Life's a Stitch

According to StingyNomads.com it was supposed to be 16k. Reality: 22.3k, a significant difference considering the amount of incline and humidity.

We opted for breakfast at the sister hotel to our hostel, which was a treat as I was able to make a two egg brekkie sandwich, a protein load for the unexpectedly long day to come.

We started flat, went up and levelled off. We went up again and levelled off. We knew it would be a steep day and were pleased at our performance. Then we went up, up and up some more. We sat at a covered bus stop to check our maps in the shade and realized the website’s error. There was no choice but to tough it out.

it was a day of many surfaces.

Cobblestones

Mud

Sandy farm road 

Dirt

When we crossed this bridge it was raining, but a fellow pilgrim, shared this photo from when he was ahead of us on the trail:

With breaks it took us about eight hours to arrive at Estabulo de Valinhas, a traditional casa rurale located in a vineyard.

C decompressed with a new friend.

We opted for the communal dinner, which was simple, but featured the farm’s own olive oil and wine. We started dinner with a group of German pilgrims, when who walks in? Marcus, the dentist we walked with yesterday.

The dining room had maps where you could pin your names to your home location.

Remember how we slept in the train station in Porto? Now we’ve slept in an old horse barn, the stalls converted to comfortable bedrooms with private bathrooms.

The long day today should make for an easier one tomorrow.

16.5K

 

A good manageable day on the Camino. One of our favourite aspects is meeting people from all over the world. On the Frances route we met people from over 30 countries. It’s our third day and the count stands at seven. We are still in touch with Diego, the young man from Mexico we met on the second day of our first Camino.

 

We started the morning leaving our room at Casa Da Vila. Clank went the heavy automatically locking front door… with our hiking poles left behind. Two texts and it was arranged for them to be transported to our next stop. C made me a walking stick out of a branch from the eucalyptus forest.

 

We found our way to the Romanesque church to find our guiding arrows, and discovered a family of four taking pictures. They were a retired mom and dad and their daughter and son-in-law, originally from Colombia, now living in Florida. 

 

We walked the entire morning with them. What a great experience they’re having walking the Camino together. Hmmmm, Bryant and Sammy? Mari and KC? Elina and Sean, it would wear those boys out (in a good way)? 

 

The first half of the day was through farm communities, corn and grapes, goats and sheep. 

 

 

And dogs. This was the most well behaved Camino dog we’ve met:

 

 

We split paths with the family as we were ready for lunch. It was an instant replay of last night’s pilgrim meal, with a better version of the soup. In fact that was the third similar meal in a row as we had dinner leftovers for brekkie.

 

The second half was on cobblestones all the way to Barcelos. It’s hard on the feet, but there are always lengths of narrow sandy shoulder to give the feet a break.

 

And now we’re at a wonderful hostel with shared laundry and kitchen. We took the opportunity to cook and do laundry.

 

Today ended up being not so bad, elevation-wise. Tomorrow might be another story.

 

 

 

 

 

24.5k (14.7 miles)

 

Our guesthouse in Labruge was comfortable, with a decent continental breakfast, which on the Camino can be toast and coffee. It’s always a bonus when there is cheese and meat on the table, but add in boiled eggs and it feels like a meal. They had an interesting solution to converting a tub to a walk in shower. 

Those crocheted toilet paper holders seem popular in Portugal this time.

 

I woke up at 5:00a.m., just like at home, but managed to go back to sleep. My alarm went off at 7:00 and it wasn’t raining, however with all the humidity our stuff was still damp. It amazing how much weight rain adds to your pack.

 

The first half of today was still along the coastal route we did last time. Most was familiar, but as our first stage was longer, everything was viewed in a different light of the day. It’s Sunday and there were many locals strolling the boardwalk, their town’s “cholesterol trail.” 

 

 

We walked into Vila do Conde feeling wilted, passing a huge fig tree in a garden. C asked the woman permission to pick some, she said to wait a minute, went into the house and returned with a bowl of washed fresh figs, indicating we could have as many as we want. Her English was excellent and we talked fig recipes – jam and chutney. Those sweet juicy figs replenished us enough to get into town.

 

Took a long break in Vila do Conde, then onto our diversion to the central Portuguese route. We had a lovely time walking through small villages while talking with a 45 year old German dentist. We left him at a higher end restaurant to enjoy his lunch.

