Povoa de Varzim to Esposende 10/31/25

 Happy Halloween! Not very many photos or stories today.  It drizzled rain all day. Not conducive to taking pictures.

I have seen lots of Halloween decorations here in Portugal. I liked this window display because the little man with the hat is Santiago, also known as Saint James. He is the first one I have seen on this Camino. Evidently, some children in Portugal trick-or-treat, especially in urban areas where the tradition has become more common due to media influence. However, it's more widespread on November 1st, associated with a traditional custom called "Pão por Deus". During "Pão por Deus," children traditionally go out in the morning to ask for sweet breads, nuts, and fruits, but modern celebrations sometimes include Halloween-style candy. 

The beautiful church bell of the Igreja Paroquial de Noss: Senhora dina Viage de Aguçadora.  

A bit of a less ornate church, but perfect for a quick prayer stop.

I loved the tiles on the interior walls, and I was happy to see the seashells, the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. For those who think there is only one Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James), due to the movie “The Way,” there are actually many Caminos or routes.  Even before the time of Christ, Catholic men were required to take one pilgrimage in their lifetime, and they left their homes in nearly every country in Europe. There are three acceptable designations: Compostela de Compostela, Rome, or Jerusalem. 

Mostly, I walked through farmland.  I rarely see these old-style windmills. They make me think of 

Don Quixote.

These bright frogs are popular, and I see them in gardens.

Those are the biggest turnips I have ever seen.

Beautiful lawn and treescape in the middle.

More gorgeous vegetables in one of the many roadside shops that I passed today.

Peace, baby!

By this time, I was soaked to the skin.  At least, he had enough sense to get out of the rain.

A children’s playground near my hotel.

Every time I am in Porto, I try to recreate a memory of the meal that Dennis and I had on our first visit.  It was a rainy Sunday night, and we had taken the train to Porto.  After checking into our hotel, we headed out to find something to eat.  It was about 5:30, and neither of us realized how late the Portuguese usually eat. I was determined that we would have an authentic Portuguese experience.  Nowhere, and I mean nowhere, was open, and it was getting dark.  Finally, we spotted a dimly lit bar down an alley.  It was clearly a local pub, and we stood out like two senior citizens at a high school prom. All heads turned. We were able to point at the red wine and the white wine (we are a mixed marriage; he drinks red wine and I drink white).  Porto was playing a neighboring district in soccer finals.  We cheered for Porto, and they came out victorious. What fun. I am not sure we would have gotten out alive had we cheered for the other team. I watched the bartender making a sandwich on the flattop grill.  It was a Dagwood. It had layers of bread, meat, and cheese.  He kept mashing it down with the spatula, adding peppers and mystery ingredients. After the last layer of bread, he topped it with something that was a cross between enchilada sauce and gravy. It smelled heavenly.  I pointed and indicated that we wanted one.  The bartender, a grizzled fella of about sixty, shook his head, “no”.  NO? I was about to be heartbroken. I was not giving up easily.  Back and forth we went, and finally, he threw up his hands in resignation and made our sandwiches.  OMG, this thing was great.  I pantomimed proposing marriage to him, and finally got a smile out of him. He gave us some bar bites and even some more gravy. I made him write down the name of this marvel of a sandwich.  It is called a "Francesinha “ and is a specialty of Porto.  Every time I visit Porto, I try to find this bar or another restaurant/bar that serves one even half as good. I have failed every time. The above is called a Francesāo, which is the burger version.  It also failed the test.  Good on its own, but a poor comparison to my original Francesinha.

My included dinner at the hotel was a buffet.  I don’t generally like buffets - all you can eat of mediocre food or worse, but this buffet was excellent.  I had an esalada mista, which is a tossed salad with corn and peppers. The salad ingredients are so fresh here, and the tomatoes actually have flavor.

I was so tempted to just eat all the vegetables offered, but I thought I needed some protein. The chicken was moist and flavorful, and the vegetables lived up to farm-to-table expectations

For dessert, I chose a citus pie with a chocolate cookie crust, cool and refreshing with the perfect balance of tart and sweet.  Yum!

Today was a much-needed shorter day - 13.8 miles.  Considering it was my second day and I had the usual sore muscles, I was feeling pretty peppy.  My hotel is on the beach and I have the door open.  Surf’s up and I can hear the ferocious sound of the waves.  The wind was blowing up a gale all day long.  I bid you goodnight and God Bless!

Porto to Póvoa de Varzim 10/30/25

 

Today’s hike was along the Atlantic Ocean, and the entire day was spent on a boardwalk with numerous historical statues and informative displays. The sound of the crashing waves was so peaceful.  Glorious!

Tragédia no Mar

Tragedy at Sea

The placque read, "Inspired by a painting by the famous Augusto Gomes, a great artist from Matosinhos, the

sculptural ensemble "Tragedy at Sea", by José João Brito (2005), remembers the greatest

nautical tragedy ever recorded on Portuguese waters: the tempest of 1-2 December

1947, in which several fishing boats sank off Leixões Port, causing the death of 152 crew members

 and pain and despair in the whole community. 72 widows and 152 orphans came out of this tragedy.”

Stall after stall of freshly caught fish.

