Testing Our Raingear En Route to Esposende

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As predicted by both Accuweather and the normally undependable app on my phone, we woke up to rain today. After a quick breakfast, we donned our rain jackets, put rain covers on our backpacks and walked down to the main promenade in Povoa de Varzim. Along with a large cohort of pilgrims, we turned right and headed north along the ocean. The wind was strong (15 - 20 mph) and white caps were breaking out in the ocean - much rougher than the placid, sunny sea we walked alongside yesterday.

About half an hour in, the rain started in earnest. Sideways blowing rain driven by wind gusts. You’ll think I’m crazy, but I actually found myself liking it. Why? A few reasons: 1. The surf is more interesting to watch when it’s kicking up whitecaps and crashing big breakers. 2. My rain gear is cozy. The Patagonia jacket breathes and Velcro closings are tight around my wrist. Put on a baseball cap, flip up the hood and I’m warm and protected. 3. The wind and rain were coming from behind, so they added a little lift to every step.

We were soon out of Povoa and onto the amazing boardwalks the Portuguese have built about 3’ above the sand. They stretch for miles and make for a pleasantly mindless hiking experience. You can look at the high and fascinating tall dunes, fixate on the roiling ocean or admire the masseiras, small farming plots that run right down to the beach. You don’t need to worry that you’ve missed a turn or a Camino waymarker, just...follow...the ....boardwalk.

One of our favorite things was the crazy golfers plying the Estela Golf Course that ran between the boardwalk and the sea. There were golfers on every green despite driving rain. The Scots have nothing on the Portuguese!

The boardwalk ended after the golf club and we walked through a wonderfully fragrant Eucalyptus grove before reaching Apulia, where we stopped in a tiny cafe which served . . .not the hot soup we hoped for, but either omelette with ham and cheese or sandwich with ham and cheese. We parked our sodden rain jackets and packs and squished up to the counter in our wet shoes, to get what we could. Sustenance. The fun part, though was that all the local dudes (about 30 in all) had squeezed in for their Saturday afternoon card game. They navigated around us sodden Peregrinos and focused deeply on their cards and the soccer game blaring on the TV. Happy life in rural Portugal.

Too soon, it was back into the rain for our last several miles into Esposende. We reached our Hostel for the night and were greeted with the deafening sound of hair dryers. Vanity? No, in every room people were drying their shoe, shirts, packs, rain gear, hoping for a dry start in the morning. Only on the Camino!

Data: 13.1 miles, 9 floors (some small hills)

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