2nd Stage: Vila do Conde - Antas

Day 3 - Saturday, June 14th - 2nd Stage from Vila do Conde to Antas

After a restful night and a good breakfast, we leave the hotel and follow the Camino through the festively decorated town to the sea. After yesterday's (painful) experiences, we agree that we won’t manage 25 km with a 6 kg backpack each day and decide to make a course correction. Since we haven’t made any reservations for tonight, we are flexible; we will travel a bit today, so we only have to walk about 16 km, and the same for the next day. So we ‘Bolt’ for a bit (with a guilty conscience) and continue the Camino in Fao. To my shock, I realize that my phone hasn’t charged, but in a very friendly and cool barber shop, I get help... Insights: It’s striking how much a backpack makes a difference: when we sit by the sea on a wall, we get suspicious looks - it seems that a Camino pilgrim is expected to be in motion. Without backpacks, we are ‘just normal’ people, and no one expects anything from us... Another realization this morning was that everything we currently need fits into either 26 or 30 liters of backpack - for us, it's a 'practice' that grants us freedom, but for many who are fleeing, it’s a harsh reality.

Before the path behind Esposende, a beautiful, stylish place, turns inland, we have lunch on the beach, charge my phone, and get our pilgrim passport stamped. 

We walk through beautiful, authentic Portuguese villages and want to start searching for a shelter around 3 PM (the distance no longer matters😅); thanks to our smartphones (booking.com & reviews, Gronze app (a tip from a friend who recently walked part of the Camino) and a direct phone call, we manage to get a small room with bunk beds and a dreamlike garden including a pool (Antas Guesthouse) - lucky us☀️.

Steps today: 24,636 = approx. 17 km