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Happy Feet on the Camino
  • Happy Feet on the Camino
  • Happy Feet on the Camino

Happy Feet on the Camino

A 25-day adventure by Happy Feet on the Camino Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 14, 2024
    Happy Feet on the CaminoHappy Feet on the CaminoTraveler
    1

    Stuck in New Jersey

    May 16, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Well, what a way to start our adventure! Our flight to Porto got canceled, and we ended up staying at a Sheraton hotel in New Jersey. We didn't get to our hotel until four thirty a.m. We were exhausted. However, we made the best of it while we were there.Read more

  • Happy Feet on the CaminoHappy Feet on the CaminoTraveler

    Catching up

    May 18, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We arrived in Porto on the 17th at 9:30 am . We took a taxi to Cosa Mindela in the city of Giao, our designated bed, and breakfast for that night. We decided after getting settled in. We would walk down to the beach. It turned out to be a 10-mile walk round-trip. We had a great time getting to know the area. When we got back from exploring, we had a nice dinner waiting for us. And ate with other camino travelers. That is where we got our first official camino walk stamp.Read more

  • Happy Feet on the CaminoHappy Feet on the CaminoTraveler

    Catching up

    May 19, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    The second place we stayed was at the home of Belevira. When we first arrived there, she insisted that we have a full body massage done by her personal professional masseuse. OMG! IT WAS WONDERFUL! There were other camino walkers, there all had their own rooms. We had a 4 course dinner. It was lovely. Our beds were so comfortable. We had a really nice breakfast in the morning and bid our other walkers. Bon Camino, that's what we say on the camino walk. We left Miguel de Arcos and walked 21k to our next overnight destination in Barcelos. Our first "Hotel ".Read more

  • Happy Feet on the CaminoHappy Feet on the CaminoTraveler

    On our way to Balugaes

    May 20, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    After a buffet breakfast, we left our hotel Rua da Mandalena in the city of Barcelos and started our walk to Quinta da Canceia in Balugaes. Along the way, we met a woman from Brazil. We walked together for about two hours. We were all getting hungry, so we stopped at the little place on the trail called "Rosa Cintilante." While I was ordering my food, I was surprised to hear Talking Heads on their radio. I knew I liked this place, lol!
    Then we met up with 3 other walkers. We walked together for about 2 hours. Most of the path was cobblestone. It's just amazing. There must be hundreds and hundreds of miles in portugal of cobble stone roads. Michelle and I checked our fitbits and realized we walked 3 miles past our next destination.
    One of the brazilian women called a taxi for us because she knows portuguese language and they were there in fifteen minutes.
    In the meantime, there was an alberga close by that's very famous in germany and we were invited in while we waited. The name of the place was Lugar Do Corgo Casa Fernana. Fernanda is the name of the woman who runs the place. There were quite a few Walker's there. Laying on the grass sitting at the picnic tables, just enjoying the rest of the day and I heard our names called by the 2 brothers that we met at Rua da Mandalena. They jumped up and gave hugs all around. Like we were good old friends. Everyone we have met so far is nice and happy. There are no grumpies in the bunch. It's amazing. Tonight, we had a wonderful gourmet type. Dinner made by a beautiful young Brazilian woman of 21 years old. 3 course meal with dessert and three forks lol! Well Time to take a shower and hit the sack. We have a big Day ahead of us tomorrow.    Read more

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    Destination Porte de Lima

    May 21, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We left Quinta da Canceila at 9:40 am, After an awesome breakfast of ham cheese bread, yogurt, really good coffee and fresh fruit with oranges from their own trees, and of course, some kiwi. It rained up until lunchtime. But it wasn't horrible. Everything is so green and smells so good here right now. We did a lot of off the main road walking. We saw sheep, a horse, chickens, ducks, and some spiky little hairy thing that ran through a field. At one point, we came upon a Portuguese woman offering us apples and bread. However, we just had lunch, so we had to politely decline. I asked if I could take her picture. And she smiled very big and said Sim, which means yes in Portuguese. We saw many of our fellow walkers along the way to Ponte de Lima. We arrived at our destination at about 4:00ish. Our hotel was right on the Lima River. After we both took showers, we went downstairs and had another awesome dinner. Our next destination is Gandra Agualonga in San Pedro de Rubiaes. We are tired, we feel good, and the wine at dinner hit us hard!
    Boa Noite🌙    Read more

