Today is the day!! I honestly can’t believe we’re actually doing this. I’ve been wanting to walk a Camino de Santiago since I first heard about them over two years ago. I mentioned it to my dad when I was visiting him between travel RN contracts in January and he goes “Well, I guess I know what we’re doing this summer.” And that’s how we decided to walk the Camino. After a quick perusal, we decided that the Coastal Route was indeed the route for us and we searched for a company that would book the hotels and arrange luggage transfers for us. We wanted the logistics to be easy so we could enjoy the walk. Which is exactly what we got.
Today we’re starting at the Se Cathedral in Porto and heading south to the Douro River to follow the Senda Litoral (Litoral Way) which is reportedly the prettiest of the three routes out of Porto. We’ll follow the river west to the ocean then head north for our first stop, Matosinhos! It should be a beautiful sunny day!
And we’re off! We made it to Porto’s Se Cathedral and got our stamp in our pilgrim’s passport so it is time to follow the yellow shells and walk towards the ocean!
The first mile was a steep descent down cobblestone alleys between the most picturesque shops and houses. It was hell on the knees but heaven on the eyes 🙂 By mile 2 we were back on the banks of the Douro River and had that nice little breeze to make everything better! For the next 2.5 miles, it was a series of sidewalks through the outskirts of Porto following the Douro River. We stopped a few times to rest our weary feet, drink water, and eat some rather tasty apples; and by mile 4.5 we had made it to the Atlantic Ocean. What a breath of fresh air! Literally. The cool ocean breeze was precisely what the doctor ordered.
This is exactly what I was hoping for when choosing this route: sparkling blue water filled with sailboats and a crisp breeze to keep us cool. The beaches are small and rocky with little coves that make the perfect play area for the tiny humans and their adults. The sandy areas are full of people soaking up the sun on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon. They even erected cloth wind barriers so they don’t get cold while bronzing their skin. Pretty ingenious solution if I do say so myself.
Since reaching the ocean, it’s been a combination of beach side concrete paths and wide boardwalks with shops and restaurants dotting it. Not quite the winding boardwalks most guides depict, but we have hope that will come further up the coast. And it’s still delightful.
We ended up pausing for a break on a wide wood bench on the boardwalk where dad “rested” his eyes and I wrote in my travel journal and got a bit creative with the camera (see the picture of bright orange boots). At this point it was only 1pm and we had less than 2 miles left for the day. I’m glad we choose to take our time instead of rushing to reach Santiago.
And since we’re taking our time, we spent the €0.50 each to go into Forte de São Francisco Xavier, a 17th century fort with turrets and cannons overlooking the beach. it was quite interesting to see the juxtaposition of the cannons with the sun-soaked beach goers in the background. Made me happy 🙂
We stopped for lunch once we got to Matosinhos and had some delicious sandwiches. Grilled chicken with bacon and omelet for me, steak and ham for Dad. Dad even tried to expand his horizons and tried a “coffee lemonade” which was cold brew layered over lemonade. He took one sip and said it was a mistake, so I ended up with the lemony coffee and dad took my Yellow Juice (pineapple and mint – much better suited for his palate). I thought the coffee concoction was nice and refreshing if a bit odd.
After lunch it was less than a mile to the hotel, which went pretty quick. We also had fun trying to find the yellow shells and arrows pointing us in the right direction.
Now we’re at the hotel and have settled in for the evening after doing some laundry and playing Gin Rummy. It was an excellent day and I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow!
Oh, fun fact. Dad and I walked the same distance today.. Very little variation, but his mileage was different than mine. We think it has to do with my short little legs. So I decided to keep tally to see what the difference will be at the conclusion of the Camino.
STATS:
Steps taken by me: 21,901
My mileage: 8.48
Dad’s steps: 19,466
Dad’s mileage: 8.3
Number of blisters: 1
Pasteis de natas consumed by both of us: 5
Wandering with Marvin 
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