5 hours 22km, Porto to Matosinhos to Vila do Conde

We had an “easy” first day today, giving us time to shake off some of our jet lag. We took the metro out of the city to Matosinhos, thus avoiding most of the urban slog. This gave us time for a leisurely coffee and hostel breakfast. When we checked out this morning, we noticed that somehow we had been admitted despite our advanced years. Apparently we had inadvertently stayed in a youth hostel. The offer of free sangria after 9 pm now makes sense!

Much of the day was spent walking along boardwalks and what might have been boardwalks had you been in possession of a big excavator.

Temperatures were pleasant, verging on steamy later in the day. Some mist and clouds rolled in, but didn’t stay long.

We checked in to the Venceslau Wine Boutique hotel, again enjoying a private room and bath. The post walk routine is back in action. Clothes hand washed and feet up on the wall.

We had missed lunch so took a brief walk around town to see the sights.

Tomorrow we will move from the Coastal to the Central route and will trade flat sandy beaches for a more rural landscape.

The feet so far are OK. On the bad news side, the right baby toe is already showing signs of rebellion and Robby has several hotspots, but we are making up for that by joining the Farmacia frequent purchaser program.