  • Happy Feet on the CaminoHappy Feet on the CaminoTraveler
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    Destination Quinta da Gandia

    May 22, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We both slept very well, and after a buffet breakfast at the hotel, We decided to explore Porto de Lima for about 45 minutes. And of course we took more pictures. Then we were finally on our way to our new destination. Quinta da Gandia, which is located in San Pedro de Rubiaes.
    Today, we saw some very beautiful sights, including waterfalls and streams and lots of green foliage.
    At one point, we hiked down to the water and sat on a rock and had a bite to eat. We ended up taking about a twenty five minute break, which felt really good. We got back up on the trail and came across three australian walkers, who told us that they had been hiking 19 days and they started in Lisbon.
    During the course of the day, we came across many walkers . We also came across a little snake, but I don't know what kind it is. Michelle freaked out at first, and we both started to laugh. I have to say that today was our most challenging day. We kept going up up up very, rocky terrain for hours. We also had to go through a muddy bog by hopping from rock to rock. It was definitely a good workout. I loved the day we had today!
    Tonight we are staying in a private home. And 2 other walkers that we had met before are also staying here. We were picked up by a private transfer van and taken to a local restaurant for dinner. We are back showere and ready to pass out. LOL.
    Bad Noite!    Read more

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    HOLA SPAIN!!

    May 23, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Today, we walked over 13 miles from Quinta da Gandra in San Pedro de Rubiaes to Hotel Villa Blanca in Tui Spain .
    We crossed the Guadiana River to get from Portugal to Spain today! What a rush! There were a lot of Camino walkers arriving at the same time we were. Very exciting indeed!
    We were sad to say "Adeus" to Portugal but very happy to make it to Spain.
    We walked through the town and found our Hotel Villa Blanca. We took showers and set out for dinner. On the way, we stopped at the Santa Iglesia Cathedral. It was built in 1227 under the order of Archbishop Rodrigo Jimenez mandate. The Cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her ascension to heaven. It was constructed in Gothic style. So cool!
    There is so much detail in today's adventure that I just don't have the energy to type it all out.    Read more

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    2

    O Porrino

    May 24, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today, we woke up to a beautiful morning. We met a nice group of 8 people at our hotel who are traveling together. They are from Ireland,
    Australia and Scotland. Which included three sisters all over the age of seventy! Amazing!
    On our track, we came across a man playing bagpipes. It was kind of nice to hear the music in the rural area. We stopped in a couple of little cafes along the way and had some espresso and water and sometimes a cookie. At those times, you sit and talk with other walkers and hear about their adventures on the road. We walked by some beautiful streams and small rivers. And over some bridges. We arrived at O Perino around 2:00. We found our hotel and took a quick nap 😴.. For some reason, today we both felt really tired when we got here. After our short nap, we found a really nice restaurant and had lunch. It was delicious. I even had a couple of beers and an espresso! I guess I needed an awake buzz. We walked around the town and came across Calle de Antonio Palacios. It was breathtaking. In Spain, everything closes down from 4 to 6 for siesta.. It's really weird. So we decided to go back to our hotel and take our own siesta. We woke up, took showers, and had dinner at our hotel. We are now preparing for our longest journey tomorrow, which will be almost fifteen miles.
    Buenos noches!    Read more

  • Happy Feet on the CaminoHappy Feet on the CaminoTraveler
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    15 miles to Arcade

    May 25, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today was a very long day but good. We walked a total of fifteen and a half miles most of it uphill. We stopped for lunch at about 12:30 at a place called Celtic Laude in Redondela. I got scampi. Michelle got some kind of noodles, and we shared between us. Again, it was delicious, of course, I had a beer and coffee. It felt good to take a break.. We came across a woman on our walk through a really nice forest area that was playing bagpipes. By the way, she played better than the guy the day before, lol. Anyway, we thought she was so sweet. She said her name was Maria. I asked if I could have a picture with her. And she agreed with a big smile. We put some Euros in her collection basket. And we were on our way.
    After a lot more uphills and some picture taking, We made it to our hotel by 4 o'clock. We had a beautiful view of the bay from our window. Tomorrow, we only have to walk about 8 miles. We're both very excited so that we can catch up and maybe do some exploring. It is lightly raining right now but should be clearing up by tomorrow.
    Oh yes.. If you can't tell already, i've really been into the door knockers here.😄    Read more

