Stage 3: Aguçadoura - Marinhas

Today, 25km was actually planned, but I realized yesterday that I wouldn't be able to manage that today due to some issues with my left knee. 

After a rather uncomfortable night, we packed our things and set off early. We were rewarded with a beautiful morning ambiance on the well-known wooden walkway.

However, we soon had to say goodbye to the sea, as the path today mostly ran inland. From idyllic forest segments, through paved rural paths to old towns, everything was included today.

We stopped at a quaint little café in the middle of nowhere to have a coffee and collect a stamp for our little booklet. There, we met Charlotte (from Berlin) and Simon (from Kiel), whom I had already seen several times in the first days. We then mostly walked the rest of the distance together.

Today, it felt like we met fellow pilgrims from Germany at every corner; you start to recognize the faces since they all share the same goal 😁 It was the same at the café in Fão (the first after 2.5 hours), where we treated ourselves to a hearty and very delicious breakfast. The vitamin supply was ensured by freshly squeezed orange juice. Re-energized, we then continued towards Esposende.

The day before, I had considered stopping there (about 13 km), but I felt quite good during the walk and decided to continue another 5 km to Marinhas with the others.

There, we (and 20 other pilgrims) had to wait about 1 hour in front of the hostel, as check-in was not possible yet. But this time there was no issue with space - everyone found a place! :)

At the moment, I am resting my knee, as it hurts quite a bit, while most others are out shopping for dinner. Later we will be cooking up a storm 🙂

Tomorrow, 20 km is actually planned - I hope that will work out. Otherwise, I will have to fit in a shorter stage again. 🤷‍♀️