Portuguese Glamino 2024

I don't know where to start! Well, I do... The report this morning was that the bears had found Goldilocks' bed and were more than comfortable, thank you very much! It really was the most comfortable night's sleep we've had, I think. And it's a good job, because today's walk involved 21.6km (that's fine!) with much of it on an incline (that's not fine!) 🙄😱😂.
We started off at 0730 after a quick breakfast of biscuits and little cakes, kindly left by our host, Raquel. Oh, and there was 'real' coffee - apparently that's a thing!😂
Our route took us through Pontevedra and across the bridge. and on towards the point where we could choose between the Urban or the Rural (Spiritual) Variant. We'd already agreed we were walking the Spiritual Variant, having booked accommodation in Vilanova de Arousa, two days hence. Today's walk was to take us to half way, to Armenteira and the monastery there, where we hoped we'd find a bed for the night.
Our first 5km was a bit of a march - the way was flat and it was easy to get some steam up - and even the beginning of the Spiritual Variant was pretty flat. As the boys are a lot quicker than we are, they had strict instructions to motor on ahead and stop at the next café, which only happened to be about 1km from our instructions! It was a small hotel that served the most delicious croissants, French-style, not Spanish-style 👏👏👏, so it was great to take the weight off our feet for a while before beginning our next slog. The next shops were about 6km away, and that's where we decided to stock up for lunch. Luke and Ray sped on ahead, ostensibly to get to the Monastery ahead of the crowds and book a few beds! The messages started coming back thick and fast - directions to take when the signs were poor, and then the news that there were no shops open 😱. It was a good job we were all carrying extra provisions (including Snickers, of course) as they became our lunch and/or snacks, and they were really welcome! There were lots of water fountains to begin with, so we drank lots and filled our water bottles up lots, too.
The path was becoming steeper and steeper - it was one of those 'just around the corner' days. 'Just around the corner' - it'll go down a bit (no), - there'll be a café to stop at (no), - the walking surface will become softer on our poor feet (again, no!)🙄😂. So there was nothing for it but to carry on walking! Julie and I took a few drink breaks and managed to take a few lovely photos (we can always tell how hard a day it is by the number of 📸 we take).
The boys were nearing Armenteira in their quest for a bed for the night and we still had about 5km to go (probably more!) so we left them to book into the Monastery and not worry about us! We were always doing the Spiritual Variant and are used to having no accommodation when we arrive and thinking on our feet😂.
The path led us through eucalyptus woods over surfaces ranging from sand, which was lovely and soft on the feet, to large rocks or shingle-y type stuff, which wasn't so lovely. The final 1km was, thankfully, all downhill, but involved dodging between rocks and stones, which was very tricky (especially when you have big feet!)😉
And then there they were!!!👏👏👏
Luke very kindly offered me a coke zero, but tells me I was very grumpy and demanded a beer instead 🙄😂. A couple of beers and a menu del dia later and we were ready to find somewhere to rest our weary heads. Thing was, all of the local accommodation was booked up, but Luke managed to find somewhere for us on Booking.com. We are now installed in a 5 bed, 4 bath stone house with a swimming pool, a lot cheaper than staying at the Monastery would have been! The washing's done and drying, and we've been sitting by the pool (the boys risked it😱) dozing or catching up on our blogs, social media, BIAY whilst listening to some very chilling music 👌. The owner very kindly shopped for us, so we're also enjoying a glass or two of local Albariño 😋😋😋.
We're discussing our starting point(s) tomorrow - our taxi driver is picking us up at 0730ish and delivering Luke and Ray to the Monastery, whilst Julie and I will go a little further and cut off 7.5km 🙄😂. Well! We've already walked about 230km so we deserve this little treat. And at the speed Luke and Ray walk, we'll likely arrive at our next accommodation (all booked) at the same time😂.Læs mere