Camino Day 3

June 21

We all woke up a little creaky in Esposende this morning but were eager to walk to Viana do Castelo. The logistics of our Camino are a bit different than that of a traditional Pilgrim. We are all traveling for varying amounts of time and locations in Europe, so we have more possessions than some. Keep in mind, the McLains still pack light. Dave and I have packed for 3 weeks, the girls for at least 6 weeks, and Alastair will live out of his single bag for quite a while.

Adelaide is an amazing concierge. Every night she makes our accommodation reservations for the next night and arranges luggage transport ahead to our next stop. She is 100% tech savvy, fluent in Spanish (which all the Portugues can understand), and exceedingly capable. David and I are more than happy to allow her to oversee these details. Thank you, Adelaide!!!!

Each or our bags is air tagged and we can see them move north up the coast with us. Every night they are exactly as promised by the transport vendor for about $10/bag/day. I am sure you all can do the math on 6 bags/day over two weeks. Trust me, worth every penny. We only carry about 10 pounds on the Camino each day and we are pretty tired by the end of each day. I am so grateful not to have to carry any more and still be able to have pajamas and my toothbrush waiting each night. Our day packs are mostly water, but we also carry a few snacks, sunscreen, hats, rain ponchos (not yet used), passports, Pilgrim credentials (cute little books for stamps along the way to prove you walked the Camino), and a few other items. Today Adelaide, Dagny, and I each carried a second pair of shoes. It helps to switch up halfway through the day. Today I walked my first 8 miles in my Chocos. I will likely do the same tomorrow.

I loved today’s walk which was very different landscape than yesterday. Much more hiking in the mountains and in-land. Not much walking near the ocean. One of my favorite things today were the boxes of plums left near the Camino for Pilgrims to eat for free. They were very small, not much bigger than a large grape, but super delicious. I ate about 6 today.

The Camino is well marked. We have an app which can show us our directions along the way, but we don’t use our phones very much. The yellow arrows point the way, and I love walking without having to think very much. It is very quiet in lots of places and great for enjoying The Way.

Ten miles hiked from 8-noon and then a long lunch with kebab plates, and kebab sandwiches and lots of water and beers. By 3:30pm we finished a total of 15 miles and enjoyed a festival in Viana do Castelo (Market of Discoveries), but it felt a lot like a Renaissance Fair. Fun. Alastair wanted a wooden sword. I said no.

Buen Camino!  Jll