It’s about 28km from Esposende to Viana do castelo. On the map it looks like there’s a coastal route and one that travels a bit more inland, through a few towns. I chose to do the latter since this one was laid out with arrows and signs. I left early once again. Esposende was so quiet. I walked by the river and got a glimpse of the coast before turning away from it. At a little supermarket I picked up some bread and then I went into the hills. Everything was wet from the overnight rain, but I was hot in my jacket and took it off very quickly.
There were a fair few hills today. At first I walked through little streets with cobble stones or other small types of stones. Scenic, but not always comfortable. Then I met a Dutch woman and we talked and walked until I found the turn off for a café I wanted to visit, the Lampião. The place was empty, at least with people. There was stuff everywhere. Mostly Che Guevara things, but also stickers, mugs, scarfs and other items. I ordered an ice tea and got brought some cookies, jam and nuts. Some more people arrived, among whom two from my hostel. Just as we left, the bar owner brought out some port wine. Oh what the heck, a shot of wine at 10.15 in the morning.
I continued with a girl from Lithuania and we had a brisk pace going. We passed by some other cafés and were then led into a forest. It was nice to smell the eucalyptus trees again. The path was a proper hiking trail, smaller than the roads. It was a nice change to the scenery we’d seen before. At some point we crossed the river on some stone bridge and then we climbed and climbed again. Oh another hill. It kind of became a joke. But we couldn’t complain. For a day that had rain forecasted all day, it turned out really dry. The air was just very humid and going up those hills was a sweaty affair.
After Castelo do Neiva there was another forest section. Someone had built a camino bar stall. Imagine a stall at a market with some snacks, drinks and souvenirs, but place it at the edge of a forest. As we approached we already saw some pilgrims sitting there. But we were looking for a proper café with toilets. The man said we just had to go in the forest and seemed upset we didn’t stop. But we went on, past a church with cemetery. I saw many of those today. And then into another forest, with muddy small paths with stones. A big part of this went downhill towards Chafé. It’s the smallest town. There was not much going on, but we found the Mbar, which advertised with stamps, kebab and hamburgers. It was great to sit down for a meal. We weren’t the only ones that thought so. Once again I saw walkers I’d never seen before.
Fuelled up we began the last 2 hours to Viana do Castelo. There was another town before coming into the outskirts of town, which led to the Eiffel bridge. Yes, this was designed by the same Mr. Eiffel as the tower. It has the train going on the lower deck and cars and pedestrians on the top. I thought it was hilarious that many of those rental scooters were holding up rows of cars behind them. Viana do Castelo looked like a gorgeous town and I also saw many tourists who were not walking. But as I entered town the rain started. So it wasn’t very nice to walk around. Besides, I had booked a hostel in the sanctuary of Santa Luzia on the hill. I had read of the great views and beautiful sunsets. Today, it was wrapped in a dark grey cloud. You can choose to climb a long, slippery staircase or take a furnicular, which is what I did. I was surprised to find some busloads of tourists on the top. The church itself didn’t impress me from the inside, although the outside is very pretty. But it’s probably best appreciated on a sunny day.
There are 2 accommodations on the hill, the fancy pousada and simple albergue. The albergue is a big rectangular building without any soul. Everything is white. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfect for the night. It’s clean, got a good kitchen and was a place to see many other walkers. There’s also a big balcony that I’m sure is lovely on a clear day. But otherwise it’s pretty uninspiring. The best thing was the 2 euro laundry I could do!
