Flat: Lanhelas to Vila Nova de Cervina

My return to walking isn’t actually on the official Camino. That walk is an up-and-down adventure through forests and towns. I opt for the alternative route along the Eco Via Beirada do Rio Lanhelas. (Rivers are as ubiquitous and French fries and churches here.) The eco trail is flat, and has a water view. I’m in.

It’s a short, 6.5 miles to Vila Nova de Cervina. I am comfortably alone the entire way. I see a few strollers and a cyclist whizzes past, but no other pilgrims. It’s nice. I have my earbuds, but don’t really need the distraction of music. The magpies and blackbirds are music enough.

The red walking substrate, whatever it is, is soft on my poor feet. I walk with the river on my left and wild meadows and stands of trees on my right. Every once in a while, the neat, green rows of a small farm show up. I wonder how they get tractors down here.

I roll into Vila Nova de Cervina a little past noon. There’s a huge park here along the river. It has a tiny botanical garden, play areas, and some sort of sports field I can only guess is disc golf. There’s also an aquarium featuring river flora and fauna. My fishing friends would enjoy seeing all the same species as we have back home - rainbow trout, smelt, carp. There are also a couple of Godzilla goldfish with a warning to keep your little Nemo fish pets out of the wild. A display of a fishing outfit made of reeds looks just like the traditional one I saw at the textiles museum. It would make a good costume for a horror story villain.

I take an obligatory photo of the church (St. Cipriano’s), with its anachronistic modern art sculpture in the garden, then head uphill, for the first time, to my hostel. I enjoy my first pilgrims’ meal, which is basically a cheap communal dinner. It’s vegetarian spaghetti and salad. Pasta is the bomb when you’ve been walking a while.

I opt for a private room over one with 4 bunk beds. I really don’t need to be THAT much of pilgrim. Also, I snore.

This is an excuse. I do not care.Read more