Day 2: Vila do Conde to Pedra Furada - Sunday, September 25, 2011

Hoping our accomodation is around the corner - it wasn't

Breakfast was included in the cost of the hotel and as the local baker started work late on Sunday we didn't get on the road until 8:30am. We retraced our steps the short distance back to the bridge where we had noticed a Camino sign on our arrival. Unfortunately the arrow suggested going down stairs, under the bridge and back towards the sea. The map in Brierley's book shows the route going up river so we decided to ignore the yellow arrow on this occasion. Perhaps the arrow pointed to a coastal route.

Worth stopping for a photograph
There were no further yellow arrows so we followed the route as best we could. We passed through Touguinha and then Touguinho. Near the top of a hill we stopped for a rest and took out Brierley to see how we were doing. According to the map, if we were following the purple dots, we shouldn't have been in Touguinho at all, but I photographed the sign on the way into the village so I am not imagining things.

We decided to keep going and a short time later saw our first yellow arrow since leaving Vila da Conde. Shortly after that we arrived in Junquiera which reassured us that we were following our chosen route. I am still confused about the Touguinho sign. Brierley's positioning of it agrees with Nokia's Ovi maps - maybe it is more an area than a village.

We eventually joined up with the proper Camino just short of Arcos and immediately met our first fellow pilgrim, Nora who is living in Vienna. We walked with Nora for a while and our paths crossed frequently right into Santiago.

Sao Pedro de Rates 
Our plan was to lunch in Sao Pedro de Rates but the only bar was off the route and we had gone too far when we learned about that. We survived on fruit and water until we reached Antonio's in Pedra Furada at around 4pm.

Those of you who have walked the Camino will know that it is mistake to feel any sense of relief when you reach your intended town or village - the bar or albergue that you are looking for will always be one or two kilometres away at the far end of the village. That's how it was with Antonio's but it turned out to be a very welcoming place. The room reserved for peregrinos was already taken but we were offered a room that is used for storage and had a small double bed. We would have been willing to sleep on the floor. We learned later that two women peregrinos, who we had chatted with before they passed us out, decided not to take the room because they knew we were hoping to stop there. We will be eternally grateful to Odile from Germany and Joy, her Filipino neighbour, for that act of kindness.

We had a very enjoyable evening there, having dinner with a Dutch couple, who were in the room we had hoped to get (they were more deserving, having walked from Lisbon), and learning about life in Portugal from Antonio. Herman and Marjet were of similar vintage to ourselves but very much fitter.

If you ever walk the Camino Portugués be sure and drop into Antonio's.

Church in Junquiera - Sunday Mass inside 

Antonio's

A change from the garden gnome

Next: Our Day 3 - Pedra Furado to Alta da Portela






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