Porto to Vila do Conde, 21 miles with no hills, just a cool sea breeze to keep us happy little campers today.

Resting those puppies

From a bridge over a stream on the way

May 17, left the hostel in the dark and headed for the coastline, the first half of today was along the boardwalk which went for miles and miles, and was kind to the feet as the wooden walk way was soft and had spring to it.

Leann,john, Shirl and me on the boardwalk

Walking along the river park, Shirl trying to imitate a monkey
The next day was back inland to the village of Barcelos, 18 miles , on the river Rio Cavado. Coming into town you again cross a river on an old roman bridge, this place is as cute as heck, and the town square is vibrant and alive, it was also Sunday and the football was on, the local team were playing for the national title , which they won, which in turn sent the place crazy.
LeAnn is having hamburger syndrome, her feet look pretty bad so we are going to doctor her up, give her a beer and tell her to hush up, not that telling her to quite yapping will get her to do that, yap yap.
The Barcelos Bridge.

our Albegue was a dump, but the flowers outside were refreshing, what can you expect for 5 euros a night. Leann put up a good fight, she walked in, but her feet are not doing well,we are suggesting a days break, maybe two, then plow on. See how they look in the morning 

today we had to turn inland and wind our way to Vila do Conde, our night stop at this little river estuary town. This place is beautiful, set alongside the Rio Ave. Our entry came by crossing the bridge and entering the town park. One thing I found was ,don't prejudge the rookies, one is a mountain racer and I got my butt kicked for the first half of today, that would be Shirl, for the rest of the hike I simply got my ear chewed off by,,,,,,well......

Turning onto another Roman Road, these are the hardest on your feet, as they are mainly cobbled, and the high points on each cobble punch the sole of you foot, there isn't much way around that, after  1 0 miles of that, you get pretty worn out and tender.

It was a funny day today, I spent a lot of time on my own, started thinking as one does when doing this.I remember back in the late 80s when I took the time to learn, and grow myself, overcome my ADHD, or how to deal with it, one of the greatest gifts I was given and learned, was the knowledge of setting boundaries.. I got so annoyed today, at myself, because I have not stayed true to that with some people in my life, I got lazy because of who they were and its non ones but my fault.  So as I pounded out the miles, I got back in tune and figured out that I need to stay true to myself on this, and be better at communicating what is OK and what isn't. Its moments like these that make all my walking worthwhile. I just need to be better at it. In all honesty, I have to laugh because I know a few of you who really know me, and who are reading this are laughing too right now, I strive to be better at most things and I'm always my own worse critic when I fall short. But its OK, its MY CAMINO.