8 Weeks to Isle of Arran – Feet

May 30, 2018 / runningforthegate / 3 Comments

Well with 8 weeks to go till departure I have a big decision to make – boots or no boots?

Seems crazy to even consider hiking 100+km in soggy Scotland without my beloved, make me happy, bring me joy as soon as I slip into them boots. But I have a love / hate relationship with my Asolo boots and that makes this a big decision.

Weight: My boots are a mid-backpacking boot – which means they are heavier than a hiking boot or shoe but lighter than a heavy backpacking boot. Together they weigh just under 3lbs and while that may seem like not much right now when you add that to the bottom of your feet for 25,000 steps or more every day it definitely adds to the workout. Not to mention my pack weight when they are not on my feet. I have strong enough legs, knees and ankles that I could most likely go with a light hiker or even a cross trainer like my also very loved purple running shoes from Nike. hmmm

Waterproof: My boots are totally waterproof – lovely, amazing Gortex that has kept up its waterproof-ness now for over a decade. I can tell you that dry feet are happy feet. While some hikers may be all like “I don’t mind if my feet get wet” – I am not one of those. I know from experience that wet feet become swollen, the skin becomes weak and soft and that means blisters, blisters, blisters. Also, I wear SmartWool socks and wet and wool means stretching, which means bunching, which means (yup you guess it) blisters, blisters, blisters. If there is one thing Scotland is famous for (maybe almost as famous as Ireland for) its rain. Hey they named that misty, hang in the air rain Scotch Mist for a reason! So if the weather is perfect every day of hiking, I wont need my boots but .. well it is Scotland.

Underfoot: I love the weightlessness of my running shoes for sure but a rocky or shale path is havoc on feet in running shoes. The bits of sand and grit gets kicked up and settles into your socks and shoes – making blisters, unless you annoyingly stop every 100 yards to clear em out. The rocks under the soft tread of sneakers feels like a few bumps at the start of a 25km day but those same rocks starts to feel like broken glass and upturned nails as the dogs bark louder and louder by the end of the day. My boots have a Vibram sole – hard equals heavy, but hard also means you do not feel rock edges or the bumps and clumps underfoot. In fact, the bottom of my boots are so good that I can balance on a pointed rock as if its flat (assuming I am doing spirit fingers for balance and posing for a photo of course). Now I could find the perfect balance and get me some trail runners which feature a much harder sole than regular cross trainers, and I could where gaiters to keep the dust and rocks out of my shoes and socks. But hmm 9 weeks out I do not want to be breaking in anything new and gaiters assuming good weather make the feet sweat and we are back to the wet feet issue above.

Change of pace: now I have to say one of my favourite things to do is to switch it up. If the path is rocky or scrambling is involved; my boots are fabulous for grip, kicking in a toe hold, keeping the grit out, and generally keeping the feet happy. But when the path is maybe on a flat surface or through the wee Scottish villages; then my sneakers are light and bouncy and I feel like I can really kick the pace up a notch with 1.5lbs less on each foot holding me to the earth. I also love switching to my sneakers from my boots when the sun starts shining, as a kind of celebration of Vitamin D. Not to mention throwing on my sneakers and compression socks (of a lovely lime green variety cause I am sure the bright the colour the better the compression) for an awesome pick me up – both in blood flow and in hiking attire appeal.

Hmmmm decisions, decisions -well, no not really. I have decided – I am taking both.

This will surprise very few people I suspect; its kinda my thing to have both. I just cant imagine how lonely my Asolo’s would feel being left out of the fun and I love a good mid-day change up! I also like that when I have my boots or my sneakers secure to Missy Morado (my Osprey backpack’s name) she sits upright and proud in her purple goodness. Really its Missy confirming my choice to bring both really! Yup.

Brande

Guest Post – The ‘Be You’ Training Plan

May 25, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Well Hello!

My name is Shar and I am Brande’s sister – here as a guest on the blog today! I am VERY honoured to be adding to the amazing posts that B (what we call her in our family) does throughout her adventures and her process of preparation!

We are gearing up to do a long distance walk in Scotland, the Arran Coastal Way. This will be long distance walking adventure number 2 for me! The Great Glen Way in 2013 with B was one of the most memorable adventures of my life time and I am sure this one will be that much better!

