Day 23/12 V.P.Ancora to V.N.Cerveira

Well I'm a walking down down the road
Tryna lighten my load
I got seven kilos on my spine
Four are clothes for wearing
Two is food for sharing
One I should have left behind.

(Sorry Eagles fans, but sometimes the caminho gives you far too much time to kill.)

Today we set out at 6:50 a.m. under sunny skies with a cool temperature of 12 degrees C. Initially, our goal was to reach Vila Nova de Cerveira after walking 24.9 kms and climbing 523 meters.

Happily, we discovered an alternate route that runs right along the coast, which allowed us to arrive in Vila Nova de Cerveira in only 22.2 kms with only 73 meters climbed.

The shortcut was especially appreciated after the difficult and steep climbs we undertook yesterday.

Amazingly, the majority of today's walk was on a soft bike/jogging track that ran for at least fifteen kms alongside the river that serves as the border between Spain and Portugal. So close were we to Spain, at times my phone was showing the time for the Spanish time zone.

We stopped for coffee at the 8.9 km mark in Camhina in a town square more reminiscent of Italy than Portugal.

Our next stop was a very short bathroom break at 16 kms. The path was so smooth and we all felt so energetic, we powered straight through to lunch at our destination in Vila Nova de Cerveira.

After a shower, we sat down for a round of pre-dinner Port and tonic before heading out for a very delicious dinner of various tapas.

Oh yeah, Spain is just around the corner.

Distance walked since Lisbon: approx. 500 kms.Read more