much more I’d like to say.. But even all these months later, I still am sorting through my thoughts and feelings from the trip.
The feelings linger.. Maybe the Camino really does change you.
