After a good night’s sleep with no snoring interruptions we began stirring. Most of our laundry managed to dry overnight. It didn’t take us long to pack up and go as we only had a little food to eat. There was no food market around so everyone was dealing with little food.

Once outside I was surprised at how pleasant the temperature was compared with the chilly start yesterday. It was another pretty start, though not as clear. It was very humid, mostly due to the incoming storm that is expected to hit us for the next two days.

The walk had us a km or so inland and up on the hillside so it gave us some good views now and again of the ocean.

We had some good secluded paths, some with lovely purple heather mixed in with the dying ferns. Lots of rocky sections to negotiate but I’m feeling more sure handling them than before.

We came across a bubbling brook over which was an old stone bridge. Karma quickly hopped down to the water, across some boulders and set the tripod and camera for some good shots. At least now I know how they get those incredible pictures of themselves when no one else is around.

We knew we would have quite a ways to go before anything would be open. Apparently many places are closed on Mondays. There just wasn’t anything. And then there was! We came down a winding rocky path, came around a curve, and there up on the side of the hill was a makeshift sort of cafe! And many of our fellow hostel guests from last night were already there. Turned out to be a small family run stand where we could get our first coffee of the day.

Yesterday while we were just toodling along something came up that reminded Mandy of a song she learned in her summer camp days in Maine. All about Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s. Silly. And definitely ear worm material. Well, while sitting there having our coffee she mentioned it and much to all of our amazement, Matilda, one of our new friends from England, began singing right along, even with the accompanying movements! And here we thought it was just an American camp song.

We all hiked together for awhile. We passed the usual amount of cats, of which there seems to be no shortage of, when out of nowhere came a stray dog. He came bounding down some steps we were all on, then jumped to the side as if he were skirting around us, when much to his surprise as well as all of us, he landed in a rather dismal, algae covered pool. It happened so fast none of us captured the crazy moment. Luckily he did not shake himself over all of us.

The next bit of almost “trail magic” was coming across a sign on a chair stating “free hugs”. Well, who could pass that up? The absolute best hugger proceeded in giving all of us great hugs. And she had fruit and snacks and homemade cake, all for a donation. It was perfect!

But soon we who barely had breakfast needed lunch so we diverted off the trail a bit. While walking to the restaurant we had found online we passed the most charming birdhouse in a tree along the city street. We thoroughly enjoyed a filling lunch then Mandy mentioned she wanted to scoot into a shop next door. She came out having found some nylon socks for me to try to wear under my regular socks. That’s supposed to help with the rubbing that causes all the blisters. Worth a try!

And then the path led us back to the oceanfront for our last bit of being right next to it. Much to our surprise we spotted goats! And then horses! The waves were huge and crashing and we could see the weather coming in. But there were many more birds for Mandy to photograph, so she was happy.

As we continued a bit of a mountain appeared in front of us. Mandy said “I think that may be part of Spain”. Right she was! We were approaching the Rio Minho, along which Caminha lies. The river is the border between Portugal and Spain. It will be a few days before we physically cross into it.

We entered the city and wended our way to the small albergue Mandy had reserved for us. Tiny, with not many amenities or extra space. We’re happy to have Jo and Matilda here with us for one more night before we part ways at least for a bit. This Camino has many options so hikers go along different paths, all finally leading to Santiago. After being frustrated a bit with some young hikers who were loud and took over the limited shared space, here came Matilda with a Snickers bar to cheer me up. It did the trick!

12 miles with exactly 30,000 steps!