We have been rotating leadership among our four each day. There is quite a bit of organizational work, map reading, time planning, breakfast timing and arrangements, WiFi connecting, etc. involved in getting us from city to city. Rather than all four of us preparing and then having four opinions on each issue, we have settled into a routine of rotating who is the leader.
Today Kathy was the leader in her fourth day (our fifth) of walking. We did about 11 miles and she started us out in the morning on our route with help from the very kind waiter/ breakfast cook/bartender/front desk clerk. He even walked us about a half mile to help us find the right street.
Kathy had done her homework (of course) and was well versed in the way, but it was still a tough day to stay on the route. We had several Camino angels stopping to sternly or kindly offer help or to chide us for being off path. There was a woman in her garden scolding us for being off the Camino (only a mile or so); a young man on the street at 6:30 AM in the dark, friendly and kind, helping us get over/under the freeway; the front desk clerk; an older gentleman lecturing us about how to find the arrows, and various helpers across the street yelling and pointing, or two firefighters pointing simultaneously, or a man driving by in his car motioning backwards with his thumb. We don’t even have to ask; we just gawk around with a book out and they come flocking to our aid.
But here is the most angelic selfless act of service we have seen yet. We stopped at a little church to see it and met the lady sweeping outside. When Judy changed into her sandals the lady rushed over to help her. So very service minded.
So far we have gone (actual mileage, including dinners and getting lost):
14 miles Porto to Vila do Conde
14 miles Vila do Conde to Apulia
11 miles Apulia to Esposende
17 miles Esposende to Viana do Castelo
15 miles Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia de Ancora
Total miles so far—-71, which might be be about 35% of the total. Now, Cheeks, I know the lack of accuracy in this will drive you crazy, but there is a big margin of error on all estimates in a foreign country. Probably a huge standard deviation. So there you have it.
We have been eating great, but it is pure luck because we are only guessing at what the menus mean. Yesterday Kathy and I ordered a cod dinner and we got a family style plate with about one pound of cod each, plus about two pounds of potatoes and a pound of caramelized onions and some red pepper garnish. This was after entradas— bread, croquettes made of cod and potatoes, olives, and Padron Peppers fried with salt on top. Tonight we had what was described as rice and fish mix, and it was actually a to-die-for bouillabaisse with rice and white fish and shrimp in a tomato and wine broth. Holy moly. We are eating great, sleeping in lovely hotels, and and walking in God’s nature. What more could we need?
One more interesting thing to share. We ran into a group of three women from Seattle. Yes, really. One or two live in West Seattle, like Judy. So we walked with them yesterday afternoon and may share some experiences in the future.
We call ourselves Seattle 1 and call them Seattle 2. This morning we got this text from them:
Apparently they saw this as some kind of cartel hostage exchange where they would give us their Nancy and then they would accept Kathy plus a not-yet-bargained amount of chocolate. I will keep you posted on that.
One spiritual note. Stephanie is working on a translation, but here is what Jesus asks us to do and we see the Portuguese doing every day:
Be peaceful, everybody!