Day 1 - from Porto to Vila do Conde

Finally, the day has come - our Day 1 is here! So, Sandra is a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago for the first time, and I am doing it again🥾🎒😍 Besides the anticipation on both sides, there is also some tension - Sandra doesn't know what to expect, and I know what can happen😬🙈😅

Nevertheless, we get ready leisurely in the morning, pack our backpacks, and enjoy the delicious breakfast at our hotel. At around 8:30 am, we head towards the Cathedral to collect the first stamp of our Camino😍 However, it's not that easy when the Cathedral is still closed😯 So, we wait until 9:00 am, get our stamp at the now-open museum entrance, and then want to go into the Cathedral - but we just thought that... The door is generally open, but there is still no access, so we have to go back to the museum entrance to pay €3 and enter the Cathedral. But this money is well invested because we are more or less alone, and it creates a special atmosphere...

We now take the metro to Matosinhos, which is our starting point. With bright sunshine and warm temperatures, our adventure begins - for me, a bit unusual in shorts and just a T-shirt😜 We cover the first kilometers on the well-known wooden walkways and meet the first pilgrims here and there - all from Germany, so there is the first constant compared to last year😉😁

After only two quick stops for a cold drink and a granola bar, we make a stop for lunch in Labruge around 1:15 pm, which is where I finished my first stage last yearhad. In our outfits, with our backpacks, and after ordering non-alcoholic drinks, we are quite exceptional here - the two businessmen and the well-dressed couple order 2 bottles of wine and two jugs of Sangria😳🤪😂 They might have a funny afternoon, but we still have another 10km ahead of us... Despite everything, we are served very nicely and politely, so we return to the wooden walkways after a nice platter of ham and cheese and continue along the beach towards Vila do Conde. After a short time, we can't believe our eyes - someone actually starts jogging with their backpack😳 Well, we think everyone has their own way... for now! Later, we will catch up with this fellow pilgrim and be even more amazed - he is not carrying one but two backpacks🤔😱🤪 We make good progress, and even a detour can't stop us, so we enter our guesthouse for tonight at around 5:00 pm, after covering approximately 21km.

So, now it's time to do some laundry and take a refreshing shower before we look for a nice place for dinner. We are near the river close to the coast, so we decide to go to a seafood restaurant - we are not disappointed at all, and the grilled octopus is excellent😋😋

After an evening walk, we're not in the mood for anything else, so we head back to our room. Here we are - tired, with slightly heavy legs, but still happy and ready for the next day!👍🏻

Goodnight from Vila do Conde!

The now official Peregrinas

Dani & Sandra

PS: Dear colleagues, as requested, here it is in the blog😜 Thank you again for the socks!😘

PPS: For all those who are interested in my feet. No, they are obviously not made for pilgrimages, and they always agree...🙄😤 Or my dear colleagues, you gave me the wrong socks😜😜😜 I do have - admittedly very small - blisters on the front of my foot. But they are, at least for now, not a problem, and I can still walk well. Wish me luck!🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🙃🙈🙈