The morning had a dubious start – it unexpectedly began raining just as we sat down for breakfast. Nothing about rain in the forecast. Just happy that we brought our laundry inside last night before we went to sleep. Fortunately, the squall didn’t last long.

We packed up wearing our rain shells and with pack covers in place, just in case. Turned out just to be a bit of a soft morning, with some clearing skies in the distance.

We walked back out to the path along the ocean, with the waves crashing in. Couldn’t believe that we saw a few surfers braving the waves and the rocks. The ocean today really reminded me of the Irish coast with the name of the Wild Atlantic Way.

Further on we were surprised to see that most of the seaweed had been raked into piles and covered. To compost? Not certain as further on we saw it put into bales, covered up and weighted down.

The boardwalk, which is frankly amazing in its length and upkeep, continued. We stop frequently for me to rest my feet, remove my shoes, air them out and switch socks. On one such stop Karma hopped down to the beach and found some beach treasures. Reminded me of home.

It was at that same spot we found a directional sign happily pointing the way to Santiago as well as many other world cities. Plus, even more fun was a grid of stuff hanging from all sorts of hikers. Karma put one of their stickers on it.

The next stop saw Karma retrofitting my shoe even further. This time it was to cut out a bit of the inner lining. Fingers crossed it works, as I’ve developed a small blister on the side of my bunion. Geez. No end of foot issues this go round.

But then we veered off the boardwalk into a path called the Litoral Norte. A nice change of pace in the surfaces and into the trees and farmland. The wonderful smell of eucalyptus surrounded us. It was also our first glimpse of hills in the distance.

But the most charming thing today was the path leading up to the town of Fão, where we are staying. It was lined with inventive decorations related to the Camino with lots of positivity. Delightful.

And now we’re at this wonderful guesthouse called The Spot. And best of all Jo, my snickers friend from the huge albergue, and her daughter, are also here. We’re sharing a bunk room and dinner.

10.7 miles with 26,154 steps