The reason I wanted to hop on the blog today was to address those whom are intimidated by the word “preparation”!

I respect so much the thought, care and dedication B puts into every day leading up to an adventure. But for me, I have a short attention span for most things! So the idea of getting through a long training routine in anticipation of wanting to just get going is SUPER unnerving for a person like me!

Best advice I can give is … do things that are gonna get you out there doing things! Don’t try to be or do something your NOT! Don’t over schedule and over complicate! You do you, and don’t apologize for it!

B made up this awesome training program (20 Week Training Plan) and sent it out to us for help and guidance on where to start and I took that program and twisted it a bit so it fit my family’ incredibly crazy schedule and my need for short and sweet commitments!

For me, I love love love Jillian Micheals‘ workouts – she is the bomb when it comes to short but effective work outs! The longest I have done is 28mins or less!! No going to the gym or finding time to hit an hour class; it’s my house and on my time! I don’t have to think, she tells me what to do and I am working every muscle I need to support the multiple kilometers we are going to cover on our next adventure! Start with the Beginner Shred if you want to give it a try – quick and effective! Oh and Yoga meltdown is an awesome one as well! Rock star!

Alternating that with a 5km Running App- which gets me outdoors with out having to rearrange schedules and move mountains to get there! Just throw on the runners and go! Combine it all with a 15-20 min recovery yoga when and if I can fit it in!

Throwing in some fun 30 day squat or plank challenges here and there makes it a workable routine that fits within an already crazy schedule and it all does not have to be done at once! Trust me I know how important fitting it all into a crazy schedule is!

To keep me going – I keep an pretty elementary schedule of what I need to do each day and cross off with a happy face when I complete it! Writing it down helps cement the commitment and crossing it off cements the accomplishment!

Does it make a difference? Why can’t you just stick to walking for your training?

Well what I noticed after just a wee few weeks is the recovery. Yesterday, after a 17km moderate hike with one of my besties – my recovery was nothing.

I felt the workout which we all want but I did not FEEL the workout! If you know what I mean. My endurance was awesome, the steep climbs and equally as important the steep descents weren’t painful!

This is what makes hiking for an average everyday Joe (or Shar) like me that much more amazing!This helps keep me motivated, it is such a great feeling when I do get the chance to get out and enjoy the mountains with out my body bitching me out when I’m done!

So start simple! I started the first week with just the Beginner Shred workout and added in the run on alternating days a couple weeks later – so it’s not overwhelming and I wasn’t struggling to keep up with life!

Take that step… even if you don’t have a long distance walk ahead! Feels great and keeps us young!

Happy Trails!
Shar

9 Weeks to Isle of Arran – Trails

May 21, 2018 / runningforthegate / 1 Comment

With 9 weeks to go, its time to get out of my own neighbourhood (as amazing as it is with all the awesome local trails and hills) and hit trails that we will more like the Arran Coastal Way in Scotland.

So the next 2 months will be spent in search of Arran like hiking trails and paths to train me up! This will be a combo of boardwalk, beach, hiking trails, hiking paths, some pavement, and a small-ish mountain or two. I am also aim to walk in every manner of weather to give my gear every possible Scottish-like experience and determine exactly what pieces are worthy of this great adventure.

I kicked off this training focus yesterday at Golden Ears Provincial Park in the Maple Ridge area of Greater Vancouver, British Columbia! Wow this Park has a trail for everyone and every level of fitness. So beautiful and only about an hour from my place with a really beautiful drive once you are in the Park.

I was hiking alone yesterday. As there is largely no cell service in the Park, I was aiming for some well used trails to be safe. I hoped to get something of the undulating and shale based sort to get me warmed up. I also wanted to take advantage of the overcast day and chance of rain. The Lower Falls Trail which is just a short 5.5km that leads to a pretty amazing waterfall was a good fit!

I am glad I went early in the day as there was way too many people out and about by the time I made my way back to the parking lot – including that one person in a crowd of 50 who insists on playing their music on speaker while walking in nature. Wonder if they now that nature has its own music? You know birds, waterfalls, rushing rivers, growling bears and roaring cougars and such. Much more pleasant to the hiking ears than a Brittney Spears playlist (insert angry face here) me thinks.