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    On our way to Pontevedra

    May 26, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Our hotel Duarte had our breakfast all prepared at our own table this morning. It was a nice way to start the day. There were at least 24 Camino Walkers staying at the same hotel as us, and we all started off around the same time. It was a very beautiful walk today with some surprises along the way. The first Surprise happened as we were hiking up a very steep rocky trail. About 5 men on bikes rode down the same trail we were on. I could not believe they were riding bikes down this trail. I considered them daredevils. The next surprise was a man on a white horse coming up the same trail. It amazed me how sure-footed the horse was walking on all these rocks and small boulders.
    As we were walking along, we met a woman from Canada named Teri Lee. It turns out she is staying at the same hotel that we were headed for, so we decided to walk together. When we got to our hotel, our luggage wasn't there yet. So we went upstairs and rested until our luggage came. We took showers and met Teri and her friend for a walk through old town. We took more pictures. Michelle and I were getting very hungry, so we stopped at a small restaurant called. Natas D'ouro. The food was good and of course I had my daily cerveza.
    Then we walked through the amazing Sanctuary of the Pilgrim Virgin (pictures). Also, the 14th-century convent of San Francisco. (Pictures).
    Today was another amazing day! I'm looking forward to our walk tomorrow, which will be about fourteen miles.    Read more

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    Hotel Via XIX in Caldas de Reis

    May 27, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We were on the road from Pontevedra by 8:15am.
    The walk was good, even though long. We didn't have any big inclines today. Whew!
    We stopped twice to eat rest and have a beer with Camino friends it was nice. We had 3 young military men jog by us today, and michelle could hardly contain herself.
    Like I said before, you never know what you're going to encounter on the camino. As we work our way closer to Compostella,
    We are starting to see more people stop on the side of the trail. Adjusting something on their backpacks, changing their socks, taking a drink of water, rubbing their feet, some people limping, etc..
    But one thing everyone has in common. They continue to move forward💙💪
    I hope everyone enjoys today's pictures😊    Read more

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    Caldas de reis -> Lestrobe

    May 28, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We left our hotel. Via XIX by 8:15 am. The weather was perfect most of the day, then started to warm up later on. We made 2 and a 1/2 stops along the way. We were only supposed to walk about twelve miles to our next destination. However, Michelle typed in tomorrow's destination in Google maps by mistake, and we ended up walking almost 4 miles past our stopping point.😳
    We realized the mistake and called a taxi to get us back to Casa Antiga do Monte.
    We were both wondering why we were so tired. On top of that, the front of my ankle was a little swollen and was in pain for about the last 8 miles..
    The place we are staying is a private resident and is absolutely beautiful.
    We both had hot showers and a home cooked meal. And now we're relaxing, and I put ice on my ankle. all as well. Time for bed!!    Read more

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    Pardon -> O Sisto

    May 29, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We were on the road by 9:15 am.
    We only had to walk about 8 miles to Casa Rural A Casa Villa da Rivera in O Sisto.
    The walk was easy today.
    We got to our destination around 12:30 pm. I took a short nap while Michelle took a shower. After I took my shower, I went downstairs and sat outside on the patio, had a couple of beers, and chatted with 3 ladies from Australia. Then went back upstairs and Michelle. And I both rested until dinner time. The young lady who checked us in happened to be from China also. She was so happy to be able to chat with Michelle in their language. It was cute to watch how excited she was. She and her husband got married about 5 years ago and live here. He is from Santiago. They make a really cute couple. Michelle and she lived in the same Providence. About 1 hour from each other. It was fun watching them discover this.
    The pictures we took today were quite random. A little bit of everything.
    It was another good day.    Read more

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    O Sisto -> Santiago de Compostella

