It was already raining when I left Póvoa de Varzim. It wasn’t a lot, just a drizzle, but enough to make my jacket look super wet. The weird thing is that I didn’t wear rain pants and yet my trousers felt totally dry. I didn’t want to have my camera out though and took some photos with my phone. Early on I was taking photos when three ridiculously cheerful men approached. “Are you also on your way to Santiago?” They were much more awake than I was!
Despite the rain it was a pleasant walking day. After passing a hotel I saw a girl who was in the hostel too. I thought she was just a regular tourist, because she carried a big grocery bag, but she turned out to be walking too! I saw her at a spot where pilgrims left behind all kinds of tokens. Photos, bracelets, stickers, shells. I saw a little bag with a coin. It had filled with rain water. A bit further I came to Aguçadoura, where I found a modern café on a colorful square. There were already a bunch of walkers inside and I watched others pass as I sat down for a hot chocolate.
Some kilometers later I met the girl with the grocery bag again and talked to her for a bit. She was from Hong Kong and had traveled a bit and decided to join the walk. Right now she was wearing plastic slippers because her shoes had gotten very wet. I didn’t understand exactly why, but she had thrown her shoes away. Later that day I saw her again at the hostel. She was also carrying a small cook pot, that you plug in and can use to quickly prepare a meal. It’s fascinating to see what kind of things are important to others to carry.
Back on the trail I was just following arrows while talking to her and found I had deviated from the coast and ended up in Apúlia. I still wanted to follow the coast line, so I took a road through the town, stopped at a café and ended up on the seafront again. In hindsight I’m not sure if it was worth it, but it was too early to check in to the hostel anyway. I saw some cool old mills on the beach, but shortly afterwards was led onto a street from where you didn’t even see the sea. A short section was full of fish restaurants. After that it was just another rosd, on the way to Fão.
From there I was a bridge away from my destination Esposende. There was some construction going on so I walked over some scaffolding on the side. On the other side, someone had created spot X. It had some souvenirs, vending machines and was created for pilgrims to rest. I went to say hello and got a stamp and bought a magnet. I still entered Esposende before check in time, so I walked a loop through town. It was cozy. But I was so done walking today. When I got back to the hostel, the owner just arrived by car and gave me the door code from the car window. It was a lovely place, obviously run with care. It was in the details, the cake she baked, that could be enjoyed for a donation, the plugged in devices that spread a nice smell. It felt like a home away from home.
In the evening I chatted a bit with the other people. There was the girl from Hong Kong, a Korean guy, a guy from Taiwan, a girl from Lithuania. Such a mixed crowd. It was a nice place to stay at.
