We had a pretty good night’s sleep once it finally cooled off and the noise of the street settled down a bit. Though there were a couple of party goers than were shouting on what I presume was their way home at 4:30 am. 😂

The walk out of Porto seems endless. But we are having fun and laughing as we go. More about this later.

On these first three days we decided to send our packs ahead because of the distances we are doing. This is a personal decision that everyone has to make on their own. You know your body, listen to it.

We stopped and had a nice picnic after 12 kms. Don’t worry that wasn’t our first stop. And we plan several short stops rather than long stops. Again listen to your body.

Well we made it to our albergue for the night Casa da Laura. It’s a beautiful place with a large garden for relaxing. We have bought our provisions for tomorrow.

Now back to today’s walk. Today was a difficult walking day for us. We chose to walk the central route instead of the coastal. We won’t do that again out of Porto. It is clear why most people take the coastal out of Porto. We walked on pavement and cobblestones all day and were thwarted by traffic. Lesson learned.

One thing I forgot to mention is the moon. At 3 am I woke to it shining through the window and it was a beautiful site. There was a cool breeze coming through the window…I didn’t mind being awakened to that site.

I hope your day is awesome and includes some adventure!! Buen Camino! Bom Caminho!

The excitement of traveling meant that we didn’t need our alarms this morning. But that also meant a lot of sitting around.

We had a really nice going away dinner with Lindsay and Mitchell last night. It was fun and relaxing since we had everything ready to go.

We are traveling by foot, bus, train, plane and metro today. When we get to Porto this afternoon after dropping our luggage at the albergue we will make our way to the cathedral where we hope to get our credentials and our first stamp.

Everything went so smoothly traveling except the flight was slightly delayed.

Porto is a bustling city. We got checked in at our albergue. And then hustled to the cathedral. It’s massive. We will go back when we return after our camino.

We had a fun conversation with an Australian man at a cafe and our Portuguese server at a Brazilian street cafe where we had dinner.

Now it’s back to the albergue to repack our bags, shower and relax.

I hope you have a great day and adventures aplenty!!

We have trained with full packs for the past several weeks. So packing was pretty easy and straightforward.

I can remember when I used to throw everything in a suitcase just before leaving. I can also remember taking things I might need but ended up never using.

Pilgrimage has taught me expedience and care when it comes to packing. We don’t carry more than we need, even when sending a bag ahead.

This seems to be true in life as well, the more we possess the more worries we can have.

We are spending a relaxed day since we are packed and checked in to our flight.

Buen Camino! Bom Caminho!!

I don’t know about you but sometimes the “what ifs” can stand in the way of moving forward.

“What if I get sick? What if I get injured? What if I have to take a taxi? What if it rains? What if I fall down?”

It doesn’t hurt to ask these questions. It is smart to listen and plan. And then set down the “what if something goes wrong?” And embrace the possibilities.

Going on pilgrimage is not about everything being perfect, but more about discovery. My friend David Mills and I came up with this definition for pilgrimage: “A journey of thoughtful intention with an unknown outcome”

If you have the “what ifs” (I believe we all do) I encourage you to talk to someone and try to set them down as best you can so you can enjoy the journey. (This works in life as well as pilgrimage).