Largo do Laranjal

Visiting beautiful churches and discovering cultural heritage sites all while following the shell and yellow arrows kept us busy again today as we hiked over 16 miles. (The legs are definitely tired today! ) Hard rain and winds whipped us up the coast all morning but by this afternoon as we veered a bit from the coast, the weather calmed down and we were treated to a few sunny afternoon hours in the masseiras or local garden plots and a eucalyptus forest. We passed big soccer training field and a golf course in the middle of what seemed like nowhere! The rain welcomed us again as we were approaching our hostel in Esposende but by this point we expected it , popped the ponchos back on and kept walking!!
Today we visited and were awed by many beautiful old churches. We were reminded of the reverence given to our God in olden times by the faithful Portuguese who in this area made their living from the sea. We were waved at and encouraged all day- some people even stopped their cars when they passed us in the rain to give us their best wishes- it is humbling to be the recipient of such kindness.
We passed some of our new friends as we walked including Brent from San Diego, Nicola, Fergus and Lewis from Australia and Theodore from Germany who is escorting 20 rambunctious high schoolers- they kept our spirits up and today was another good day- now to sleep and get ready for the next stage! Thanks for reading and following our Caminho- pray for us and we send prayers and love to you all!Read more