But for every one out there that makes you (ok me) a little crazy, there is another that makes me out and out smile. Looks like I did not have to be afraid of creepy people or animals yesterday – but rather these very ferocious wood monsters at every turn. I love when people have a bit of fun when they see something more than a log or cloud or rock.

It also brings me joy to see any tree that reminds me of the cartoon movie Fern Gully!

I would have liked something a little longer and harder yesterday. I have my eyes set on completing the Golden Ears Canyon Loop in the coming weeks, when my hiking buddy Matty is available. I could see the orange tree markers for the Loop leading up and over the ridge and I was sorely tempted to give it a go but safety first, darn it. So I turned around like a safety bear and made my way back at long-leg speed to up the work out.

Golden Ears Provincial Park I will be seeing you again soon!

Brande

10 Weeks to Isle of Arran

May 14, 2018 / runningforthegate / 5 Comments

We are officially 10 weeks from departure for our long distance hike around the Isle of Arran, Scotland and up and over Goat Fell Mountain as our finale! Not sure if goats have actually fallen off this mountain or if humans nicknamed Goat fell off the mountain to prompt such a name – either way I plan on staying firmly planted to the pointy rock myself.

With just 10 weeks till departure (eeeek) and a distance of just over 120kms to cover by foot once we get there, physical training needs to hit full swing this week so we are feeling spry and fit every day when we approach the 20km mark and our end of day pints!

Here is what my training plan looks like for Week 10:

Hike: 4 x 6km+ hikes (1 of these should be all hills, up and dreaded down)
Pack: 10lb pack this week, work to find that strap sweet spot (any rubbing?)
Gear – Lower: use the sock combo I will use on the actual hike (any issues?)
Gear – Upper: use your poles on 1 hike this week if you plan on taking em
Strength – Lower: 2 x 55 squats, 2x 25 lunges each leg, 2 x 40 calf raises, 2 x 20 fire hydrants
Strength – Upper: 2 x 15 cat/cows, 10 x Double D’s, 2 x 60sec elbow plank
Finishing Touch: Yoga (at least once this week, any kind will do)

I am one of those peeps who loves a goal. Some may call me competitive, some call me driven, and some may call my an over-planner / control freak. Well, whatever name you wanna throw out there, it does not matter to me. What matters to me is that I like to feel good doing whatever it is I am up to – I like a bounce in my step when I hike!

I know travelling half a day on a plane to enter a time zone that is half a day ahead of what I have at home can make it so you look and feel like Gollum after only 5km of a 120km hike. So I prep hard to avoid that from happening. I want to throw my head back and laugh joyously and courageously at a 30km day of hiking, to have a smile on my face and spirit fingers in the air at every km that we achieve!

Having a robust training plan that works for ME is key. I love checking off the weeks and training sets to departure. It feels like every one I complete gets me that many sleeps closure to departure. Its like going to sleep early on Christmas Eve so Santa will come faster! That’s a real thing -its science really!

For this trip, I created and shared with my fellow Isle of Arran hikers (Shar, Rosa and Cheryl) my 20 Week Training Plan. I created it for me but with all of us in mind, and each of these gals are making it work for them as it works for them. Its not a prescription or a directive, its an idea of how to get those boots on and those thighs ready to work-it once we touch down in one of the most amazing small countries in the world!

I am also happy to share this 20 Week Training Plan with you!

Please know that I am not a health professional, exercise professional or any other designation that would suggest I am an expert in training plans. I am but a gal who loves to walk long distances and has done enough over the years to know what MY body needs to feel good at the end of a long hike day that will be met with a long hike the next day. You are welcome to use and adapt my 20 Week Training Plan as it works for you and your body and your goal. Just as my fellow Isle of Arran hikers are doing.

When we arrive on July 24th, It will be nearly 5 years to the day since my boots last hit the Glasgow Airport tarmac (when me and my sis Shar did the Great Glen Way!). Wow is this Scottish lass ever itching for her Alba fix!

Brande

Announcing a New Adventure

March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / 3 Comments

I am super excited to announce my next adventure …

I will be heading back to do some more hiking (hill walking as they like to call it) in Scotland this summer. A celebration of a milestone birthday. I cheered my 30th in Scotland so what a great way to bring in my 40th. Hmm maybe this trend will continue for my 50th in another decade!

