Sep 17: Back on Camino

We are in Povoa do Vazim this evening. Day 1 of walking is completed. We are showered, clothes washed, supermarket visited for a picnic dinner and settled in our room for a down-evening. It was a long walk, at 29km, so we are both tired and content to just relax with some podcasts, some fresh bread, cheese and meats (for Carey), some Swiss chocolate (for me) and, of course, a couple of cans of beer.

We had a hassle-free trip to Porto yesterday, right up to the moment when Carey joined the queue for non-EU citizens at Immigration. 65 minutes later, he was finally through. We had been told for months that the new EU system was causing problems, but this was the first time we had experienced it. The biometric machines at Porto airport were largely unable to capture information and almost everyone had to join the “manual” queue for processing. It was a train wreck. Fortunately, Carey is very phlegmatic and it didn’t spoil his mood.

When Carey was finally through we jumped into a car into town. After dropping our bags, we found a nice neighbourhood bar for a much-needed beer. We were both parched and needed to take a beat, just to reorient ourselves into a “Camino mindset”, a steadying breath.

Today’s walking was so much more enjoyable than our last, rain-lashed visit! Nevertheless, we started poorly, with Carey left on the metro platform because he is too Canadian, ill-equipped for the melée of rush-hour commuting! We had a 5km ride to the start of the trail. I truly thought he was behind me. Fortunately, he made it onto the following train, about 15 minutes later.

At around 12km, we found a café and enjoyed “dois cafés com leite”. To honour our first day in Portugual, we had a couple of pastels da nata, one of which was a “pastel da nata CHOCO”. Not only is it the shortest pastries, filled with golden custard, it is also filled about 1cm deep with Nutella. It was an utter delight – still warm, gooey, with a crust you could feel on your breath before you bit into it. If we needed another reason to return to Portugal (which I am sure we don’t), this would be it!

We follow the “coastal route”, until Tuesday, after we cross into Spain. It is a flat path until we cut inland onto the Gallician plateau. It is not hard going, by any means. The Atlantic will be on our lefthand side for the next week.

The coastal path proceeds along kilometres of boardwalk. There is a major project all along this part of the coast to sustain/restore the sand dunes, which are a major refuge for several unique species and act as a nature reserve. Access to the golden sand beaches and the rocky fishing spots is also along the boardwalks. They make for a bouncy trail and seem very well respected by locals as well as tourists.

Follow our Journey at:

Click below to follow us on a map:

Email us at:

Karen's Podcast at:

info@walkthewalk.digital

© 2025. All rights reserved.

Inspired by our 2024 Camino Francais, Karen has a periodic podcast called "I sent you a bloody boat", personal thoughts on faith by a person who believes in thinking. Also, known as "The Reluctant Christian". You can listen to it on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts at: