RTW ’23: The Journey Begins

It is almost surreal to say out loud that my journey around the world has finally begun! As I rest in Portugal, I cannot help but reflect on all of the time, energy, resources, research hours, planning (and re-planning) that have been poured into making this trip happen. What was once just an idea is today’s reality, and I am feeling so thankful that this journey has come to life. It has been an exciting, albeit exhausting, first week of travels. On Tuesday, September 5th, Pam and I boarded our flight from New Jersey to our first destination: Porto, Portugal. We arrived in Porto on Wednesday after a long flight, eager to explore all that Porto has to offer. Before we began our Camino, we wanted to take a few days to adjust to the time change and travel, and take in the sounds, sights and delicious foods Porto boasts- and it certainly didn’t disappoint!

Because of the time change, Wednesday was a bit challenging. The excitement of our arrival in Porto certainly gave us a rush, but jet-lag made the day a bit of a blur. Pam said it perfectly when she exclaimed “I only remember the essential information, like, we’re in Portugal!”. Even jet-lag couldn’t take away the realization that my journey has begun, and in such a spectacular place! I finally got to see the Rio Douro river for the first time. The waterfront was absolutely breathtaking. When we arrived at our accommodations for the night, the Ribeiro Guest House, we were greeted by a friendly front desk employee, Fernando, who graciously pointed us in the direction of some much needed delicious food. He directed us to our apartment, a quaint 2 bedroom on the 5th floor. Our luggage was carried up for us, which we were quite thankful for, as climbing 5 flights of stairs with luggage in tow seemed daunting after our travels. Though our accommodations included a kitchenette, we were thankful to not have to utilize it tonight!

After getting some much needed rest, Thursday was spent touring Porto. Pam and I enjoyed walking around Porto and finding places to explore. One cool stop was at the Livraria Lello Bookstore. In order to get in we had to purchase a prepaid ticket, and even still the line was quite long. The bookstore boasts many languages and labels that say they were printed there. Most of the books were mini books with tiny fonts. With a charming storefront, it’s hard to imagine what is inside– sweeping staircases, bookshelves ceiling high lined with titles, and intricate detailing throughout the store. The workers wore white shirts with a red lanyard which reminded me of a school uniform! I also took a walk today to find apples and bananas. I love going into new grocery stores and finding everyday things. I needed toothpaste and I actually found it! After the grocery store, I went to the Ponte Luis 1 bridge and there were 2 boys jumping off of it for the crowds at the waterfront bar. They reminded me of Mike and his childhood friend Dave jumping off of a pier on one of our adventures in Watkins Glen years ago. I suppose that boys will be boys all over the world! In the evening, Pam and I enjoyed dinner at Fado accompanied by live musical entertainment. Fado was a very authentic, small restaurant with about 15 tables. We received some unexpected excitement while eating dinner when a light bulb exploded and glass pieces flew on my arm, Pam’s face, AND our dinner plates! We were okay, but they moved us to a different table and brought us new dishes with smaller portions of what we had originally ordered. The music was lovely. I enjoyed the instrumental best because I could listen to it without wondering what the lyrics meant. Music is universal, and sometimes words get in the way.

Friday was a very eventful day! We did some more exploration and found a few hidden gems. On our way to our tour meeting place, we passed by some outdoor cafe seat boxes, which are slanted boxes to match the slant of the street so patrons can eat outside at level seating. I fell in love with Rue de Flores street– a pedestrian walkway with many shops, artists, musicians and cafes. It was such an eclectic vibe, with an array of personalities and options. Truly a gem! I’m finding myself getting used to the hilly terrain and feeling more physically prepared for the trek we are about to embark on. We took a Tuk Tuk tour at noon where I learned so much fascinating information about Porto! Some facts of note: The Sao Bento train station was an old convent which, interestingly, JK Rowling used as inspiration for the train to Hogwarts. I imagined her sitting at the station and writing about Harry Potter getting on the train to Hogwarts. I could almost see him vanish into the wall! The tram was very old– aged from continuous use since 1820 where it first operated as horse drawn. There are 61 churches in Porto, 80% of which are Catholic, and there is approximately 1 church every 600 meters. The clock tower is the highest point in Porto, which is near the Lello bookstore. Green Lion Fountain, a rushing beauty, was the first source of potable water in Porto. It had a dual use: to “baptize” University of Porto Freshmen! The tour was a plethora of knowledge, and I feel even more connected after. During our exploration today I found an unusual bike shop, MUD, featuring wooden bicycles! It brought me such joy to find a local staple that tied back to my support of World Bicycle Relief. It felt quite serendipitous to come across such beautiful, locally manufactured bicycle craftsmanship so early in my journey. We closed the evening enjoying dinner along the Duoro River where we were able to rest, eat, and enjoy watching the people passing by

