Day 3: Vila Chā 26km

It was a wild night in Porto for the festival. The sky was filled with Chinese lanterns, and the loudest fireworks I've ever heard were going off all night. We thought we would probably never get to sleep, but somehow we did.

We had planned to leave at 0700, but by the time we checked out, it was 0720. The city looked like a bomb had gone off, but there was an army of council workers clearing it all up. It looked worse than the aftermath of a Rangers match (win or lose).

Within a few minutes, we were at the river. I was using the Gronze App but would only be checking it occasionally. As I said to an older American lady, we met on the way to the river: if you keep the river and the sea to your left, you're going the right way.

The App showed that a bridge we would need to cross was closed for refurbishment. However, there was a courtesy bus that would take us the long way round.

When we got there, it wasn't clear where to get the bus, but an older Portuguese man guessed our predicament. He was the first person I had met in Portugal who didn't speak English. Fortunately, Portuguese is similar to Spanish, and I understood his instructions. The camino is full of the kindness of strangers and often gives you the opportunity to be a kind person being kind. Within the first 10km, we had the opportunity to help an Irish lady with some important App information and another group of ladies who were trying to work out how to use their walking poles correctly.

There were about 15 pilgrims on the bus, and so although it was the end of the season, it was already the busiest camino I have been on.

We began to notice that all the cafés, bars, and shops were closed. So, we decided to stop at the first one we came to, and it turned out to be metres from where we got off the bus.

More than half the walk today was on boardwalk, which allowed for a good pace of 4.5km per hour. 26km was a lot for the first day, though, especially as I was not as fit as i could be, but then reader, neither are you, so don't judge me too harshly.

As we arrived at Vila Chā we met an elderly lady from Glasgow who was delighted to hear Scottish voices.

We had to get moving, though. We were hoping to stay in the municipal albergue, and you can't reserve a bed in them. It's first come, first served. When we arrived, there were just four other pilgrims, so we were sure to get beds. It turned out to be one of the nicest albergues I have ever stayed in.

After z fabulous and inexpensive steak dinner, it was time to get ready for bed. The camino waits for no one.Read more