Camino Day -1: Porto!

Stretching my legs in Porto and hopefully avoiding jet lag

Woke up around 5AM which means I got 6.5 hrs of sleep. Not too shabby for a first night 8 hrs ahead of my home time zone, though tonight is the real test. Hopefully I was a reasonably quiet sleeper... After an hour of reading time in bed this morning, I quietly got ready in the bathroom and made a cup of tea downstairs and hung out, awaiting breakfast.

Oh my! What a huge breakfast! Kind of ideal, really, given I have two walking tours planned and likely only time for a quick snack between them (this was true). I think I’ll skip this tomorrow as it’s a bit much to have before walking. Said goodbye to the other American at the hostel, who is moving on to a new place tomorrow. Now heading out to the Cathedral to get my pilgrim credencial stamped (carimba in Portuguese) and stroll a bit before my tour.

I saw my very first Camino marker and I was so excited! Talk about perspective. All at once I realized the walk was nearly upon me. It’s now real. I kinda want to start immediately!

I took two walking tours today to stretch my legs and learn a few things during my acclimation day. Both were a lot of fun! The guides were both really great and it made all the difference. I’m not going to write more about these tours here now but if you want to see where I went today, check this out! (Just click the play button - you don’t need the app) This was my first test of the Relive app, which I’m considering using to chart my daily progress on the Camino. Kinda fun, right?

Honestly, the best part of the day was meeting a very nice German couple, Jochen and Claudia. Sadly, I neglected to get a photo. I’ll need to do better! We talked a lot during a port tour and ended up grabbing dinner together afterwards. More tasty fish was had, along with some really good conversation. Alas, they were not Camino walkers nor did I meet any in my travels today. But I did see two backpackers in the distance - but no scallop shells on their packs so I didn’t say anything. So, the wait continues…

This is the spot where I’ll start tomorrow, in front of Porto Sé. I’m both eager and anxious about beginning. Eager is obvious :) Why am I anxious? Its silly. I’ll probably wake up early again and I don’t want to wake my hostel roommates. So I had to rush a bit when I got back late this evening to get my pack “sort of ready”. It’s at least in position to be grabbed quietly in the AM and then I’ll carry it and my few belongings in the bed and bathroom and I’ll finish packing in the common area downstairs in the AM. Never having stayed at a hostel until yesterday, this is new ground. But I definitely don’t want to be that guy who bangs around in the AM getting ready and wakes his roommates. This should help! Yeah, I’m overthinking things. Guilty!

Tomorrow is Day 1 of my Camino! We shall see how I feel in the morning. I think I’ll still be very excited to start.

PS - ate another great Pastel de Nata custard pastry today! So very tasty and the ideal coffee pairing. Prepare to see more pics of them in the days to come :)