Woke up to breakfast served. Last night we were able to select our meal for the morning. What a concept. I chose all my favorite things, eggs, yogurt and fruit. George went for coffee, croissants, Nutella and cheese. We had a feast of food. Thank you Elizabeth!

After breakfast, we said our farewells and walked back to the coast. It was so very windy! We left without our second layer, made it a block or two and realized, we need our jackets! We put our packs down and layered up.

I have no idea how many miles of Boardwalk there is on this section of the Camino. It seems to go on forever and ever. I’m going to need to look this up because it is quite an engineering feat! The wind was blowing at least 30-40 knots. There was some light rain but no possible way to use our umbrellas without turning them inside out. The wind is the story today!

Elizabeth warned us that there was a section of the Boardwalk that was damaged and we’d be walking on sand dunes for a bit. Three Bike-Packers zipped past us and within a few minutes, it appeared we were catching up with them. The dune walking has begun. With bikes loaded with gear, George and I were closing in. It was a slow process walking in soft sand with big backpacks, but not as slow as pushing a bike loaded with gear!

Finally the Bicyclists started moving again, and quickly disappeared on the Boardwalk. We never saw them again! George and I walked for a quarter of a mile on sand and the Boardwalk appeared again. What a relief and now I much more appreciate them! Boardwalks are the best option on this Camino.

We past over an estuary with water, birds, reeds and even a garden to the right of it. Then it happened. The big black cloud came over us and started raining. I thought it was going to be a brief sprinkle and didn’t get my rain jacket out. And like the rain does, it started to downpour. All I could see was a restaurant ahead and thought, if we could just get there, we’ll be fine. We walked inside and there wasn’t anything dry on us. We were ringing wet. George does not like being wet, as I found out!

The Store Owner, Chef and Husband was wiping down the floor because it rained so hard, it blew water inside. George was annoyed because he was wet from head to toe. I was taking off my hat, buff and gloves and trying my best to dry out. Thank goodness they had plastic chairs because we had them wet in no time.

We sat and ordered lunch. This is the incredible difference between The Camino and The Trail. On the trail, I never had a chance to sit down when it was raining, have someone bring me food, drink and dry off! I would keep walking, just getting wetter and maybe, just maybe, there would be a shelter down the trail another 4-5 miles. But having a restaurant that serves me salad, pizza, beer and espresso is not roughing it! That’s pretty darn magical. I explained to George that we would dry out, once the sun comes back, especially being it was really windy. The wind would cut right through our wet clothes and since the sun was warm, we would dry by the time we made it to the next town! Absolutely wonderfully dry. And so it happened.

We walked into Vila do Conde, an ancient city known for lacemaking and fishing. Convento de Santa Clara (Monastery of Santa Clara), the most interesting sight, which is now a school for delinquent boys. A small fountain in a courtyard is fed by a narrow channel from a very long overhead aqueduct, which stretches into the hills. It was one of the first buildings I remembered visiting when I was here some twenty years ago. Now that I’m making my way to the north, the towns and villages are homes to the Rotarians that hosted me.

We continued north through some fishing towns and smaller villages as we left Vila do Conde. We had another five miles before our evening resting spot of Santo Andre. There were a few scattered Boardwalks but more rural roads and countryside. We briefly talked with the locals, who were concerned that we were still walking in the afternoon. I shared with them where we were going and he exclaimed only one more kilometer. That put a pep in our step and we headed up and over our last Boardwalk of the day.

I pulled out my Google Maps and it showed the Hotel was inland. I thought that was odd being the Hotel description mentioned rooms with views of the ocean. I made the turn and followed my map, big message stake! It took us to a rural street in the middle of nowhere. Then it stated, you have arrived. Arrived to what, I thought? A car came by and she stopped. She must’ve known that we were definitely misplaced, not lost, but not where we should be. In Portuguese she asked where we were going? I stated Santa André Hotel and she pointed back to the beach. You’ve got to be kidding! She then opened her car and drove us to the nicest Four Star Hotel that we’ve been to. Thank you my most wonderful lady. We exited and arrived, dry but done for the day.

Once we entered the lobby, all our troubles of the day subsided. The room was in fact on the beach, with a balcony overlooking the massive Atlantic Ocean. We relaxed, took a shower and sat outside for a bit. Then we headed downstairs and had dinner. The best part of this Hotel is they actually have an elevator. We always seem to get the room upstairs and today was no exception. Floor Four, but with an elevator. Such a great evening with breakfast in the morning. This seems to be another grand occasion. Thank you Lord for bringing that ever so kind lady to our rescue and finding our way back to the ocean.