Day 3: Póvoa de Varzim - Fão (17.3km)
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.
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 booked online a day earlier. It quickly became clear that I had made a bit of a mistake with the booking, one that could have been costly. Thankfully, the young woman at the desk was very understanding and we are now relaxing in what is really a four-bed women's dormitory instead of the twin bedroom I thought I had booked.
There seemed be even more peregrinos on the road today and we spoke to people from the US, England, France and a woman from Stirling in Scotland, who was thankful to meet up with someone who spoke English rather than German. We also came across a large group sporting red and green ribbons. They didn't sound as though they came from Mayo so we assume they were Portuguese 😀
In case anyone thinks we were walking for more than six hours, we stopped to admire the scenery and take photographs frequently, sat down to eat fruit after an hour, stopped for breakfast after two hours, had another snack at 11:30 and visited an old church.
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.
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| Back on the boardwalk |
We arrived here at 1:25pm and went to check into the local youth hostel that I thought I had booked online a day earlier. It quickly became clear that I had made a bit of a mistake with the booking, one that could have been costly. Thankfully, the young woman at the desk was very understanding and we are now relaxing in what is really a four-bed women's dormitory instead of the twin bedroom I thought I had booked.
There seemed be even more peregrinos on the road today and we spoke to people from the US, England, France and a woman from Stirling in Scotland, who was thankful to meet up with someone who spoke English rather than German. We also came across a large group sporting red and green ribbons. They didn't sound as though they came from Mayo so we assume they were Portuguese 😀
In case anyone thinks we were walking for more than six hours, we stopped to admire the scenery and take photographs frequently, sat down to eat fruit after an hour, stopped for breakfast after two hours, had another snack at 11:30 and visited an old church.
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| Dog has grandstand view of passing peregrinos |
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Side altar - Iglesia Parroquial de San Miguel, Apúlia
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Main altar - Iglesia Parroquial de San Miguel, Apúlia
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Iglesia Parroquial de San Miguel, Apúlia
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| If all the walking trails were like this! |
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