First Hiking Day - to Póvoa de Varzim

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We were out the door at 9 AM and decided to take the Metro downtown to get our Credential stamped at Se Cathedral to mark the official start of our Camino.

Then, to avoid the long walk out of the city, we took the Metro out to Vila do Pinhiero, just beyond the Porto airport. We started walking, following the Brierly guide directions. Almost made a wrong turn but a man came out of a side street and pointed us in the right direction. The Camino provides!

We walked down narrow roads between tall fields of corn and through forests of Eucalyptus. Very rural. While the morning was overcast, the sun began to show through around noon and we took off the light jackets we were wearing.

We made a tactical mistake in direction that took us along the inland coastal route rather than along the ocean (our plan) but realized our mistake a few miles down the road and took a route that backtracked a bit but got us to the beach.

This part of the Camino Portugues runs mostly through the high dunes that border the ocean. It’s spectacular because dunes and ocean are on the left and often preserved wetlands and forest are on the right, between the scattered oceanside communities. The wind was low and the sun was out, making for excellent hiking. We stopped for lunch at restaurant on the beach and had fish and an interesting side dish of sautéed green peppers and sea salt.

In the late afternoon we walked through the very charming historical town of Vila do Conde and on to our final destination of Póvoa de Varzim. The guest house in which we’re staying is directly across from the terminal metro stop of the line we took out of Porto. From the stop where we got off to begin hiking to Póvoa was probably 20 minutes on the Metro and about 4 1/2 hours (and 13 miles) of hiking!

Data: Actually 13.5 miles, 4 floors (virtually flat)

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