We had an early start from Casa Ribeiro with pleasant walking by the sea. There was a nice little chapel for our daily stamp. The walk was a lovely miixture of paths along the coast and woodland tracks. We were joined for a short while by a man from Denmark, who had been advised to do spend a week or so walking to help with his recovery from PTSD.
At about 10 a.m. we enjoyed a coffee stop in Caminha with Susan, and Steve. Steve was feeling much better. We met up with two other walkers, one from Halifax and one from Australia.
This was where we said our farewells to Susan and Steve as they were taking the ferry to Spain to complete their Camino but we were walking our last stretch, to Vila Nova de Cerveira, along the river.
This part of the walk started along the road, then we found a track that crossed the railway line, to a park and track along the river. We found a seat to eat our breakfast of hard boiled eggs, then continued along the way.
Not far from our hostel, we saw signs to a restaurant. We were tired and hot and it was a steep walk uphill to the restaurant. We were relieved that it was open. It proved a lovely site with a view of the church and a welcome breeze. We decided to treat ourselves to a long lunch to mark the end of our Portuguese Camino, for this year.
After lunch, we headed downhill, then up again to our accommodation: The Pilgrim's Rest.
We were a little disconcerted to be informed that no shoes were allowed inside and unimpressed by the two small towels that we were given. When we found that there was no hot water we realised that this didn't matter!
Still, we joined the other guests, who were American and ebjoyed some time chatting and debating with them. Then it was time for our communal meal which was a delicious selection of vegetarian food.
So, some pros and some cons to staying in something more like a hostel.
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