Uma mudança de ritmo: Day 23 Viana de Castela

Great breakfast with a view .

And now we walk.

So we recall how our last walking Caminos were punctuated daily with the sound of the cuckoo bird.

This one is different. The consistent sound on this one is of men doing great big honking nose blows and other nasal and throat sounds. It has been consistent to the point when we hear it, we, or more likely I cannot help but burst into gales of tear producing laughter.

And so goes the Camino.

As the world turns: today was a day made in heaven. All conditions aligned for happiness.

Our plan for Camino Lite was to walk the coastal route for some miles and then turn back to Viana de Costello along the Senda Litoral or the very coastal route. And so we did. Backpacks in the hotel room. And hen we saw our first shell and arrow and shortly after our first Peregrino walking and stopped to talk. And all felt right again. Uh oh. The body mind gets so accustomed to this rhythm and the instant camaraderie. How to explain?

Anyway, 7 miles later we arrived in the next small town and enjoyed some lunch before turning over to the ocean. This path, called the Senda Litoral follows the ocean on gravel paths and boardwalks. With the weather being sunny with a gentle breeze made it perfect, especially since my urgencies did not affect our walk!

Now we have a much better understanding of all 3 Camino routes (actually 4 counting the Spiritual Variant)). And one more observation about this route: so many women walking alone or with another woman- young and old(er).

The peaceful easy feelings between us are here. We laugh and joke and reflect upon all this and how it happens every time. I have a new name for Craig and it’s a compliment because of his expert navigational skills but he is not a fan of it so I can’t write it here. Three letters: VDG

So by day’s end we walked 15 miles. We are tired, but mostly the fatigue of being out all day, not feeling like the walking is too much. That is amazing and only happens for us when the walking is day after day. It’s a wonderful thing to have the spaciousness and timelessness feeing. For this moment.

And then as if this wasn’t enough, we had the opportunity to sit at a cafe and watch a parade like none other. In Portugal, at this time of year, all the universities spend a week celebrating the end of the year. And celebrate they do! With each speciality (ex: medicine, engineering, design, education, etc) coming through town on a big semi with music and dancing and decorations, not to mention the abundance of beer that is consumed and poured on each other. It is a spectacle of debauchery not unlike Animal House except that since this is Portugal and not the US, we enjoy watching these future world leaders fall into drunken frenzy. A woman sitting next to us explained the custom. There is a dignified ceremony on Sunday but Wednesday is the day for the students to let off the pressure in the way that young people do!

And the town, parents, friends, onlookers are all there to applaud and support.

The first signs of the day!

Not in Portugal but it came our way!

Eucalyptus forests blanket both Portugal and Galician forests. They are not native. Came by way of Australia. Fast growing lumber source but they compromise the existing native vegetation. Classic issue of economics vs. ecological preservation.