Vila Praia de Ancora

Day 5
Viana do Castelo to Praia de Âncora — 18km

Back on the Litoral route today, with lots of birdlife along the way:

Little egrets
Cattle egrets
Grey herons
Stonechats
Greenshanks
Various types of plovers
And lots of other shorebirds that we couldn’t identify!

Today’s walk took us along soft trails and boardwalks, around the coast and through lush green forests. The scenery was wonderfully varied, although the lack of facilities made bathroom breaks a bit of a challenge!

I was a bit grumpy today, not sure why. I had a great night’s sleep and a fab breakfast, so no excuses really! 😂

After a few hours, I had a bit of a “I NEED TO STOP AND REST MY FEET” moment. Jim, being Jim, was determined to find the perfect place. 😂 And we did!

A closed café right on the beach. Shoes and socks off, followed by a picnic of Portuguese tarts. Perfect. 🥧🌊

Why are those last 3km always the toughest?

We finally got into Praia de Âncora and were feeling euphoric… until Google Maps told us it was another 19 minutes to our accommodation. 😯

Unfortunately, we’d booked a house/hostel a little out of town , but we do have our own room! 😊

I really, really don’t want to complain, but man, it’s so hard to find anything that’s open before 7pm!

I wanted to have an early meal, so we found the most non-atmospheric restaurant — if you could call it that. The food was ok, but the best bit was that I was back in our room by 7:15pm.

Jim, on the other hand, decided to make some cocktails for the girls. 🍹

He also went out to grab some supplies for tomorrow’s long walk. He’s such a good traveling companion ☺️

Now I’m off to bed — hopefully tomorrow I’ll be less grumpy! 😂Read more