Day One: Matosinhos to Mindelo; 19.5km

Tuesday 23rd September starting at the Catedral Do Porto for the official photo start before catching a taxi up to the visitor centre in Matosinhos, collecting a sello stamp for our pilgrim passports and setting off on the Camino from there following the coastal path.

We have to navigate the busy narrow cobblestone streets around lots of construction work and loud machinery. All the while learning to look for the yellow arrows and Camino signage which are somewhat tricky to find at times! There’s a lot of pilgrims that have started today, some that choose to start from Porto.

The walking is fairly flat pavement and boardwalks that follows alongside the ocean. The first part of the day is excitement and adventure as we enjoy the views. Soon enough a toilet is needed but there are no toilets! All the public toilets are locked and the smell that emanates from some are truly gag material! We think then to stop at a cafe and order a drink, use a toilet, but it is Tuesday and some of these restaurants are open everyday….. but Tuesday! Getting desperate but by midday we do find one open and decide in order; toilet, seat, drinks, lunch & toilet! The food is a peregrine meal. Simple and delicious two small buns with meat and cheese and a side of fries. Mr D and I have a Panache – beer with lemonade. Super refreshing on this warm day. Our fellow Camino buddy, Karen would like a blanco vino. Make it two! No Karen! One is enough, we must walk on having done 10kms we were over half way.

Before lunch it had felt warm, after once we had got back into the groove, the wind had picked up and had a coolness to it. Onwards we continued along boardwalks, so much nicer than walking on the beach sand!

We were feeling done by the time we reached the cute seaside village of Vila Cha. Indeed in my planning I had wanted to stop here but there was no accommodation available for us so we had to book further along. Karen and I slowed down here taking lots of photos. The houses adorned with beautiful tiling. So pretty & cobblestone streets that cars would fly along almost taking out Pilgrims. Mr D was done with ambling and had disappeared ahead of us but then had to wait for us to catch up!

We had about a couple of kilometres to go but a toilet was needed so stopped at a small cafe for a coffee and rest. By now the backpack load was hurting my hips, my legs felt like lactic acid and were heavy and slow. But so close just had to power through. It is always the last kilometre, is the toughest.

So just a short stroll towards Mindelo on those cobblestone narrow streets where cars fly through and onto a pleasant boardwalk emerging at a group of cafe and bars by the water. A Sello stamp, why not, but the man wanted a euro for each stamp so we just continued onto our accommodation.

Yay! We arrived at a shared accommodation type house. The hostess showed us our rooms. Yes the couple in first bedroom as Mr D tried to squeeze between the bed end and the wall and comically tripped and fall onto the bed, having to twist himself in the fall before impaling himself on the wooden frame. Karen this is your room; large, spacious, bigger bed, bigger cupboard. No trip hazard. Indeed this was wrong! So Mr D went to clarify things with the hostess. The bigger room was for the couple so we swapped!

After arriving late in the afternoon we had chores before drinks. In order; lay on floor with legs up the wall for 10 minutes, or half an hour in Karen’s case, tip all contents out of backpack onto floor in a big heap mess, hand wash clothes in tiny bathroom sink where the plug doesn’t work and you have to keep filling sink with water as you soak items. Hang outside on communal washing line. Have a shower in a shared bathroom with a motion sensor light that kept switching off. Then do a wild dance wave hands in air to turn light back on. Repeat 50 times. Don’t stay in shower too long as it doesn’t drain water away efficiently and soon you risk flooding the apartment. Change into fresh clothes. Chill on sofa and plan where to go looking for food and more importantly, drinks!

So Mr D was paranoid about not finding food. It is Tuesday and as we have discovered today, many restaurants are not open on Tuesdays. The ones that are open, only to 7 or 8pm. Mr D thought we should race to a supermarket to buy food and cook in our shared apartment kitchen. That was too much work after our first day, off we set looking for something!

Indeed, most restaurants were closed. There was a bakery, yeah…nah. There was a supermarket, yeah…nah. There was some small cafe, yeah…nah. Ended back at the cafe / bars we walked pass on the way in. Karen and I wanted Aperol Spritz. Mr D wanted a Mojito. All 3 places wouldn’t do either! Remember the one euro for each sello stamp? We ended up there. Mr D had a Caphrinha and Karen and I were highly recommended to have the Sangria. The absolute best in the region we were told!

That Sangria came in a huge jug. Anyway, we polished it off. Was refreshing, Karen thought it tasted more like red cordial. Hopefully we don’t regret it in the morning! Then we had grilled sea bass, potatoes and vegetables. Mr D hadn’t been feeling well since the morning and feels like he is getting a cold. We headed back to our accommodation, very quickly I might add! The weather had gone cold and Mr D had to hurry back for the toilet.

There were others in the kitchen cooking when we got back. So we cleaned our teeth and retreated to our own bedrooms for the evening. Hell, don’t know how tomorrow will go. It’s going to be a long day and the body will be sore! I’m not looking forward to putting that backpack on!