Day 1: Matosinhos to Vila Cha (16.25km)

May 22, 2019

16.25km completed - 245km  to go      Route Map

 We have completed our first day, covering 16.25km in perfect walking conditions - hazy sunshine and a light sea breeze. En route we met many other pilgrims from various parts of the world, including a woman from Kilmacolm, about eight miles from where I was born. She left Scotland about the same time as I did and has spent her life on Vancouver Island.


We are in a lovely albergue in Vila Cha but when we arrived there was only one lower bunk left. The hospitalero took pity on us and opened up a second dormitory and we are in here on our own - so far.

 We are planning an even shorter day tomorrow but then the pressure will increase as have to do 262km in 15 days. In 2011 we did it in 12 days over a slightly different route.
Typical section of boardwalk
The albergue at Vila Cha

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 2: Vila Cha to Póvoa de Varzim (11.9km)

Image
May 23, 2019 28km completed - 234km to go    Route Map As stages go on the Camino, just under 12km is a leisurely stroll and we treated it like that, taking some five hours to reach the albergue in Póvoa de Varzim. We arrived at 12:45. We didn't see very much of the sun, which again made for pleasant walking conditions. I had no sooner posted yesterday's update before two German peregrinas joined us in our dormitory. By the time we were going to sleep, ten of the twelve bunks were taken and there were at least six people sleeping in the outer dormitory. We visited the nearby bar in the afternoon and paid €1:90 for a glass of wine and a coffee. Dinner for two, with drinks, later came to €24. Back to today - from the albergue in Vila Cha we had to make our way back down to the sea and then it was more boardwalk for about 5km. That took us into Vila de Conde where we spent a night in 2011 before heading inland to walk the traditional Camino Portugues. In 2011 we tried to ge
Read more

Day 3: Póvoa de Varzim - Fão (17.3km)

Image
May 24, 2019 40km completed, 221km to go        Route Map We expected to walk 19km today and so we were on the road by 7:00am. It was a bright sunny morning but we needed the fleeces, heading into a strong northerly breeze.  We didn't actually see much of the sun for at least two kilometres as we were walking along a promenade in the shadow of modern apartment blocks (holiday apartments?) up to ten storeys high. Back on the boardwalk After the prom we were back on boardwalk, over the sand dunes, for a number of kilometres. Later we moved inland a little and walked on narrow cobbled roads for a long period before reaching the final stretch, a dirt track through a forest into Fão. We realised some distance out that our guidebook must have a different starting point from our albergue and the saving of 1.7km was very welcome although, at a push, we could have managed a few extra km. We arrived here at 1:25pm and went to check into the local youth hostel that I thought I had
Read more