“Just when you’re starting to get the hang of it, everything changes.” – me, to the waitress at my first cafe stop in Spain.
Well, I’ve crossed the border into Spain which means I’ve lost an hour due to a time change and I need to speak a different language. My brain is exhausted already.
I started the morning in Portugal at the wonderful hostel, Quinta da Quinhas. It’s so nice to wake up in a room all by yourself and to not wait in line for the bathroom. I slept well… very well.
Breakfast was ready to go when I enter the kitchen. Dry goods were on the counter and the cold stuff was in the fridge. They really have a nice set up for the pilgrims.
Terry from Canada, the one other pilgrim staying at the hostel had booked a taxi to meet her friend in Moledo about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) away. My foot is better but not totally healed so I jumped in with her to avoid walking down the huge hill. This way I would start near the beach on a flat surface.
I wanted to walk today so I gave her €5 and got out of the taxi at her friend’s hostel. The friend took my seat and away they went to the next town.
I made my way to the waters edge. The river is the border between Portugal and Spain. There is a ferry from Caminha, Portugal over to Spain but Christina from the hostel told me it wasn’t running at the moment and told me to take a water taxi a few kilometers away and on a different path. She showed me the location on the map. I headed in that direction and got to a point where I needed to turn back a little to meet the water taxi. This is where I met Edson from Brazil. He was standing on the corner with a couple of friends and he stopped me to give me directions – even though there were signs. Not only did he give me directions but he walked me to the boat and told me a little bit of his life story along the way. He didn’t show me photos of his family (like most people) but he did share pictures of his time working for the Brazilian Navy in the Amazon! He showed me photos of him on the boat with monkeys and a picture of the sunset over the Amazon River. He had some incredible stories about his adventures and things he had seen during his two years in service.
After his time in the Navy he opened a gym in Brazil and sold it not long ago. He’s been living in Portugal about six months and works at a factory building ships. He said it’s going really well so far.
He knows most of the guys who operate the water taxi’s so he introduced me to his friend. I paid the €6 for the ride across the river along with a couple from Washington state (Lynn & Steve) and we waved goodbye.
The Camino is kind of like that movie Sliding Doors…any little change to your day and you could have an entirely different experience. If I would have walked instead of taking the taxi with Terry, I would have never met Edson or the Americans.
Once on dry land again, I walked with Lynn & Steve, the Americans, for just a little way down the path and then they stopped for a coffee but I kept going. The walk was breathtaking. It started on a boardwalk through a forest and then led to the water’s edge and wound around on a lovely path to the next major town of A Guarda. I saw a few horses and met many locals out on their morning walk. I kept saying Bom Dia and then would immediately correct myself to say, Buenos Dias. And instead of replying obrigada, I had to change to gracias. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to change it but for 27 days I’ve been forcing myself to learn and use the basic pleasantries in Portuguese. I know more words in Spanish but I have to focus and retrain my brain to use them.
I reached the coastal town of A Guarda. It’s got this cozy, homey feel to it. I had planned on walking a bit further today but I liked the town so much I just decided to stay. So I grabbed some lunch, garlic prawns, and enjoyed the view of the harbor.
I got online at booking.com to see what hostels were available and I got the last bed at this cute Albergue called O Peirao. I’ve met some very nice pilgrims from Germany, Canada, Poland, and Italy in the dorm.
This afternoon I was texting (in Italian) with Delores from Milano and found out she is staying in A Guarda as well, so we met for dinner…and spoke only in Italian. It’s great because I’m getting so much practice but my brain is about to explode…speaking in Italian, Portuguese and now Spanish – and every now and again English. I can barely keep up!
The pilgrim meal came with sooooo much food! Fresh fish of the day, salad, potatoes , beer/wine…plus coffee/tea, and I forgot to take a photo of the dessert. Crème Brûlée. ❤️ We couldn’t eat it all but I still wobbled back to the Albergue.
This was our view from the restaurant.
Goodnight and much love from Spain! 🇪🇸
Scenes from Day 27
