Valenca do Minho to Orbenille 12.37KM
Today we started to walk el Camino portugués on our way to Santiago de Compostela. We are going to be walking between 11-14 miles every day for the next 7 days.
You might be questioning my sanity and the why of this journey. Well, it was a bucket list wish and when I found the tour by Bold Spirit Travel https://www.boldspirittravel.com/, I thought it would be a good fit for me, so here I am! I booked the Camino tour and then planned the rest of my Madrid vacation around it. In this tour there are 10 amazing and brave women, 2 guides, a driver and the tour facilitator: we are all from different parts of the US and our 2 guides are from Portugal and UK.
As we were getting ready to leave from the hotel, I was not sure what to expect on how the whole Camino experience would be. Can I do it? Would it be too much for me to be walking these many miles every day? I had lots of questions.
Today was supposed to be an “easy” day to dip our toes into this Camino thing but that was not the case. Life is never exactly as you plan it, right?
We boarded the tour bus at our Vigo Hotel and drove to Monte de Santa Trega to see the views of the Atlantic and explore some Celtics ruins that were in the same area. Fun fact: Galicians were originally Celtic people that lived in the the area of Galicia and northern Portugal.
The views from Sta Trega were incredible! I will post pictures later since I am still on the trail and have not downloaded my camera. We were very lucky that the chapel was open that days since apparently it rarely is. It was small but felt so peaceful.
People will pray to Sta Tegra and ask for her intercession. If their prayers are answered they will come and complete their promise. There were many albums with pictures of those that had their prayers fulfilled. This really resonated with me since whenever I would travel I would light a candle at the cathedral or church I visited for my beloved sister Frances. 🙏🏼.
As we were heading back to the bus via the Celtic ruins, the first challenge to this tour occurred. Our tour leader, took a bad step and twisted her ankle and fainted. Pretty scary! Thankfully we have a great group of lovely ladies that helped her and made sure she made it to the doctor while we went on the trail.
We started later than planned in Valenca Do Minho in Portugal. It was a very warm day too! 🥵 so this was our challenge #2 for the day.
Even though it was a very hot day, it was a beautiful walk. The camino changes as you walk thru it. We had some very nice paths that were more rural, sometimes you walk on the main road or thru the city. The key thing is that the Camino changes every time.
As I walked I noticed that people leave rocks and other things in the Camino. They say that the rocks symbolized beliefs or things that weigh them down. So by leaving that rock or item at the Camino you are choosing a different path and leaving the old way behind.
They say the Camino can be different things for each person that walks it. Also it’s unpredictable.
The lesson I take from my first day at the Camino is to let go of the expected outcome. We can’t control everything; things change and you need to accept that and move on to plan B. For us, we were supposed to be done 3hrs before we did and not be out in the extreme heat. Well, that did not happen and I believe we did great finishing the day and getting our Camino completed.
I am tired after today and looking forward to tomorrow’s route that will take us from Porrino to Cesantes.
I leave you some extra pictures of this first day. Let me know your thoughts and your experiences if you have walked el Camino. Much love, Ana 🌹
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