Day Two of the Portuguese Coastal/Littoral Complete! We were intending to walk 19 km but “accidentally” completed 24.2 km. I’ll get to that, but first, let’s flashback to Day One. We’ve been told there are fewer pilgrims on the Camino Portuguese, so we headed off early to the Porto Cathedral with no real expectations. As we rounded the corner to the pillary we were swept into a small gathering by an eager Peregrino. “Come, Come…the priest is giving a pilgrims' blessing”, he said. We joined the circle, were properly blessed and added another stamp to our pilgrim passport. About forty pilgrims, some walkers and some bikers, some headed for Fatima and some for Santiago, left in good spirits. Of course, the kind greetings of the locals wishing us bom caminho always brighten the day. The walk is incredible. We chose the right path. We have been walking by the water for two days and the crashing of the waves never gets old. It is the weekend so there are plenty of surfers and families enjoying the beaches. The perfect weather means the cafes are filled with both locals and pilgrims sipping drinks and gobbling up pastries. Last night we had a place with a broad veranda that overlooked the ocean. We had a bit of trouble finding it because there were no signs—it was an upstairs room in an old house. A local offered to take us there if Ray gave him a Euro to buy a cigarette. We were tired—we caved. The older gentleman that owns the home was one of the kindest souls. When I gestured, with my hand on my heart, that I loved the view he blew me kisses. And even though we were only paying for the room, he let us use his kitchen to make our meals. Today we had to take a detour because part of our path was washed out. An extra 5 km wasn’t exactly what we planned. Toward the end we were feeling a bit done…then we spotted it….gelato! Ray had Snickers gelato. Seemed appropriate. Didn’t Snickers have a hangry advertising campaign? Now, you are probably thinking we should have spent our money on extra water, right? Well, the ice cream guy noticed our water bottles were empty. He pulled out google translate and offered to fill them for us. We have experienced so many kindnesses. Tonight we are at the Sardines and Friends Hostel in Póvoa de Varzim. It’s going to take the last of our energy for one of us to crawl up into that top bunk. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
27 Comments
Maya
5/1/2023 10:28:37 am
The food looks so good I have tried a lot of the items you had
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Ray
5/1/2023 12:00:35 pm
Still have a number of food items on my list to try. Will make sure I post pictures.
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Hanife
5/1/2023 10:29:32 am
The metal ball looks cool what is it and why is it there like is there a specific reason why?
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Ray
5/1/2023 12:25:46 pm
It is a relatively new piece of artwork that has a similar shape to the white chapel in the background Chapel of Socorro which was built around 1600 . It was built by one of Portugal’ explorers and trader who made a fortune trading in India. The sphere suggests the time when much of the world was open to Portugal.
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Ava
5/1/2023 10:30:14 am
Wow looks coo nice view !
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Ava
5/1/2023 10:32:48 am
Sorry it was ment to say cool spelling error
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Ray
5/1/2023 12:10:38 pm
There is so much to learn, Today I practiced saying Good day in Portuguese to locals passing us on the trail. Bom dia!
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Makayla and alexis
5/1/2023 10:35:09 am
Where the houses different looking than normal housing in listowel
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Ray
5/1/2023 12:04:52 pm
Many of the houses are made from concrete. Roofs are usually red tiles. They are often painted, but apparently some colours are more resistant to fading from the sun.
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Sandi Martin
5/1/2023 11:35:56 am
I am loving your posts! I would love to do the Camino but I am thinking that ship has sailed 😩
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Diane
5/1/2023 12:34:01 pm
It is very beautiful and flatter than the one in Spain. Will think of you while I walk ❤️
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Molly, Kelsey, brynlee
5/1/2023 11:58:10 am
That picture is beautiful, how far was that walkway?
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Diane
5/1/2023 12:35:25 pm
We have walked over 60 km now and quite a bit of it has been on boardwalks.
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Autumn and Hailey W7
5/1/2023 11:59:45 am
Have you learned any Portuguese during the trip?
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Diane
5/1/2023 12:36:36 pm
I can figure out most signs but I have to make myself practice thank you, good day, and please. I will add some new words soon.
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Blake
5/2/2023 07:20:52 am
Did your feet hurt at the end of the walk?
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Diane
5/2/2023 10:52:25 am
Yea, I have some pretty solid blisters happening.
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W7ZR
5/2/2023 07:22:54 am
The view looks great…was the sunset nice?
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Diane
5/2/2023 10:53:18 am
A bit cloudy, but is there such a thing as a bad sunset?
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WSNP Alec and Alex
5/2/2023 07:24:24 am
What are some things that you seen on the walk?
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Diane
5/2/2023 10:54:24 am
Today we were a bit off the coast so we saw a couple of interesting birds: a stork and a Eruasian Jay
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S7 JM
5/2/2023 07:29:45 am
Looks like there are some amazing views! Where was your favourite sight to see so far?
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Diane
5/2/2023 10:55:07 am
Probably the giant waves crashing against the rocks.
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jazzy
5/3/2023 10:55:41 am
The view is really pretty.
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Diane
5/4/2023 09:22:45 am
😄
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jas
5/3/2023 11:16:00 am
wats a pilgram blessing ?
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Diane
5/4/2023 09:23:50 am
A prayer that you will have a good and meaningful walk.
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