Camino Day 6

​June 24

We woke up this morning in A Guarda for our first full day in Spain. We were slated for one of our shortest walking days yet, around nine miles. Even though it was a shorter day, I found it to be one of the most tiresome, as a majority of the mileage came directly on the shoulder of a Galician highway, with cars passing quickly nearby throughout the majority of the hike. Despite the less than ideal scenery encountered it’s still hard to find much to complain about when your day consists of walking, eating delicious seafood, and drinking nice wines. 

I arrived into Oia first, and took a seat by the monastery to wait for the rest of the family to arrive. Dagny, Magnolia, and my father arrived shortly after before Adelaide and my mother, who had been caught in the rain, made it to town. 

We grabbed a quick lunch at a bar chock full of locals, where the food was decent enough, before checking into our hotel for some quiet time before dinner. 

Oia is not a terribly impressive town, and you can see the whole thing in about five minutes, so when the Michelin app showed a recommended restaurant outside of town, I figured it seemed the most apt place to go. The restaurant, Porto dos Barcos, is the only restaurant recommended by Michelin between the Portugal/Spain border and Vigo, the first major city we will encounter since Porto, and has held the distinction for the last four years, so I figured it must be something special. 

What followed was some of the best seafood that I have ever had the pleasure of indulging in, with incredible grouper carpaccio, tuna tartare, grilled grouper and tuna, and a delicious, massive lobster, that cost about three times that of our entire lunch bill. After finishing off the meal with some delicious house made cakes and chamomile tea, we waited for one of two cabs operating in the area to whisk us back to our modest hotel, before tucking in to rest for yet another day of walking tomorrow. If you find yourself in a town with two cabs and a restaurant finds itself into the Michelin guide, it’d serve you right to go find out why. 

Alastair

Camino Day 5

​June 23

The Camino de Santiago joined my bucket list two years ago when I studied abroad in Spain and saw seashell markers for the Camino throughout downtown Valencia. I definitely had a romanticized view of the Camino before we started this week. It has proved to be both difficult and rewarding. 

We started this morning in Vila Praia de Ãncora in Portugal. Our apartment for last night was adorable, and we were hosted by a little elderly woman. She checked in on us this morning as we ate our leftovers for breakfast, along with pastel de nata.

Around 8:30am, we started our journey for the day! We started our 10 mile day walking through town, wove our way along the ocean, found drinks and pastries in another town, and then walked through Caminha, Portugal. There, we caught water taxis to transport us across the border (Minho River) into Spain!

In Caminha, we caught water taxis to transport us across the border (Minho River) into Spain!

We finished the day hiking through some beautiful greenery to get to A Guarda, Spain. I spent most of the day walking solo, which I have found is much more relaxing than racing to keep up with my speedy family. I’m in no rush during these walking days. Our new slogan is “Everyone walks their own Camino” and I embrace that wholeheartedly.

Once in A Guarda, we had drinks and Italian food until it started to rain on our outdoor patio tables.

We checked into our hotel which is so far the hotel that most resembles a hotel in the US. We showered, relaxed, and eventually walked downhill to the ocean. We found another restaurant for dinner where we ordered approximately 10 appetizers, along with our meals. Palmer calls it “hiker hunger.”

We decided that tomorrow morning would be a late start so we stayed out later than normal. We walked along the pier as Dagny and Alastair attempted to catch various fish and crabs with their bare hands.

I’ve learned many things in the last 5 days on the Camino. I’ve learned how to coordinate the portering of our 6 bags each day. I’ve learned more about this part of the world. I’ve been reminded that I can do hard things and that it is rewarding to put myself into uncomfortable situations. 8 more days left!

Adelaide

Camino Day 4 - Sunflowers

June 22

This morning we checked out of our hostel in Viana do Castelo and stopped for coffee and a breakfast of pastries and sandwiches. 

We had two routes to choose from today and we chose the coastal route so we could enjoy the breeze and avoid the hills that we dealt with yesterday. I enjoyed the first part of our walk because we were back on the boardwalk for a while and each morning is very foggy which is nice and cool as well as very beautiful! My feet and legs were very sore this morning but it wasn’t so bad as we kept walking. 

Our trail separated from the coast eventually and we walked through a forest area and then along farmland. The highlight of my day was a sunflower field that we found. We stopped and walked through the field and it was massive and gorgeous. 

As we walked away we found Alastair up ahead under a bridge fishing with a stick. He caught a few small fish and Dagny and my mom stayed with him while Addie, my dad, and I walked the last mile or so to our accommodation. 

We met up with Alastair, Dagny, and my mom at a restaurant for lunch and then Dagny and I came back to our place while everyone else went to the local market. When they got back we all rested and then had frozen pizza for dinner and played Yahtzee.

Overall, today was an easy walking day compared to what we’ve done so far. We only walked 11 miles and saw such a beautiful part of the coast and the surrounding farmland. All our walking has been exhausting but it is very rewarding and I am even looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.

​“Even on the darkest days I will stand tall and find the sun” -My favorite quote about sunflowers

Magnolia