Day 21/10 Esposende to Viana do Castelo

Our walk today started under cloudy skies with a slight wind and a cool 12 degrees. A fairly long 27 km journey was on the agenda along the Caminho's coastal route. Despite the coastal monicker, most of today's travels were on inland trails, with a couple of fairly long, steep stretches over difficult terrain. Other parts were through beautiful forested areas alongside a rapidly moving stream. The final couple kilometers were over a heavily trafficked bridge, high over the river where we were buffeted by extremely high winds. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the north shore.

Brenda and I stopped for coffee at the 9.15 km mark in Belinho where we rejoined Ernita (our new name for Ernie and Anita) who had taken a route that more closely followed the coast. We didn't stop again until Chafe, 19 kms into our walk. We had a very substantial lunch but were seriously overcharged for the meal we had. On the plus side, it was very delicious and filling.

On our journey today we saw a cactus on the verge of exploding into fill bloom, a trio of crucifixes where we suspect an annual recreation may take place during the Easter season, a lemon tree laden with grapefruit-sized fruit, several lovely and/or historic churches, a shrine to the Caminho, and, at our destination, Viana do Castelo, a hilltop cathedral, a street adorned with colorful umbrellas and a statue of a monk on his ass (donkey, that is).

We wrapped up our day with a great meal just a stones throw from our hotel.

Tomorrow is a short 18 km walk to our next destination. Let's hope it warms up a little before we hit the road on the morning.Les mer