jayceebee
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Porto - Vigo (May 24)
Pamplona - Burgos (April 23)
Thanks everyone for all your kindness and good wishes on the intro thread I posted a couple of days back! As promised, here's a report from our journey so far...
Day 1: Matosinhos - Vila do Conde
We're here! After landing in Porto from Manchester last night, we hurtled through misty rain towards Matosinhos in a hair-raisingly fast cab, finding our first camino one-night home in a double attic room at the clean and cosy Fishtail Seahouse. We woke early to the sound of more downpours (and the sound of presumably insomniac pilgrims getting on their pre-dawn way), but by the time we were ready to hit the road things were looking brighter.
We followed the tram tracks out of Matosinhos and over the bridge, getting caught in yet more showers and being forced to don our aesthetically ridiculous but thankfully pleasingly functional waterproofs within our first half hour of walking. But then we saw the sea! The coastal views and the returning sunshine had our spirits high as we followed the coastline to Boa Nova lighthouse and beyond. On and off showers and sum kept us company throughout the day, as did the wild white orchids and other flowers along the path. The vast majority of today's walk was on beachside boardwalk which - after slipping and sliding through a lot of treacherously boggy British mud on some of our recent training hikes - my feet were mostly appreciative about.
The stretches just after Labruge and Gafa had sections of boardwalk that were out of action for maintenance - with a small but signposted detour in each instance - but in both cases even after rejoining the path there were parts that were rotten through or uneven, so extra caution and care definitely advised! Between Gafa and Avore it looks like the dunes have shifted, partially burying the boardwalk in place, so be prepared for some walking through sand. It was somewhere along here that we came across a small bay with a makeshift garden of wood drift sculptures, hanging seashell mobiles, mosaics and symbols. Would love to learn more about its creator if anyone knows any more about it!
As a heads-up to anyone following in our footsteps: a few of the toilet blocks along the front were locked when we came to them, so take your chances to use other facilities in cafes when you get them, otherwise you might be waiting a wee while (pun intended!) for the next. But even so! Happy to report that the path's scenic views were not once marred - as far as I saw - by the toilet paper hedge streamers that were sadly all too present during the stretch of the Frances I walked last year.
On traipsing over the bridge into Vila do Conde we took an immediate detour to gawp at the pirate-looking ship docked by the park, which we soon learned is the Nau Quinhentista, a museum located on a replica 16th-century caravela. It wasn't open despite signs saying it should be, so we mooched onwards to tonight's accommodation, B&B Vila do Conde, which despite the name is actually much more of a hotel, with a humongous supermarket next door (always a bonus for us; both of us have ludicrously specific and contrasting dietary restrictions which can make eating out - especially when we're not as confident or fluent in the local language as we'd like to be - a bit of a palaver, so we're big fans of the supermarket picnic), and luxuriously massive bed which I'll be making use of very soon. Early night tonight! We're zonked, but very grateful for all we've experienced so far and looking forward to tomorrow.
Day 1: Matosinhos - Vila do Conde
We're here! After landing in Porto from Manchester last night, we hurtled through misty rain towards Matosinhos in a hair-raisingly fast cab, finding our first camino one-night home in a double attic room at the clean and cosy Fishtail Seahouse. We woke early to the sound of more downpours (and the sound of presumably insomniac pilgrims getting on their pre-dawn way), but by the time we were ready to hit the road things were looking brighter.
We followed the tram tracks out of Matosinhos and over the bridge, getting caught in yet more showers and being forced to don our aesthetically ridiculous but thankfully pleasingly functional waterproofs within our first half hour of walking. But then we saw the sea! The coastal views and the returning sunshine had our spirits high as we followed the coastline to Boa Nova lighthouse and beyond. On and off showers and sum kept us company throughout the day, as did the wild white orchids and other flowers along the path. The vast majority of today's walk was on beachside boardwalk which - after slipping and sliding through a lot of treacherously boggy British mud on some of our recent training hikes - my feet were mostly appreciative about.
The stretches just after Labruge and Gafa had sections of boardwalk that were out of action for maintenance - with a small but signposted detour in each instance - but in both cases even after rejoining the path there were parts that were rotten through or uneven, so extra caution and care definitely advised! Between Gafa and Avore it looks like the dunes have shifted, partially burying the boardwalk in place, so be prepared for some walking through sand. It was somewhere along here that we came across a small bay with a makeshift garden of wood drift sculptures, hanging seashell mobiles, mosaics and symbols. Would love to learn more about its creator if anyone knows any more about it!
As a heads-up to anyone following in our footsteps: a few of the toilet blocks along the front were locked when we came to them, so take your chances to use other facilities in cafes when you get them, otherwise you might be waiting a wee while (pun intended!) for the next. But even so! Happy to report that the path's scenic views were not once marred - as far as I saw - by the toilet paper hedge streamers that were sadly all too present during the stretch of the Frances I walked last year.
On traipsing over the bridge into Vila do Conde we took an immediate detour to gawp at the pirate-looking ship docked by the park, which we soon learned is the Nau Quinhentista, a museum located on a replica 16th-century caravela. It wasn't open despite signs saying it should be, so we mooched onwards to tonight's accommodation, B&B Vila do Conde, which despite the name is actually much more of a hotel, with a humongous supermarket next door (always a bonus for us; both of us have ludicrously specific and contrasting dietary restrictions which can make eating out - especially when we're not as confident or fluent in the local language as we'd like to be - a bit of a palaver, so we're big fans of the supermarket picnic), and luxuriously massive bed which I'll be making use of very soon. Early night tonight! We're zonked, but very grateful for all we've experienced so far and looking forward to tomorrow.
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