400 miles of training.
32 total hours on a plane.
9 hotels.
115 km of walking
3 people.
1 Compostela.
The anticipation of returning to Spain after an 8 year hiatus was unreal.
My life had changed so much since the last trip, and now I had 2 other women going with me. How would things turn out? What would it be like?
Leaving my husband and daughters was not easy, but it was at a time when I seriously needed a break. I had been feeling overwhelmed, numb, and stressed. And, to be honest, so were they, as I was not my best.
The Camino gave us what we needed, even if it was some things we weren’t expecting or maybe even ready to hear.
Arriving in Porto, I was excited and tired. Yvette and I set out to explore the city and wait for Jenn as her flight was delayed. The first 2 days in Porto flew by. We had a tour of the city and got to see the beautiful architecture of historical Porto.
On day 3, we set out to begin our Camino in Tui, Spain. Tui is a quaint, medieval town on the border of Spain and Portugal, that we definitely want to return to due to its gorgeous plazas and churches!
This was a hard day. Yvette had eaten a francesinha and got horribly sick after walking 10 miles. A francesinha is a sauce-covered Portuguese sandwich made with bread, linguica (Portuguese sausage), ham, and steak or roast beef. It’s covered with melted cheese and topped with a fried egg before being drenched in a thick beer and tomato sauce. If that doesn’t sound filling enough, it’s typically served with a generous helping of fries.
We also passed through a pretty ugly industrial area this day with little for services.
Day 4 was 14 miles and the view was great! There were lots of hills and it was hard. The concrete and hard pavement created blisters for some. We arrived at our hotel and experienced gross food, dirty rooms, and loud owners. This was the hardest day yet!.
Tired, hungry, and a bit sore we continued onto the "Camino Espiritual or Variante" - Spiritual or Alternative path. For the next 3 days, we encountered lovely towns, beaches, views and people provided excellent, yet surreal experiences. This is where we dug deep.
Sometimes we had a clear map.