Though we were originally slated to start our Camino on Saturday, there was so much to see and do that Pam and I decided to tour Porto for an additional day– the first change, I am sure, of many during this journey. It is a blessing to be able to ebb and flow with each new day! We spent most of the day planning and completing some last minute to-do’s for the Camino. We ran into some unexpected snags with arranging luggage transfer and booking Sunday night’s stay, but we will move forward nonetheless, knowing that we will make it work. Since we did not have a full day planned out, I was able to take a moment to reflect on my journey so far. We stayed 4 nights in Porto, and after only 2-3 nights, I felt like I knew where things were and I felt at home. I really liked the vibe in Porto– it’s an up and coming vibrancy. Ribeira, the section where we stayed, is UNESCO’s world heritage site, meaning the buildings are preserved. I loved the charm of the cobblestone and small cafes. It still has the industrial feeling from the large warehouses that were used for port wine and commerce. The only over the top buildings were churches, not fancy palaces, so you can still get the feeling of what it was like hundreds of years ago. As compared to a city like Paris, it’s a working-class city– there are no kings or queens, here. The most unexpected part of Porto was the sporadic palm trees throughout the city . They are quite tall, towering over the other trees. As much as I like it in Porto, I’m ready to get started walking. I need to feel my feet on the ground walking to get in the rhythm of the Camino. It will be calming to cover some distance and feel the fatigue from a day of walking.

On Sunday, we began the Camino! I woke up feeling excited and rejuvenated, eager to get my feet on the ground. It was a beautiful sunny and 75; perfect walking weather. We walked along the coastal route and it felt so good to breathe in salt water air, feel the breeze, and see fishing villages. It felt like coming home. I navigated the terrain easily, and before I knew it, we had completed 9.2 miles of our journey! We arrived at our accommodations for the night, The Alburge (a hostel for only pilgrims), just before they opened at 2 p.m., which was really good because we got 2 beds on the first floor. The building was a converted school and their capacity is 64 beds but they had 86 people come, so the staff put mats on the floor everywhere possible. Even with that, they still had to turn away a few people because they ran out of room, even on the floor! Even with so many travelers in one place, compared to the last Camino we did 7 years ago, I have noticed that spontaneous conversation with other travelers is less frequent because many are on their phones, which is a bit of a bummer. It’s always nice to connect with pilgrims along the way. I am hopeful that we will continue to cross paths with those who are meant to be in our path! Pam and I were thankful for a hot shower and the ability to wash clothes, though we didn’t need to yet. We had a nice conversation with a volunteer at the Alburge. Her name is Marie, and she is attending university, studying information systems. She gave us some good food recommendations and pronunciation lessons on Brazilian Portuguese vs. Portuguese. She did the coastal Camino that we are on now with her school at the end of primary school (12-13 years). She told us that her grandmother attended the school we are staying in now as a hostel, though her and her mother did not. We were impressed with how good her English was, to which she told us that it is a requirement in school to write essays and PowerPoints in English. She noted that teachers speak Portuguese, but written English is a requirement and she needed it to get into university for information systems. She also told us, thoughtfully, that it is okay to drink the kitchen water, but don’t drink the bathroom water. It’s good to have some inside information! My soul is content, and my spirit is high!