 

 

It was a tough day. On our two prior Caminos, we took the first two days slowly. This time we went in full force, 23+k two days in a row. It was warm and difficult to stay hydrated.

 

Stopped for dinner, all C wanted was soup. It tasted like thickened Campbell’s chicken noodle with the addition of cabbage. I went for the pilgrim’s meal: same soup, generic meat (think it was beef), rice, potatoes, cabbage and fresh fruit salad. It was fuel for the body. We shared a delicious bottle of Portuguese wine.

 

Dinner was followed by a Google goose chase, where it sent us in circles, nowhere near our Air B&B destination. Not the first time. Then the excitement began.

 

We were looking forward to having a bath tub to soak away the pains of the day, however there was no hot water. The host returned and found a workaround that allowed us each a hot bath, luxurious after our first two days on the trail. When we drained the tub the second time the apartment flooded. It was as if we had tried to fill last night’s bath tub. The host came again to continue our efforts, sopping up the water with mops and towels.

 

He offered us an additional free night. As if. 

 

Now there’s no wifi, but I won’t bother him again. My Air B&B review will be: host 5, accommodation 1. 

 

The next couple of days will be about 16k (10 miles) each. Sounds easier, but it will be steep. 

23 K (13.8 miles)

 

I don’t remember Porto being this loud and crowded the last time we were here on a Friday/Saturday earlier in September. I looked at pictures from 2016 and the streets were far more empty. Something must be happening this weekend. We’re looking forward to the quiet of the Camino.

 

What would you think if I told you we slept in the train station? There were few reasonable centrally located accommodations available this weekend, another clue regarding the hoards of tourists in town. So, we stayed at a place called the Passenger Hostel, built into part of the station, a Unesco World Heritage site, a beautiful structure circa 1896. It has both shared and private rooms. A “5 star” hostel, it features local artists and boasts its green status. From the lounge:

 

The 18 foot ceilings allow for triple bunks in the dorms. Ours was a private room with a shared bath. Oh yes, the room came with two sets of earplugs, an acknowledgement of the street noise. View from our room:

Included breakfast was at 8:00a.m. And then we hit the road. I love walking out of big cities and watching the gradual change in landscape. We walked along the Douro River and turned right at the ocean.

That turn put us directly into the teeth of a gale. Think sheets of rain and strong wind.  It came on so quickly I had an earful of rain before I could unpack my fancy hiking umbrella, its fibreglass ribs recovering easily from being blown inside out. 

 

 

We’ll be turning off the coastal route tomorrow, but today was a repeat of our last Camino. Back then we stopped for pizza on the beach, when C was baptized by seagull, if you know what I mean.

 

(more…)

Soooo, we cancelled the details of our trek on Spain’s Camino Via de la Plata and the Camino Sanabres, hopped on an unpleasant 5:00 am bus for four hours to Porto, Portugal to do a variant of the Camino Portugues.

We’ll overlap a couple of days from the Coastal route we did last time and plan to add on the Espiritual Variante close to Santiago. Then, who knows? Maybe a few days on another route if we have time.

We stayed in Zamora another day. Nice city of 66,000 on the Douro River, much of it behind the original ancient walls.

But like a typical medieval town, it’s built like a maze to throw off invaders. It seems you can’t walk anywhere in a straight line and when you do, the street name changes. I knew we were in trouble when we were greeted by this poster at the train station. 

The rain gear is out, there’s a yellow alert for rain tomorrow. They say the Camino parallels life. It can’t always be sunshine and roses.

First off, we are both well, but logistical circumstances have made this route on the Camino not feasible. Yes there is a story behind this decision, but as a wise woman I once worked with said, “Everybody has a story. Some longer than others.” This one is too long.

We will resume after a change in course. Stay tuned.

Our tiny Air B&B gave us a much needed night of sleep. C picked up breakfast while I packed a piece of luggage to be shipped to our end point, Santiago de Compostela.  He was amazed to spend 3e in total on a loaf of bread a whole melon, a huge nectarine and a banana. 

 

We rolled our 40lb suitcase down three flights of stairs, over sidewalks and cobblestone to the post office, which has a pilgrim shipping/storage rate of 28.50e. Spain supports people on pilgrimage with a number of discounts, but I wasn’t expecting shipping on that list.

 

Madrid’s Plaza Mayor was the next destination. We weren’t 1k in when my phone rang. I understood enough Spanish to learn that the post office clerk had forgotten to return my passport. I told him we would be there ahora!

