Fourth stage from Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia de Ancora

Since I woke up relatively early, I set off right after breakfast. Thanks to my rest day yesterday, which did me a lot of good, I had no pain at all. Here we go....!

First, the path led through the narrow little streets of Viana do Castelo. I could again enjoy that special southern flair. The older people who were already awake kindly wished me a Bon Caminho. I found that really lovely. Then the arrow took a turn to the right, and I looked a bit confused. The coast was to the left, not to the right towards the hills. Strange; I quickly checked on Komoot, and lo and behold, the arrow would have taken me on the other Caminho. Phew, lucky me, so off towards the water. The signposts for the Caminho da Costa appeared again.

After about 5 km, a group of four was walking in front of me. One started singing a German song, and I noticed a cheerful atmosphere in the group. I caught up with them, and we began to chat. Three of them are from Mainz, true Mainz gnomes, and one is from Oberhausen.

Since we had the same destination, we continued together. For me, today was by far the most beautiful stage. Even though the others were also super beautiful, this one consistently passed by the Atlantic. The crashing waves were fantastic; you walked the path and heard the waves breaking—I thought it was wonderful. Dieter also said, 'Anke, you’re constantly glowing.' Oh yes, 'just look and listen to that.' It was amazing.

After a bit, there were various heather flowers blooming, and I believe there was broom too ;-), it looked incredible because the Atlantic was visible in the background. Yes, definitely this is the most beautiful stage for me so far :-)!!!

The group and I had the common goal of Ancora. There were still about 5 km left when we took a little break at a cute beach bar. The owner stamped my pilgrimage passport and added a personal greeting. I thought that was really nice. I think I got that for clearing our table ;-)!

Just before Ancora, we kept stopping because the view of the town was so beautiful. The water sparkled in the sunlight, and the sand was bright white. We were all thrilled. Once we arrived in the village, we, of course, took a ton of photos and then went together to an Italian restaurant. There, we had fantastic pasta. After lunch, I said goodbye to the group.

I then went to my hotel and freshened up. Subsequently, I explored the village and laid on the beach until the evening.

It was a great day with wonderful, nice people and a beautiful 21 km stage.

Oh, I have a tiny blister on my little toe. That's really something; I'm quite outraged. I've been regularly moisturizing my feet for weeks, and now THIS. Fortunately, it doesn’t hurt :-).

With that said, warm greetings to Germany... Anke