I started just a bit south of Porto to avoid walking in heavy traffic by myself. It turned out to be one of the best decisions as I found out later from people who said that this portion of the camino was fairly dangerous with cars speeding by...I am glad that my "angels" were looking out for me. My very first day was all by myself until about 2/3 of the way into the walk. My first companions were Elke and Antonia from Germany. They were super friendly and it was a welcome companionship after having been on my own for the entire day...once at the albergue (pilgrim's hostel) they really took care of me-specially since I was so tired after we reached Rates and slept for several hours (my allergies were seriously on overdrive and I had to take a benadryl). They went and shopped for a sweet first meal and made sure that I had stuff to eat and were very sensitive that I ate no pork! I was overwhelmed by their generosity and friendship. A good sign of what the future was going to be like...
my first yellow arrow or the "flecha"
the church in Vilarinho where I started with a mass at 7:30 AM...it is where I picked up the trail for the camino...the little old ladies in church were so sweet...made room for me and my backpack! It was an extremely small church.
I rested here for a while...I was blown away by the beauty of Portugal and it was just the first day!
I sat on a rock just on the right side and took a nap!
Elke and Antonia from Germany
first meal
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