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Porto to Arcos. Portugal.
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April 6th, 2017
I set out from Porto on an overcast morning at 8AM but soon heated up doing some hill work to get out of the old town. Having missed my marker twice I had to retrace my steps and ask with my new found Portuguese where to find and how to pronounce the name of the street.
Hitting an old roman road which went straight on for ages, I walked through suburbia through the light industrial zone & out eventually to the countryside. There was lots of traffic so I hit some Spanish dance beats, followed by a workout playlist, followed by a country gold selection.
Got some strange looks as I bopped along sometimes, but hey I’m pretty weird to be doing this anyway. The markings showing ‘the way’, were a bit difficult to find sometimes but mostly good. There were directions supplied by the Camino company but they all related to street names which were tough to find and the directions were a bit cryptic.
Anyway the deal was, I had to walk 17kms to meet a taxi by 3pm who would take me to the accommodation. Easy Peasy at 3kms an hour – should be there by 1.30 and give an hour for stops 2.30. Only not.
Out in the wops of Portugal that I found myself in, no one speaks any English. I asked a few people “Was I going in the right direction to Vila de Pinheiro? & they all said ‘Si’ and pointed me on. The yellow arrows all pointed me on as well. Consulting google maps it also told me the same. Long story short I missed a critical turn which was in the instructions. Yes I know ladies very funny.
So at 345 with my feet and legs dying after 38,643 steps or roughly 30kms I met an angel.
Most of the walking is along cobble and narrow streets. Most of the Portugese drive like me but all talk or text at the same time.
Walking along a very tight main road, I jumped into a ditch to get away from a squeeze of cars and a bloody big truck. Coming around the next corner the car had stopped, and in surprisingly good English, a lady called Rita expressed her concern for my safety and asked where I was going.
When I told her Vilar de Pinheiro, she said “that is 10kms back that way”. Bugger. Turns out she had spent time in NZ! She had done 3 Caminos & just understood the what and the why.
She then went 20 kms (10kms there) out of her way to drop me to my accommodation. Unbelievable. What an angel. I would have ended up walking two days worth!
- Approximation of what Rita looked like without the beard and considerably better looking
So an interesting first day. Although the upside is I know I can walk 30kms.
STEPS: 38,643
MLC THOUGHT OF THE DAY: **** my feet are sore.
SECOND MLC THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The price of success is peace.
WEIGHT: 87.4
WILLERTONS WORLD 