Skip to main content

Camino Portuguese Thursday 30/04/2026 Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia de Ancora


30/04/2026 Thursday
Another 20km day today. We were down for breakfast by 7.30am, where we also made a bread roll for lunch, cake for morning tea and filled our travel cups with fruit. Todays walk was listed as having very few services, so we made sure we had enough food.
It was raining when we were about to leave, so we put on our ponchos and headed out. That's the last we saw of the rain. It started out as overcast and steadily improved throughout the day.
Our stop for morning tea must have only recently reopened for the season. We ordered a cup of tea and ate our cake.
We tried to only stop every hour, not counting the times everyone waited for me to catch up.  Walk an hour - 5 minutes rest. Walk an hour morning tea, repeat, lunch, repeat, afternoon tea.
Our walk was a combination of boardwalks and forests with welcome shade, with the occasional road thrown in.
We were going to walk the final part into Ancora along the boardwalks, but the sand dunes had totally reclaimed them. We couldn't even see the fence lining the sides of the walkway. There was no way Kim and Julie's knees could have handled the sand, so the long way it was.
We had dinner a short walk from the hotel, but Kim stayed. Vegetable soup for Ali and I, Calamari for Julie and myself and Codfish sausage for Ali.  We took back vegetable soup for Kim.
Shower, Fisiocream and time for sleeping.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Camino Portuguese Friday, 24 April 2026 - From Lisbon to Porto: Castles, Miracles, and a Chapel in the Sea

Friday, 24 April 2026 – From Lisbon to Porto: Castles, Miracles, and a Chapel in the Sea Today we finally headed to Porto. Alison had the brilliant idea months ago to book a private tour from Lisbon to Porto, and it turned out to be the best decision. Our driver, João, picked us up at 9:00 am, and we slipped out of the city, leaving the morning rush behind. The scars of the storm Driving north, we couldn't help notice the pine forests. Many looked brutally harvested, but the truth was worse. A cyclonic storm tore through here a couple of months ago, flattening homes, villages, and vast swaths of trees. The ones still standing are permanently bent—eerie sentinels of what came through. Petrol watch €2.13 per litre. Back home in Australia, we grumble at $2.65. Perspective is a funny thing. First stop: Óbidos We entered through the Porta da Vila, a tiled gateway into a 12th-century medieval hilltop town (because of course it's on a hilltop). Our first order of business? Gin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Camino Portuguese Thursday, 23 April 2026 - Exploring Lisbon.

Thursday, 23 April 2026 - Exploring Lisbon After a simple but perfect breakfast of croissants with butter and jam from the supermarket, we set out for a full day exploring Lisbon. Our walk began along Rua Augusta, where the street is lined with restaurants and outdoor seating with a variety of food - lucky we had breakfast. At the end of the street stands the impressive Arco da Rua Augusta, which opens into the vast Praça do Comércio. The square stretches out toward the river and is home to the grand equestrian statue of King José I, giving the whole space a sense of history and scale. From there, we began the steady climb uphill to the Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa, the birthplace of Saint Anthony. Not far away, we visited Lisbon Cathedral, where we received our first stamp in our pilgrim credencial—a small but meaningful milestone. By then, we were ready for a treat, so we stopped for ice cream before heading downhill toward the Tagus River, where cruise ships quietly lined t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Camino Portuguese Monday 27/04/2026 Povoa de Varzim to Esposende

27/04/2026 Monday . I'm so tired right now, but if I get behind on the journal I'll never catch up. We had a late start today at 9.00am. It wasn't the plan but that's when we left. Todays walk started out along the board walks along the coast. In some places the sand dunes have decided to reclaim the boardwalks for themselves, so we were walking on sand. Our procession line was the same as usual, Alison followed by Julie, Kim and me lagging behind. Lucky I have patient sisters who wait for me. We decided to put our hands in the Atlantic Ocean, which wasn't as easy as it sounds with backpacks on. We all got our shoes wet, but unfortunately Kim's feet sunk a little in the wet sand just as a  small wave came in covering her shoes. Her shoes are waterproof, but not when the water goes over them and into the socks. She changed into her sandals, which for some reason she put in her pack today. We all had socks or shoes hanging from our packs hoping to at least dry...
Post a Comment
Read more