Day 11 - A Portela to Caldas de Reis

An easy breezy 2 1/2 hour walk for Giovanna and I to Caldas de Reis today. It’s so noticeable how many walkers have joined in - not sure I respect the last 100k km folks with their small backpacks and the crowds that they bring. Despite that, a nice walk into the town through forested trails and past grape vines.

We grabbed some fresh peaches from the local grocer and meat/fish pies from a small bakery and had a park bench lunch after checking into the hostel. Caldas de Reis is famous for having thermal springs and we dipped our feet into the fountain - felt SO nice! With our early arrival we paid for access to the hotel pool across the street from the hostel and relaxed for most of the afternoon, grabbing a late dinner of kebab afterwards.

The good times seem to be getting later as we try to really stretch out the last few days on the Camino and we met up with some new Italian guys to end our our night: Luigi, Daved annndd… there’s always one name that escapes me… I remember that is was a typical Italian name though. And Nick, the UK transplant to Italy.

Some mixed emotions as the end gets closer for sure.Read more