Valença

11 miles today. Mostly flat and along rivers. Another gorgeous day. Wonderful time of silence in the morning and listening to a great podcast of experience, strength and hope that had me laughing out loud (thanks, Lorna K.). We arrived in the sweet town of Porrino at maybe 3 and went on the hunt for salads. Tricky to find a place with a kitchen open at this time, but we found one. Tonight is a big fashion show in the square and it’s happening. Had dinner at the hotel. Then Adriana, Gus and I went to find gelato and check out the fashion show. It was rocking, but I’m exhausted. Tmrw we are walking in time to see the sunrise (7:40 am) so we will walk out of our hotel at 7:15. The hotel has provided boxed breakfasts for us tonight that we put in our fridges. We bought cold Starbucks and other pre made iced lattes at the grocery store this afternoon to have in the morning. Tmrw night is our last dinner with Miguel who is our guide and driver. After Monday we will use a luggage transfer service which has a 33 pound weight limit so I will have to put some “extra” stuff in the van each day so I meet the weight requirement. The great thing this trip is that we are walking from every destination to our next destination and when we arrive at our accommodations Piero or Miguel have pre delivered our luggage. They also carry it to the van from outside our hotel rooms every morning. It’s so wonderful. Our group of 8 is a great size. I would not recommend doing in any larger group. The Camino is a very intimate experience and you want to walk together cohesively for the most part, etc. Tmrw Louise and I are going to be totally silent for the entire 11 miles. It will be challenging, but what I need. It’s hard for me to spend too much time in my head so this is about all I can handle. I’ll report back tomorrow. 🙏🥰Les mer