October 11, 2023.
We were up before sunrise in the little beach town of Vila Praia de Âncora, with “not a creature was stirring” came to mind. But at exactly 7am, standing in the central square, the church bell run and the central cafe opened immediately. All of the people streamed in and grabbed their seats. The wait person came immediately and soon we had coffee and good sandwiches of croissant, tomato and ham on our plates ready to eat.
With a great breakfast on board we were ready to face whatever might come today. The weather had moderated, the temperatures cooler, and wispy clouds filled the sky hinting of a coming change in the weather. We walked north along a path near the waterfront until we came to a small town of Caminha. We were a little confused as to how to cross into Spain. The ferry service had been discontinued but we also had heard that there were alternative crossing options. The signage was confusing. As we walked toward the water we ran into other pilgrims hoping to cross the River Minho by water taxi. We decided to follow them and other pilgrims arriving to the point where the taxi was docked. Soon we were on the little boat and crossing the short stretch to a sandy outcropping, clambering out and finding the closest road.
Early morning walk towards Spain. The mountain in the distance is Spain.
We found the road leading to the first Spanish town of A Garda. We followed a steep path down to the center of town and found a cafeteria. Music poured out from the cafeteria as we entered, and soon we saw a large choir practicing. We ordered our second coffee and croissant and sat enjoying the festivities. A man approached out table and seemed to be transfixed with Alice being Chinese.
We took a few minutes to get a new SIM card, as nothing was working after our crossing of the national border. Then we were on the road and reconnected with the official camino that had come around the inland side of the mountain. Soon we were following the rocky coastline.
Soon we descended into our town of Oia, arguably the most charming town ever. We found our hostel with only 4 rooms and room for about 10 people. Alice and I have a private room to ourselves and share a bathroom.
After getting our laundry done, devices charged and a little rest, we headed out to the grocery to get something light for dinner. as we walked up the steep hill, there was an older Spanish man playing Mexican cumbia from his garage. We stopped to dance a little cumbia . He explained that he had worked in Washington State at some point and apparently fell in love with the music of Mexico.
On our way back we watched townspeople congregating and sharing the day’s events.
It was a rich day, and we met many other pilgrims from many countries, connected with locals, ate great food, and spent little for our experience. Total distance 30 km.