Today was honestly pretty bleh. Luckily it was only a short 5 mile day so it was at least over quick and we could recuperate at the hotel.
The day did begin great with breakfast at our B&B Casa da Reina. We took our time getting starting due to the short mileage, and left around 1030. The walk through Anha was charming with the winding cobbled roads and picturesque stone walls and homes. Not even 2 miles down the road, we decided to stop for espresso and our morning pasteis de natas. Turns out it was a good idea to stop then, because the next mile or two was straight up hill before a steep rocky descent.
This led us into the outskirts of Viana do Castelo which I’m sorry to say was a bit disappointing. There was a stretch of overgrown dilapidated sidewalk with no less than 4 open manholes. Thank goodness we were watching our step! The area was also covered in trash which was unfortunate. A short sandy trail popped us out by a busy road where we stopped for a bathroom break at the first gas station we saw. I made the mistake of chugging a power aid and had a little stomach ache for the next mile.
The best part of the walk beside the village at the beginning was probably the 645m across the sweeping Ponte Eiffel traffic bridge. I tried my best not to think of how tall it was while crossing, and me and my acrophobia (fear or heights) were perfectly fine.
The downtown area of Viana do Castelo is gorgeous with a lovely riverside park with plenty of shady trees and benches. Since it was only 1pm and too early to check into our hotel, we took a nap on those park benches, then had giant burgers and delicious apple pie for lunch.
The hotel we’re staying at today is kind of cool! It’s a chocolate themed hotel and museum on the site of Portugal’s first chocolate factory. We were treated to chocolate themed decor, chocolate scented soap, and a free bar of chocolate each in our room. We checked out the museum (included in our hotel fee) which was cute, hands-on, and informative. Nothing can quite compare to Belgium’s Choco-Story museum however.
Then laundry at the local self-serve laundromat which was incredibly easy. .I don’t think I’ll ever pack more than a weeks worth of clothes when visiting Europe because the laundry situation is so easy. There’s even detergent and fabric softener included in the washing machine. €6.50 later and we’re set for the next 5 days.
And now it’s bedtime because I am exhausted. The last 6 days have really added up. Only 14 more to go! We’ve got this, right? I say we do!
STATS – Total Today (Total Camino):
Steps taken by me: 13,494 (148,268)
My mileage: 5.01 (57.21)
Dad’s steps: 13,427 (134,388)
Dad’s mileage: 5.1 (56.44)
Number of blisters: 1 (6)
Pasteis de natas consumed by both of us: 2 (19)
Wandering with Marvin 
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