Day 3 - from Rates to Barcelos or Portel de Tamel

Good evening from the pilgrim hostel of Tamle to Munich😘

Here's a short recap of yesterday:

We started again in Labruge at 9am and initially followed the wooden walkways along the sea, just like the day before, in nice weather. After crossing a nature reserve of about 2 km, we had the first break at Café Alex, where I met the first fellow pilgrims again - Francesco, a woman from Belgium, and a couple from California. After a warm tea, we continued away from the sea and onto the Camino inland in Vila do Conde. From here, the path unfortunately became less beautiful😕, with cobblestones on narrow roads through small villages in the rain. I also noticed that blisters were forming on both of my feet - but that was only after 13 km😐. But complaining won't help, I have to somehow make it to the end because it seems that there are no buses here... So I slowly but steadily took on the last 10 km and during a break at a bus stop (where it was dry😃), I met Cloe from Holland. We walked together for a few kilometers and checked into the hostel in Rates. Jonas from Germany and Francesco were already there, and we went to dinner together. It was a really nice evening, and at the end, the hostel mother provided me with excellent medical care for my blisters😊👍🏻

This morning, the night ended early - the first bunks were cleared around 4:45 and there was hardly any sleep after that😤. Not that there was much sleep with the snoring symphony of the three Spaniards in the room🙄😴. But well, after everyone was gone, Cloe and I had time to pack our things and have a quick breakfast. We then parted ways around 8:00 a.m. - everyone here goes at their own pace and meets somewhere during the day... But the four of us agreed yesterday that we want to meet again at the hostel in Portela den Tamel!

Initially, we walked along field paths and through forests in drizzling rain - a definitely nicer path than yesterday and despite my blisters, quite easy to walk. After about 1.5 hours, we returned to the road and the rain became stronger, so I took shelter from the rain in a café after another 30 minutes and ran into Cloe again. Pilgrims seeking shelter gradually arrived, and after a small refreshment, I continued with Francesco, who kindly supported me with my aching feet and even offered to carry some of my luggage. But I'm already glad to have someone pulling me along😉🙈

After 11 km, we arrived in Barcelinhos and I urgently needed a break, so we took a lunch break in a small bar. There we met Vera and Bruno from Offenburg, who also did not want to tackle the last 10 km completely soaked. I would like to, but with my blisters, that's just not possible today, so the three of us decided to take the bus from Barselos, while Francesco wants to continue walking. So we walked the last 3 km to Barcelos and first went to the pharmacy - buying everything necessary for my blisters. Like everywhere else, people are incredibly kind and helpful! Although today I'm not quite sure why people are smiling at us🤔 either because we look funny in our ponchos, out of pity due to the weather, or because they think we're crazy... We'll never know😅

We find out that the next bus only departs in 3.5 hours, and since we are all quite wet, we treat ourselves - very un-pilgrim-like - to a taxi😬🙈😱🤫 But today we just can't go on anymore...

And everyone is back and everyone is greeted with joy - our own little community of people on this Camino! The 3 Spaniards, the lone Portuguese, the 4 Poles, the 3 French, and so on... The path somehow brings people together🤗 The four of us went to dinner together again - grilled octopus, very delicious and for €8! - and the group for a well-deserved evening beer is even bigger.

Now it's time to sleep, if you can with the existing sawmill. But well, that's how it is in the hostel... but in return, we have a great community in the evening and a common goal that we want to achieve! I feel well taken care of and everyone looks out for each other, so I'm not worried despite my feet!😊

Good night to Germany! Tomorrow's stage would be 24 km again - let's see what the day brings this time😉😇

😘