 

The walk to the plaza was good training for our Camino, over 90 degrees hot and up and downhill. The walk was followed by a typical Spanish menu-del-dia, a reasonably set price for a meal of three courses including a glass of wine, followed by a true uderstanding of siesta. I think it was the huge pannacotta that gave me the serious sleepies.

Or maybe it was combined with a course of jet lag.

 

We rested in a nearby park to the strains of an accordion, violin and canned music playing tango. As tired as I was, if I knew how to do it properly, I’d do a happy pilgrim tango across that park. I thought it appropriate when they played a rousing version of Viva Espana right before we picked up our pilgrim passport at the Church of Santiago, which officially marks the beginning of our Camino. It was the last song we heard in the plaza in Santiago as we ended our pilgrimage in 2016.

 

Tomorrow: a train to Zamora, our starting point.

A day of three flights. Four hours to Toronto, six to Barcelona, under two to Madrid. Saw our first “Camino” arrow in Barcelona.

I’ve experienced a wee déjà vu, feeling like I did the third time I was in labour. Whose idea was this anyway? To travel over many flights to walk 250 miles? Ok it’s my idea. Yes, there’s a bit of trepidation and I’m identifying its source. At least we have a fair bit of familiarity having done this twice before. We must have been really really scared the first time. I’m appreciating the binder I bought for our paperwork:

My fear stems from the fact that this is a tougher, more rural route, with several long stretches with no services and oftentimes with small alburgues for accommodation. We avoided the bunk rooms in the past, in consideration of C’s sometimes loud sleep disorder, getting private rooms in hostels. No option for that on a third of this track, but luckily he’s been more quiet recently and  these are are smaller, more manageable, alburgues, several with as few as six or seven beds. That leads to the prospect of lack of availability. That’s an important aspect of pilgrimage, releasing the worries and letting it provide.

There, got it all out. Next up is two nights in Madrid, then a train to Zamora, our starting point. View from our fourth floor walk up Air B&B.

In my last post I mentioned leaving for our third pilgrimage on the Camino. However, we’ve been thinking about it for months, weighing our options, lest you think it a totally impulsive move. On the contrary, we agonized over making a decision. At the ten day mark we jumped in head first, making travel arrangements. This time we are planning on 400k (250 miles) on the last bit of the Camino de la Plata from Zamora turning onto the Camino Sanabres after 40K, to Santiago.

It’s both easy and difficult to leave now that the house is so full and lively, reminding us how our home in the rain forest used to be. Our son’s friends affectionately dubbed it the Northvanage (rhymes with orphanage) knowing it was OK to join the family on a moment’s notice. We still laugh at the time our daughter’s American friend showed up to retrieve his replacement passport. He lost the first one while cycling here from the Midwest. When he came to the door I showed him to his room. A few days later, M called to see if he had picked it up. I told her how much we were enjoying his company. “What? I didn’t invite him to stay!” I just assumed an out-of-town friend meant he needed a place to crash.

Some of our recent visitors became enthralled with the fact that you can fish for crabs from the end of the pier, a mere eight minute walk from our house. And crab they did. Licences are cheap, as are crab traps and fresh turkey necks for bait. SIL KC on the pier:

Fresh crab, both Dungeness and red rock, fried ravioli and Caesar salad was a perfect communal meal.

I’m looking forward to the communal meals on the Camino. Tomorrow we’re off!

Many people believe that they are called to do a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. That might have been true with our first routes, but this time the “call” was very clear, and the timing was right as there are people staying behind who will take care of our house, so off we go. This will be a 250 mile route on a quieter, more remote trail, as compared to the main route that passes through towns and services throughout the day. It’s not without trepidation, especially with ten days lead time, but that’s part of the pilgrimage process. 

If you’re not familiar with the Spain’s Camino Santiago, go to YouTube and watch “the Way” with and Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, a movie that’s an accurate depiction of the Camino, more or less. In fact, it’s the reason the main routes have gained popularity, not necessarily a good thing as it strains available resources during certain seasons. 

Posts from our previous Caminos are linked in the right column. I’ll be blogging this time, but due to the route, there will be days without reception, so there will be gaps and times of catching up. 

It’s been four years since our first Camino, three years since the second. You never know what’s in store so we might as well do it now while we can. Buen Camino!