Day 2: A day in Porto

Last night was very difficult. The hostel is on a busy road and there's a lot of traffic noise. However, June 23 is also the most important festival of the year for Porto, and last night was a practice run. The noise was incredible. However, after a final volley of fireworks at midnight, it quietened down, and I drifted off to sleep.... only to be woken at 1240 by another couple checking into the room. I don't think they were intentionally noisy, but they were noisy.

Eventually, I drifted off to sleep again, and, in the end, I had a decent sleep. We were spending the day in Porto, so there was no rush to get up.

It had been incredibly hot through the night, and so the shower in the morning was very welcome. Breakfast was a buffet, and it was fine, I've had worse but the coffee was terrible, and so my friend kindly agreed to a trip to Starbucks.

The plan for today was to be tourists, and so we went to the Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace. We marvelled at the skill and craftsmanship of the stonemasons, carpenters, and artists who built this incredible church.

The Bishop's palace was, wel palatial, and beautifully furnished. I could not help but reflect on the cruel irony that the Bishops and priests lived in luxury provided for them by the poor who lived from day to day barely surviving. Whilst the religious elite ate the best of foods, and slept in comfortable beds with warm fires on a winter's night, those same stone masons and carpenters were in a daily struggle for survival.

It was a very similar experience at the late 14th century church of St Francis, incredibly beautiful but built on the backs of the poor.

The truly religious are the servants of the people, not their masters.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for the camino tomorrow, 26km to Vila Cha.Read more