Apparently my trip planning skills aren’t quite up to snuff. Yesterday night was the São João Festival in Porto. It takes place every year on 23 June and we missed it by one day! From what we’re told, it’s a giant party to celebrate Porto’s patron saint, São João. It’s essentially a giant street party with bonfire jumping, concerts in the streets, flying lanterns, and plastic hammers to bonk friends and strangers alike on the head. They grill sardines, and serve traditional Portuguese fare of Caldo Verde (cabbage soup). The evening ends with a huge firework display at midnight that lasts 15 minutes over the Douro River. It’s a local holiday that I fully plan on returning to Portugal to experience in the future! The only bit I was able to see from our hotel was distance fireworks and a few floating lanterns in the sky. It was amazing to experience even from afar.
Today is going to be a little longer than yesterday. We’ve got a hotel booked in Mindelo which is about 16km (9.94 miles) up the coast. From the map it looks like it will be beach side the entire time so that makes me happy. We had a lovely breakfast at our hotel before hitting the streets for the day’s walk.
For the first mile we were on the sidewalks of Matosinhos, crossing a drawbridge over the Rio Leça, through some more of the city, until we finally made it to the ocean! Had a gravel walkway for another mile or so then we were on the much anticipated winding boardwalks over sandy dunes and rock strewn beaches.
And that’s what we did for the rest of the day! We walked the boardwalk, taking breaks every 2 to 3 miles to breath in the salty air while letting our socks dry out. Wet socks are the bane of my existence since I’m so prone to blisters. Any and all prevention methods will be used on this Camino because I refuse to be miserable due to my feet.
We are starting to get used to people wishing us “Buen Camino” which essential means “Have a good journey!” My socially awkward self just smiles big and stumbles to reply “Obrigado” (thank you). I’ve never been good in social situations or with foreign languages, so you can imagine how awkward I must seem. But it’s all good! I’m having a great time, and I think my smile relays that. Or so I hope!
We did see a few familiar faces on the way, like these lovely two ladies from Washington state. We were leapfrogging each other all day and I’m sure it won’t be the last we see of them on the way to Santiago! Already I am loving this simplicity of the Camino. Your only responsibility besides being a decent human is to get from one bed to the next while finding someplace to eat along the way.
The boardwalks were an adventure in and of themselves. Per our Bed and Breakfast hostess, Portugal had some rather intense winter weather which had the storm water rushing the shore and wreaking havoc on the boardwalks. As such we had to be on alert for any sneaker board that would crack, attack ankles, or simple cease to exist with a giant hole. Dad had a few ankle biting moments, but he was able to recover. Thank goodness. It was actually quite hilarious to watch because I’m usually the clumsy one of the two of us. Portugal, the great equalizer. I love it.
Another super cool thing today was these wooden lounge chairs built off the side of the boardwalk every few kilometers of so. They were incredibly comfortable and we definitely indulged during one of our breaks.
We stopped for lunch at one of the few restaurants that was open (today is still observed as a holiday in the Porto area), and got the most amazing roast chicken with rice, friends, and salad. It was divine and cost less than €15 for the both of us, including my post lunch espresso.
The last stretch before getting to our B&B was through the charming streets of Mindelo, a small port city on the north end of Porto’s metro area. Two days of walking and we haven’t quite made it out of Porto. Gotta love it.
We ended up walking 11 miles today and took around 7 hours including breaks to accomplish it. Now we’re in the B&B with our boots off, and I doubt we will leave to find nourishment. Thank goodness we brought some cliff bars. Tomorrow we’ll have to be better and finding a grocery store or somewhere to get sandwiches en route to our lodging. Because once we’ve arrived, I doubt we’ll venture out until morning. That’s how tired we are. It’s a good tired though, and one I can’t wait to replicate tomorrow.
Good night!
STATS – Total Today (Total Camino):
Steps taken by me: 28,295 (50,196)
My mileage: 11.11 (19.59)
Dad’s steps: 25,800 (45,266)
Dad’s mileage: 11.03 (19.33)
Number of blisters: 1 (2)
Pasteis de natas consumed by both of us: 5 (10)
Wandering with Marvin 
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