Day 4 Vila do Castel to Vila Praia de Âncora

October 10, 2023. We decided to give ourselves a recovery day with fewer miles after three long days. We started justoutside our hotel at a little local bakery and coffee shop. The breads were thick and fresh, unlike what we have sometimes had early in the morning. The coffee was great and cheap as we have become accustomed to.

We headed through the historic old town along the Camino, through narrow pedestrian walkways and by ancient churches. There was a historic hospital founded in the 1400s, and all I could think of was the plague. I also saw grafiti saying Covid – Farce, and I wondered how common it was in the dark ages that people called the Black Death a farce.

The route continued in a meandering and gentle upward direction out of the city and onto the hills overlooking it. It’s always enjoyable to see children arriving at school and other residents hurrying off to work and opening shops.

The path continued to skirt a small mountain at more or less the same elevation, taking us through suburbs and then high walls of the landed gentry. We saw some amazing old houses with extensive grounds.

An impressive façade and coat of arms.

The narrow paths between estates, with shade from chestnuts, or even a cork oak tree.

We took our first break at a cafe at about 7 km, and then walked on to a short term high point at 11 km were we stopped on some flat rocks.

As we walked we took note of some cultural changes that start to resemble Galicia, Spain. First, the little outbuildings called horreos have started to appear again. Hundreds of these were scattered around Asturias and Galicia and were originally used for storing grain. Along with them are the strange sharp pointed stone tops and little points on top of the roofs. I think that I read that these were thought to discourage evil sprits from stopping to sit on top of these structures.

The eucalyptus forests on top of the mountain made the climb well worth it. Their shade and smell was heavenly. Underneath there were very flat and relatively smooth stones, as if scraped by glaciers. The hiking was relatively easy.

Soon we emerged into some sun that did not have the same intensity as previous days. It is starting to cool down and only reached about 80 today.

I had just commented to Alice that a cool lemon flavored drink that we learned to enjoy the day before would really hit the spot now. Just a few more yards and I saw a little bar, so we ordered the lemon drink and sat outside enjoying the scene and that we were close to our hotel.

Back on the road, we finished descending the hill and arrived at a partially deserted seaside resort town where some families enjoyed the sun, sand and surf. We were thankful for shorter, cooler day, and a chance to recover a bit. Total distance to day 20 km.

Tomorrow we cross into Spain.