Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia de Ancona - 11.2 miles

 Bom Camino!

Trail names.  If you are walking 10-15 miles per day for 6-8 hours after a while you sort of run out of things to say.  So, you start coming up with “trail names.”  Ours started with one of the Cheryls.  Both had spent countless hours it appears researching this trip, but the one Cheryl spouted the most information and knew the route seemingly flawlessly.  She’s became “Albert” or Al for short.  Albert Einstein, get it?

The second Cheryl who we call CA, is “Flash”.  She is the youngest, the most enthusiastic and the fastest walker.  No matter how long we walk, as it gets near the end she really hoofs it.  She said she is like the horse getting close to the barn.

Suzanne is “Trip.”  She fell twice the first day and thus the name.

I am “Shrek” because I am wearing toe socks, like gloves for your feet.  The first day I had on green ones and honestly my feet did look like they belonged to Shrek.

This was an interesting trail.  We started out in a port city with lots of barges and cranes to lift objects from ships to the land.  Beautiful seafront views.  Then we got into a eucalyptus forest, a section that almost felt like you were in Ireland because of the low growing plants.  Eventually, we were walking on a trail that was about 10 inches wide and was like walking a tightrope.  It was a little unsettling, but I used my walking stick and came out at the other end unharmed.

One observation is that the mileage in our information packets is not true.  A ten mile walk will be 13, for instance.  Not great if you are starting to wind down and then realize you have 4 more miles to go.  Also, the pace is no where near what is was when we were training.  Boardwalks are great, but uneven or missing boards means you must slow down.  Then today was mostly cobblestones.  Very picturesque, but not great on the feet.

We are staying in really nice places.  Tonight we are in an apartment.  Too tired to take advantage of the cities though.  Just about all we can do is shower, go to dinner and go to sleep.  I think out stamina is increasing, though.  This was our fourth day, 11 miles and I am still able to stay up and write this blog.

Meals and drinks are very reasonable.  2.50 Euros for a wine!  My entire meal tonight was 11 euros including wine, mineral water, and a big salad.  The portions here are extraordinarily large.  We leave lots on our plates.  I think we are just too tired to chew.

The hardest part for me is no coffee in the room.  So I am first to get to wherever we have breakfast.

Sorry about the photos below.  Only the first twelve or so are from today.  User error.