Litoral Way to Vila do Conde

I got up early at 6.30, made myself a simple breakfast of tea and pastel de nata, and set off an hour later on my walk in the morning twilight, whilst the other four pilgrims were still asleep.

The first six kilometres flew by, but then I got tired and had a cappuccino at a beach bar. I used my walking poles for support and carried on. But after a short walk across the sand, one of the poles got stuck between the wooden planks and I realised I must have lost the end cap of the pole in the sand. Without this end cap, it was virtually impossible to use the pole on the wooden walkway without it getting stuck every few metres.

And during my next break on the beach, I found a piece of cork bark that had washed ashore, which I trimmed down a bit and impaled on my walking pole. And sure enough, this makeshift solution held out until I reached my destination.

As I was still tired, I was hoping to find a deckchair or a hammock like the ones I’d often seen at the start of the trail. In the end, I lay down on the sand between the dunes for a nap whilst my mobile was charging on my power bank.

Now I had renewed energy and walked, taking a few short breaks, to my new accommodation in Vila do Conde.

So I ended up in a restaurant offering a cheap ‘pilgrim’s menu’ for €12.