Walking the Camino de Santiago

Sept 3-4

“Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes
Will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain
By complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothing's worryin' me” - BJ Thomas 

Started Day 20 early with both of the guys in tow. Both Luca and Christian wanted to walk with me again, so off we went. They both had some sore muscles and feet from their first day on the Camino, but we headed for our destination of Esposende with little issue. For the most part of the day we stayed along the ocean on flat paths and easy terrain. The path was long, the view was amazing, the company great! All three of us walk about the same speed and it was nice to have some company on the trail again.

This day was cloudy with a some light sprinkles. It did cause us to need to break out our ponchos to protect our packs from getting wet. No big deal. It’s all a part of the experience on the Camino.

While the trail was a significant distance, it didn’t take long before we had reached Esposende. I stayed at a really great Albergue with my own room and view of the ocean, while Luca and Christian had accommodations at another down the street. Overall it was a beautiful day along the ocean with crisp clean beaches. Esposende is definitely a beach town. We three met for dinner later and set a time to hit the trail again in the morning together. It would be a big distance for the two of them, but they wanted to walk with me again.

Day 21- Luca and Christian met me at my Albergue in the morning and we took off relatively quickly toward our destination of Viana do Castelo. The weather was partly cloudy, with another chance of some significant rain in the afternoon, so we all had our ponchos at the ready.

The terrain and path started out along the ocean and then moved inland for a while through various small towns and forested areas before we would be led back to the beach for our final 5 miles.

The day was another long walk, this time with a varying landscape. Sometimes in the forests, sometimes through small hamlets, and then back to the beach. At one point this afternoon, the trail was actually on the beach. Amazing!

Both Luca and Christian are experiencing some foot pain. Christian’s is mostly a toe on one foot, while Luca has some significant hamstring issues that is painful for him. Since he didn’t bring any of his own, I let Luca borrow Harry for a while today. He needed some additional support with a hiking stick.

As we approached our destination today, Luca was in a good deal of pain, Christian was limping a little with his sore toe, my feet felt fine, but we we were all soaking wet and definitely “embracing the suck”. All three of us would be staying at the same accommodation on the hillside overlooking Viana do Castelo. I could tell both guys felt miserable at the moment and we still had a very large and fairly steep hill to climb to get to our accommodation, Albergue de Santa Luzia. I felt for us all, and suggested that it might be time to get a cab to the Albergue instead of attempting to push on in the condition they were at the moment. I was pretty sure Luca would not make it there. They agreed, so I called us a taxi and we headed to our accommodation in no time. Sometimes you need to listen to your body and know when to ask for help. In this case, in the form of a taxi.

My thoughts: The last two days have been fun. The guys are fun to chat and walk with. I hope we can continue to walk together, but we will have to see what happens with their feet. The first few days on the Camino can be challenging with your feet until you figure out what works best for you. I’m feeling blessed in many ways and happy. Even with raindrops falling on my head.