May Sunday, May 15, Day 4 on the Camino: Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia de Ancora

May 15, Day 4 on the Camino: Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia de Ancora: our last full day in Portugal

Miles per garmin - a mere 12

And, Fitbit info:

Dave voice:

Dinner last night was about what we'd hoped: local fish, local veggies, and a bottle of local wine served by second and third generation. Tasty. Sleep was again less than great, but breakfast (2nd generation) set us up for a good day.

A little of last night's food and our hotel room key. You don't get this type of key in the states!

Local wine

To our shock and delight, the sun was out and stayed out, raising the temperature to an oppressive Fahrenheit 65. It was so brutal, we had to have another wine, bread, and chocolate lunch to recover in our hotel bed. Most people like bread or at least tolerate it; we are extremists. A good loaf of bread is a lovely meal, especially with the expensive vinho the woman at the supermercado talked us into. It was 3.99 and it lasted 10 minutes, about as long as the still-warm whole grain bread with oats and sesame seeds on top. Mama! There was chocolate, too, and crunchy fruit. Julia Child would understand.

The day's labor was similar to yesterday's: some climbing, some muddy patches (i.e. - wet foot or feet) and a lot of small cobbled lanes on hillsides between what appear to be upscale residences. The net effect was that we started near the coast, went inland for most of the day before going back to a hotel on the coast at the end. In case anyone wonders, yes, there was a direct route straight up the coast, the route the pilgrims would have taken. In some cases, the Camino loops around a walled area, either a small farm or a large home where the owner doesn't want vagabonds traipsing near. This is as good a time as any to disclose that "The Camino" is completely bogus. Those ancient pilgrims got to Santiago the fastest way they they could, taking Uber if they had to. Nobody back then said that this or that path was "the" path for hundreds of years until landowners put their foot/feet down to say they didn't want pilgrims trudging through their farms (and stealing stuff as it ripened). More recently, one imagines, shop keepers in small towns lobbied for The Camino to pass them so they could sell more Coke Zero and Nutty Buddies. Granted, we've seen fewer Caminars this time out, the Camino Francais being the Big Leagues of this sort of thing - and it's earlier in the year - but Portugal is clearly not up to speed in the Camino biz. For example, in four days, we've seen maybe six or maybe eight coffee and snack bars. Last year, we'd see at least one every three miles. Sometimes, that little shop was the only sign of life in town. Further, we've been routed a mile inland, walking cobblestone footpaths (and worse) when there are many, many fine coffee, icecream, and burger places along easy walking on the coast, the proprietors perhaps wondering "How can I improve foot traffic?" How? Simple: Move The Camino! It's doubtless been changed hundreds of times before. Give the pilgrims and shopkeepers what they want!

But enough of that. Today is both good and brief, leaving us at a big, corporate-type hotel with no Romans painted on the walls. There is, instead, a semi-secluded balcony for nude sun-bathing, or, if it's us, a handy place to dry our laundry while we snork down bread and wine.

This is also a time to recall that we passed six German Caminars in a single group and five Portuguese teenagers in another. In all, we passed fifteen pilgrims and the only three who passed us were on bikes, which don't count. (It was pleasant to see two bike riders - French as all bike riders are - carrying their bikes as they trudged through ankle deep mud. You go Frenchy!) The third biker was a Portuguese woman who told us that, while it was permitted to ride on bikeways and highways, she wanted to really see her beautiful country so she was taking the same route as us foot soldiers. We like her a lot!

Mileage for today: 14.5 miles. Caminars passed: 15.

And pictures of today's trek and the lovely city of Ancora

Taking a break

A more elaborate sign

More typical sign

Ocean in the background

Our hotel!

Ancora

Ancora

Yum!

Beautiful tile on our walk to supermercado

Our Ancora balcony sans laundry

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