Stage 4: Marinhas - Viana do Castelo

This morning started quite early for everyone. I left the hostel shortly after 7 and set off. Since my knee unfortunately did not experience a miraculous healing overnight, I had no idea if I would make it to the set goal of 20 km...

The first kilometers were quite painful, the joints still cold, and I was mostly going straight on asphalt or cobblestone.

At the first café in Mar, I stopped for breakfast and almost immediately ran into the entire table from last night's dinner 😁

After the refreshment, I continued through Belinho, after which the first elevation of the day began. For me, these elevations were a blessing today, as my knee hardly hurt going uphill and I was able to progress a bit better and warm up.

The path took me through a beautiful stretch of forest, over a small river, and then through a part of Castelo do Neiva. There, I took a short break at the 'Igreja de Santiago de Castela de Neiva', filled up my water, and then continued uphill and back through the forest.

In the middle of nowhere, a former pilgrim set up a small stand (Casa de Albinío refreshments for donations), where you could get coffee, drinks, fruit, sweets, and many other little things. There, I also met a small part of the group from the last hostel again. The good mood of the owner was contagious, and so we continued with renewed energy.

The next section (about 9 km) required a lot of willpower, as it was mostly downhill or straight, which made my pain worse again. But the goal was in sight, as well as a larger town with the hope that there might be a pharmacy or even a store where I could get hiking poles.

Passing by the Igreja e Mosteiro de São Romão do Neiva, we went through Chafé, then on to Anha and Penedos, with today's destination already in sight.

The final descent was tough, but after that, it was 'just' another hour mostly flat and straight. On the last stretch, I was caught up with by some familiar faces. Just before the bridge that took us to Viana do Castelo, I ran into Simon again, and we walked together to the hostel.

As the hostel was still closed, we first sat down in a café around the corner to rest our legs and enjoy a small lunch snack. There, Dani (an experienced pilgrim from Bordeaux, currently on her 6th Camino) joined us.

Upon arriving at the hostel, we were all thrilled with the ambiance (old monastery or similar?) and the rooms. Today even without bunk beds! 😁

My absolute highlight: when I asked at the reception where I could possibly buy hiking poles, the lady disappeared after a brief discussion with her colleague into the back room and came back out with a pair of hiking poles that she gave to me. Someone must have forgotten them there. I definitely did not expect that, but I am very grateful!

Since the washing machine in the hostel was occupied, I went with Carolina from Lisbon to the laundromat around the corner. While waiting, we enjoyed an ice cream in the sun, and I also went to the pharmacy to get some ointment and tape.

With Carolina as a translator/guide, we are now going to have Portuguese food. Bernard from Barcelona and 2 gentlemen from Australia (whose names I still don’t know) are also joining us.

My knees are absolutely done for today. I hope that with the new hiking poles and the tape, I can still continue tomorrow.

Fingers crossed for me! :)