CAMINO PORTUGUESE – DAY 15

Porto (Rest day)

10 April 2018

Accommodation – Porto:

Oporto Music Hostel

I’m really glad we have a rest day today … and although it is still raining, we are planning to see more of the beauty of Porto!

A ride on the Hop on Hop off bus:

Over the years, we learned that one of the best ways to see a new city, is to get on their Hop on Hop off buses to find their most significant places.

Today we are not pilgrims, but tourists exploring a beautiful city!

Cathedral Se:

But first, we had to pay a visit to the Cathedral Se. From this church, most pilgrims will start their Portuguese Camino if they choose to begin their journey in Porto. We made use of this opportunity to obtain stamps in our credentials.

Cathedral Se in Porto – it has been altered and embellished many times since its inauguration in the 12^th century

No surprise … it’s raining:

As we got on the Hop on Hop off bus, it started to rain (again). It was a pity, because we could not really take any photo’s. But we did had the opportunity to learn that Porto has a great history and so much beauty.

A familiar sight by now – covered in our rain jackets – this time on the Hop on Hop off bus

Praca da Liberdade (Liberty Square) is Porto’s main square and it connects the old town with the modern part of the city

Towards the end of the bus tour, the rain subsided and we could actually see the ocean. We love the sea and was looking forward hiking next to the coast from tomorrow.

What a lovely sight – the view of the ocean in sunshine!

Lunch time:

As we got back to the Cathedral Se from where the bus tour started, the sun disappeared behind the clouds and the rain was back. We ran to the closest restaurant on the river bank and ordered the biggest cup of hot chocolate and coffee we could get to warm us up. It was also time for lunch and we indulged into the fine bread of Portugal!

Lunch time on the banks of the Douro river

A boat trip on the Douro river:

The bus fare of this morning included a trip on the rio Douro. As the heavy rain changed into a light drizzle, we made use of the opportunity to find our way to the boat for a cruise on the river.

A cruise on the Douro river

Let’s head back to our warm (and dry) hostel:

When we got back from the boat ride, we decided we’d had enough of playing tourist in the rain! We would love to see more of Porto, but you can only be cold and out in the rain for so long!

We took the metro back to our hostel and packed our backpacks again. My feet got (a little) rest and hopefully I would be able to continue with renewed vigor on our Portuguese Camino!

Dinner time:

We bought ingredients at the local supermercado and Berto made us a huge bowl of pasta that we finished off with a bottle of red wine … we’re back on the Camino again!

A meal to get us back into the spirit of the Camino

Colourful socks:

There is this one photo that I just have to share … I wore my hiking sandals today with a spare pair of my hiking socks. It was the most colourful socks I could find back in a shop in South Africa 😁. When I took my socks off this evening, I could just laugh at the colour schemes of my sandals and socks … it is only on the Camino that one dares to walk in public like this!

Not a pretty sight, but I walked around like this in Porto all day!

We went to bed early … tomorrow we will walk the more popular route of the Portuguese Camino: Porto to Santiago de Compostela.

Click here for Day 16 …