Leça da Palmeira

Everybody passed me today. Four Camino cyclists, a dozen folks wearing backpacks (“Bom Caminho!”), a bunch of locals out for a beach day, and a woman carrying two bags of groceries, A nut brown, big-bellied, shirtless guy in bright blue shorts passed me…twice.

I am an unapologetic lollygagger. I stopped to read all the informational signs posted. There were probably a couple dozen along the 7.5 miles of boardwalk that made up the first leg of my Camino. (FYI: The Germans sank a boat off the coast here after the war, just to assure the Allie’s didn’t confiscate it. The flowers of the dunes here enjoy protected” status. The still-active fishing settlement on the beach is older than your great grandma.)

This is nothing new. Anyone who has hiked with me will tell you I like to stop and dissect the roses. Today, I pause to watch some shorebirds, plovers, putter about. They are unworried about my proximity, unlike our shy California version. I witness two couples in their silly flirting and wag my finger at the “mao homem” who scares his girlfriend. I take a brief detour to find an ancient fishing cottage surrounded by the collected plastic remnants of a modern coastal cleanup. Cool!

Some pilgrims judge a slow walker on the Camino. For them, suffering is part of the process, and speed is essential to the route. Others argue, “It’s your Camino, and it will unfold the way it supposes to unfold. The Camino provides,”

After a first day of coastal meandering, I can see some challenges ahead. No amount of lollygagging can erase the physical strain of the 100-plus kilometers ahead. But I walked 7.5 miles today, and I could have done a bit more. I’m tired, but no blisters, and no aches. All good news.

Certainly dark moments lie in wait, ready to chew up and spit out my current nirvana . My feet will likely start to hurt. Rain is forecast for later this week, and I’m not sure how I will navigate that. At some points I’ll get wet, and sore and tired and hungry and grumpy.

But I’ll be ok. I am going nowhere fast, and it is glorious.Les mer