    May 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today, we woke up to a mildly, cloudy day, and we're very happy about that. We didn't want to have to walk in the heat on the last portion of our walk to Compostella. After a fabulous breakfast this by our hosts. We set off to Compostella.
    There were about 12 other Camino walkers around the table, and all we talked about was our last day to get to compostella. We're all very excited.
    The walk was wonderful, and there were pretty sights. And some odd little things that I took pictures of. When we entered compostella, where the cathedral was located in the town square, we were in awe.. There is nothing to describe the feeling we had spiritually and of what we accomplished in the last fourteen days. We went to our hotel and took showers. Went back out to the town square and walked through all the shops. We stopped and had dinner, which was very good, and we went to a mass in the cathedral itself. All I can say is, Wow! We walked a total of 14.5 miles today.    Read more

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    Compostella and beyond

    May 31, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    WOW! We woke up and didn't have to walk anywhere 🙃
    It felt very strange.
    We did, however, book ourselves an excursion.
    Fisterray y Costa da Morte. The End of the Word.
    We visited: Pontemaceira, Muxia, Faro and Fisterra Village, The Ezaro Waterfall, The Carnota Horreo, and The Village of Muros. The coast was absolutely breathtaking..
    Our guide told us we were having a unique wind event today with fifty to sixty mile an hour wind.
    When we got back to compostella, Town Square Michelle and I checked in to our next hotel. We rested a bit and then went for a walk to get dinner at about 8:30 p.
    m.
    We ran into our Australian friends and bid them farewell for the last time.
    I would just like to mention that from our window in our hotel room, We can see the Cathedral. We are about a five minute walk from that area. We leave tomorrow at five fifteen p.m. on a bus to Lisbon Where we will stay for 3 more days, then we will take a train on to porto and stay two days. Portugal is so beautiful. I can't wait to get back there.    Read more

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    Bus trip to Lisbon and more..

    June 3, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We traveled to Lisbon Portugal by bus. It took us most of the day we arrived at 1:30 AM on the 2nd of June.. There were no taxis to be found at that time of the morning, so we googled our hotel and began to walk with our luggage dragging behind us. We walked through dark allies and unfamiliar territory. However, we laughed most of the way. We found our hotel quite easily. We are in a real hotel this time. Ha! Ha!
    We are located on the 10th floor and are very comfortable, with a beautiful view of the city of Lisbon. We got to sleep in this morning and then took a taxi to Old Town. Apparently, that's the place to be. We ate lunch, which we enjoyed very much. And then we did a little shopping. We stopped by another beautiful church and again took lots of pictures.
    Then we moved on to St. George's castle, Castel de Sao Jorge, was built by kings of portugal, most notably Ferdinand l.
    Since the 12th century, the castle has variously served as a royal place, a military barracks, home of the Tombo National Archive, and now as a national monument and museum. It was amazingly magical.
    This evening, we took an unexpected sunset cruise. They served beer and wine and had some really good music on the whole time we were cruising. And it was absolutely wonderful.
    Today was a good day!    Read more

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    A Tour of Sintra and Cascails

    June 3, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Today, our tour van picked us up at the hard rock cafe Lisbon at 8:am sharp.
    Our destination, Sintra & Cascails.
    Centura is widely acclaimed
    as one of the most beautiful locals. It is known for its small colored palaces and villas along the ocean front shoreline. We also spent two hours walking (touring) the beautiful Pena Palace. It is considered a national monument. Built in 1854.
    I must have taken over 150 pictures at the palace.
    Today was another amazing day.!!    Read more

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    Porto

    June 5, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today, we hired a tuk tuk tour of the city of Porto.
    After the tuk tuk tour, We headed out on foot. We walked to a very famous bookstore that we actually had to purchase tickets in advance just to go in.
    Librarian Lello is the name of the bookstore, but the locals call it the Harry Potter bookstore. It turns out that J.K. Rawlings,the creator of the Harry Potter book series, lived in porto for one and a half years, where she taught english and also got her inspiration for the Harry Potter book series from the streets and places in Porto.
    As a matter of fact, we visited the Porto train station, where some scenes from the first Harry Potter movie were filmed.
    After a very good lunch, we took a boat tour on the Dovro River. we saw some beautiful bridges and buildings along the shoreline..
    Then, We were off to do some last-minute shopping before we returned to our hotel by 7:45!
    It was another very busy day.
    Boa noite!    Read more

    Trip end
    June 7, 2024