On Monday we made some good progress: 10.22 miles. We stopped for breakfast in Prai de Vila Cha, where we hung out in a coffee shop. We were watching the ladies chat and laugh, and it was reminiscent of New Bedford, which warmed by heart to feel a connection to home while traveling. I really have put down roots in Cape Cod and have such a sense of belonging there. I wasn’t homesick; I just enjoyed finding home away from the physical place that I call home. We stayed long enough to watch pilgrims come and go, but still the ladies were there, taking their time, laughing, and enjoying the company of one another. As things do, we experienced a rather inconvenient challenge today: luggage. The bag service company that was supposed to pick up our bags in Porto and drive them to Casa Laura did not, in fact, do so. I have an apple air tag in my bag so that I can check in on its location while I travel. When I checked at lunch, the bag, hadn’t moved, so I reached out to the luggage carrier. I figured my phone wasn’t updating properly, as they assured me that my bags had left Porto, and kept walking. However, by 3:30, my air tag still showed the bags in Porto. Long story short, it turns out someone else’s bags were mistakenly picked up instead of ours, so the owner of the Porto hotel personally drove the bags to us. We were very thankful for his above-and-beyond gesture! Moving forward we have secured a new service, but today was a bit unnerving! During dinner at the cafe yesterday, Pam saw a flyer for Vila Amor, a place that wasn’t mentioned in any of the guide books. We took a chance on it and decided to stay there Monday evening, and we are so glad that we did! The place is off the Camino trail so Pedro, the owner, offered to pick us up and drove us to the location. It sounded a little sketchy, put we stayed the course, and it was well worth it! We were served a 5-star farm to table meal by the pool– salad, soup, chicken, bread, custard, wine, and the BEST olives I’ve ever had in my life. I normally hate olives, but these were black and so fresh! We learned that Sandra, Pedro’s wife, cooked the entire meal herself from locally sourced ingredients. Tomorrow, breakfast will be included, and then Pedro will bring us back to the Camino trail for our journey to continue.

Tuesday proved to be a very productive day! Instead of following along the coastal route, we decided to take the central route going inland to Santiago. It was certainly a different terrain than the coastal route, but the change in scenery was nice! The signs are so well marked as compared to the coastal route. The central path had arrows at every turn, so I didn’t need my phone at all to know which way to go, which made the walk so much more relaxing. During the last 2 miles of the day I began feeling the wear of the walk in my back and feet. It was a hillier day today than others, and I am reminding by body that larger linclines are yet to come. We passed small hamlets with farms that had slate walls separating the farms. We smelled manure– Pam and I are now both good at knowing the difference between cows and horses. In addition to the new animals, there were lots of new trees and foliage as well. As we approached the city of Barcelos, we left the farmlands and entered the suburbs which had many new succo single family homes surrounded by walls. We then went through the industrial section and, finally, walked into the old city. We stopped for lunch at the Babette restaurant, which proved a delicious choice. We are getting 2 stamps per day– one at the place we are staying and one at our lunch stop. Once we get to the 100 km of Santiago mark, the stamps are a requirement to get our certification of completion. We are roughly 196 km from Santiago tonight with our hotel resting a half mile off the Camino path. I do love the feeling of walking into a new town or city knowing that I’ve gotten there on my own 2 feet. It feeds my wanderlust spirit! In the evening, after showering and resting, we found farmica (a drug store) to get a few supplies. Pam tried to get cash EU from an ATM but it didn’t work, so we are hoping that the next stop will be more fruitful. Thankfully, I have enough for the next day or so, but we will need to find a solution soon. Barcelos is famous for being the birthplace of Rooster of Barcelos, a national symbol of Portugal. It’s a place where folklore and legends blend seamlessly with everyday life. The town is spread on the banks of the River Cavado and is dotted with historical landmarks, picturesque streets, and lively squares that tell tales of its illustrious past. The town’s name traces back to Roman settlement and throughout its history as seen Visigoth rule, Moorish invasions, and the establishment of Portugal as a nation. VIsigoths were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the command of Aleric I. The history of the area is so interesting, and the more that I learn, the more I feel connected to the ground I’m walking on!

My goal with this blog is to update you all on my travels, highlight some of my favorite moments of the day and remain connected as I travel this journey. I intend to update the blog on a weekly basis, so make sure you keep an eye out for those update notifications! Until next time, dear friends: stay safe, stay healthy, and always remember to make space for what brings you joy.

If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.
– Anonymous