Day 4: Matosinhos to Labruge, Northern Portugal
Note: this post became a bit longer, so you are welcome to just skip to the pictures and wait for the next hopefully shorter one tomorrow.
We are slowly working into our Camino and by the end of the say we will have seen hundreds of fellow pilgrims choosing this less traveled shoreline route. At breakfast this morning we met several pilgrims that were headed out the door right after. Since we had a shorter day planned, we stayed for another cup of coffee and a chat with our host.
As the last of the 12 people left and she had served all of us breakfast, finished our bills, gave us all our stamps, I gave her an acknowledging “whew!” and she also let out a relaxing breath and smiled. And that led to a longer conversation, learning about her family that grew up here, her 2 year-old son, her doing 4 night shifts per week, and how the economic development that has improved (financially) her previous industrial town into a tourist and cruise ship hub, it has also come with the other side effects of traffic and just getting too big.
We finally say goodbye and begin our daily walk. The first casualty of this trip is my sun hat – dropped out of my bag at the beach the night before and nowhere to be found. If that is the worst thing we deal with, we will consider ourselves blessed. Siri offers her mine for the day and now we have a purpose for the next big city – find another hat. 🙂
Today is all on boardwalks and wide paved walking paths that hug the shoreline the whole way. The wind is fierce the whole day and we are glad we are not like some pilgrims on bikes who must face the headwind the whole time.
A common phrase is “the Camino will provide” which I took to mean to be flexible, don’t plan too much, be open to what possibilities may present themselves. So far, it has meant bathrooms along the way seem to just arrive when needed. And then if really desperate, there is usually a nice coffee shop or bakery that will let you in and send you off with a smile and “Bom Caminho!”
A lot of pilgrims begin their journey here in Matosinhos, either by walking, like we did from Porto, or as many choose, just take the 15 minute metro light rail out of town to avoid the city streets. Either way, you arrive to long stretches of beach where you can see where you will be in one or two hours.
The other pilgrims have finally arrived en masse and now we feel part of a much bigger movement. People from all countries, languages and ages – a melting pot. We also acknowledge the privilege that comes from having the time and resources to take this journey, so maybe not a full pot, yet. We see a group on pink decked out bikes and I find out they have all come from Brazil to bike their Camino. We have met Germans who are doing 4 months by bike around Europe and are starting with the Camino. Previously we met a couple from Belgium who was finishing with the Camino after weeks of traveling. At lunch we meet a couple who grew up in Seattle and headed to Santiago. It is an instant bond from wherever you started.
Some of the stories are told about the “cult of St. James” and I’m thinking it might be true – in its broadest and more positive definition. Last year, nearly 450,000 pilgrims a year made it to Santiago de Compostela from the various routes, double from just 10 years ago. One has time to go deep with meaning on this – especially after COVID, are we all searching for connection, purpose, to be heard, to be seen, and this journey helps one solidly that for yourself, one that can also be done anywhere…But, for now we walk.
We finish in the early afternoon and prepare for the longer days ahead. Tomorrow we move from the shoreline to the more travelled central route, which is inland. We hope to find better directions tomorrow than the 16 turns shown in our trusty guide book.
And maybe we will find a hat..
Siri and David Adventures 