The monument in Leça, a beachside community, was by a poet, Emmanuel Rodrigues da Rocho, a much-loved Portuguese poet who died in 1977.  Although I was not here at sunset, he was so inspired by Leça’s dazzling sunset that he wrote a prize-winning poem.  This part of the poem is translated

Oh Leça of the warm afternoons,
of people passing by! 
Oh Leça of the sun’s warm rays,
oh my Leça without compare!

According to the plaque, "The Boa Nova Lighthouse is the second-tallest in Portugal, with 46 meters(approximately 153 feet) and 225 steps, and came into operation on December 15, 1926. Its construction has enabled greater security in what was considered until then the most dangerous and tragic coastal area in the country, known as the Black Coast due to the large number of wrecks and bad traffic

lights. The white light from this lighthouse reaches approximately 28 nautical miles (32.3

miles) and the luminous signal is distinguished by three bright flashes every 14

seconds. Until the 1960s, the lighthouse worked with oil lamps, but was later converted to electricity."

On January 16th 1913, the great English steamer Veronese, carrying 221 passengers, ran

aground here, against the rocks called "Lanhos". The steam vessel of 7877 tons, built at

the shipyards of Belfast in 1906, came from Liverpool bound to ports in Brazil, Veñezuela

and Argentina: The violent weather conditions made the rescue operation difficult and

risky, and about 190 passengers were saved. The salvage operations, headed by the

Volunteer Firèfighters of Matasinhos-Leça and the local lifeguards, led by José Rabumba,

"O Aveiro" and Manuel António Ferreira, "Patrão Lagoa", were filmed by Invicta Films and became one of the biggest hits of the silent film era.

"The Obelisk of "Memória" marks the spot where, on July 8th 1832, King Pedro IV and the

7500 men of his liberal army disembarked, marking the end of the absolutist regime that

had hitherto dominated Portugal. After landing, the Liberation army advanced to the city

of Porto, which would be kept under siege for a year (the Siege of Porto). The first stone

of this monument was laid on December 1st 1840 in remembrance of this event, under

the auspices of Queen Mary I1, daughter of Pedro IV. After several delays, the obelisk was

finally completed in 1864 and classified as a national monument in 1880."

The man looks tiny against the magnificence of the ocean.

Just as I was thinking about heading to the bushes for a nature break, I saw this warning: 

VIPERINE WATER SNAKE OR VIPERINE SNAKE Being a species typical of aquatic environments,.it can be found all over the country. It is identified by the brownish or black spots on its back. This excellent swimmer (SWIMMER - as in the ocean?) feeds mainly on amphibians and small fish.”  Yikes!

Beautiful!

This little fishing village was a delight.

If you look in the window, the barteder is waving!

Interesting church.

If you can’t read the plaque, it says “D. Pedro IV; King Pedro the 4th, the 'Liberator' Bust made with garbage collected from the beach.  This garbage was carried here by the same waters that brought liberation to Portugal."

The included dinner was at the hotel, a buffet. As buffets go, this was pretty good. The most dangerous thing on a hike is having dinner at the same time as a bus tour.  And there were two bus tours.  These people will hurt you on their way to unlimited food.  Looking at some of these people, I was pretty sure it had not been long since their last meal.  No starvation in this group. I started with a salad, some excellent grilled peppers, and a vegetarian crepe.

I had about a dozen entree choices - WOW!  I chose the eggplant bolognese, which was terrific.  I would have called it Caponata, but that is Sicily.  It was full of eggplant, onions, and olives in a rich tomato sauce.  I also tried the Bacalhau à Brás, or crumbled cod with garlic, olive oil, and eggs, "Bras style,” as well as veal stroganoff.   I am not sure what the little fried thing was, but it was terrific.

For dessert, I chose the carrot cake, a little denser than our version, plus the Petit Gatèau, also known as molten lava cake.  It was chocolate enough to melt your fillings.  Yum!

I try not to whine in my first few days, which is tempting.  I swear every bone in my body hurts from 18 miles of trekking on a boardwalk.  No give there, it wasjust as hard as concrete. This scenery was incredible, and the ever-present sound of the waves was just the tonic I needed.

So until tomorrow, goodnight and sweet dreams.

, 

Porto, Portugal 10/29/25

 

Soon to be on the trail again!  

I arrived in Porto, Portugal, on Tuesday and spent the day gathering supplies and exploring the city. I have been here several times over the years, but the amount of growth stunned me.

In the background is the “city hall."

Such pretty buildings.

I loved these blue-china-looking churches.  Delft?

The altars were much plainer than the 

A different church.

There were three times as many of these bins with tummy things to eat, already prepared.

For lunch, I had Bao de queijo, which are tiny rolls, and bacalhau (dried, salted cod), which was mixed with bread and fried. The cost was than three dollars, counting my diet Pepsi. Quite tasty for the price.

One of my favorite guilty pleasures for the trail. I always look for them, but they are only available in a limited area.  Filipinos look like little white donuts, but inside is a crunchy chocolate cookie.  YUM!

Tomorrow I hit the trails for slightly less than 3 weeks.  As usual, I am excited, nervous, apprehensive, and raring to go.