The hike I will be celebrating with is the Arran Coastal Path, about a 108+km path that goes all the way around the Isle of Arran off the west coast of Scotland. An area I have never explored and an island that boasts it is a mini-Scotland.

I will be joined in my merriment with a trio of three amazing women…

My sister Shar, who I have done many hikes with including the Great Glen Way in Scotland back in 2013. Which we both loved and have been trying to get back on the long distance path together since! Shar brings the planning, go-get-em-ra-ra cheerleading, and excited clapping to our band.

My sister-in-scrapbooking Cheryl, who I have not hiked with before but have had the awesome pleasure of spending loads of deep thinking and laugh till you cry time with so it should be awesome. Cheryl brings the deep conversations, conventional and unconventional wisdom and get-it-done-in-colour to the troupe.

My sister-in-as-good-as-law Rosa, who I have not hiked with per se but we have put on a tonne of miles together walking and stair climbing during far off family vacations. Rosa brings the perseverance, logic, competition and hilariously heckling sense of humour to the team.

We are just 19weeks out and already having a wonderful time just in the planning. Over the coming weeks I will share our training plans, details of our itinerary and all the other preparation bits and bobs. Then of course a day by day, play by play here on the blog while we are on our adventure.

Brande

Lots of Love for Lisboa

September 30, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / 1 Comment

We wrapped up our month long France, Spain and a Portugal whirlwind Camino pilgrimage in Lisboa (Lisbon) Portugal. An amazing city that sadly we only had about 36 hours to enjoy and it deserves much more time than that.

We arrived on Thursday night around 6pm at the Oriente Train Station after an afternoon of train travel from Lagos. We easily found our way from the trains to the metro to get to Interdente Metro station where our new home, a great Air BnB, was located – right on the edge of the historic city center! The metro and train systems and stations are intertwined in Lisbon and so easy to navigate.

Our place was again another fabulous booking (thank you Lana!) – pic above is our evening and night view from our kitchen window! Our host Miguel was so helpful with all our Lisbon questions. Who needs Tourist Info when you have a Miguel!?

We didn’t have much time in Lisboa, just one evening and a full day, so once we checked in and got sorted we hit the town to do some evening exploring and to find a great place for dinner. We found a wonderful district just before the historic city center and the most fabulous cafe called O’ Corvo!

Wow! They made us sparking green wine sangria that had all kinds of fruit and coffee beans and mint. Mmmm to go with our yummy homemade salads. So great – the food, the staff and the atmosphere was perfect. The place was decorated with a collection of furniture and pics from antique shops and second hand stores. Icing on the cake was the Tina Turner Greatest Hits they were playing. That’s totally my jam … we don’t need another hero (insert singing and dancing here).

The next morning, we were up at our the door by 9am to maximize our short time in Lisboa.

We started the day with a walk down to the historic city centre, snapping pics as we went. With such beautiful streets and history it’s hard to make any progress as you walk – we are so busy looking and gawking and snapping pics.

Some highlights from our morning / pre-breakfast walk about town …

Some highlights from our visit to the Cathedral, a few other churches and the Alfama District (artsy and Fado music district) after our outdoor cafe breakfast …

While having lunch (which was meant to be just a cold drink but the food smelled and looked so good we did lunch too), we decided to fit Sintra in. Sintra is a fairytale little town outside Lisboa with amazing, colourful castles. A place that Lana was keen to see and disappointed that our time in Lisboa was shirt and we couldn’t make it work. Well? Why can’t we?!

We wrapped up lunch, popped over to the Tourist Info who gave us the details on how to make it happen, and then headed straight for Rossi train station for the 50min train to Sintra. A round trip train is only 4,90 Euros each and the train comes every 20mins. We would be there for 330pm, leaving us loads of time to see the highlights! Yahoo!

Most people take a full day in Sinatra but we only had a half day and we were determined to make the most of it! Once in Sintra, we saved our walking time for around the sights and instead used a Tuk Tuk (thanks Pedro) to get a tour of the highlights of Sintra and to take us up to the mountain top castle. Here are the highlights of Sintra – its gorgeous!

We had an awesome time in Sintra and made it back to Lisboa for about 7pm. We did a little souvenir shopping and some more sight seeing, then looked for a place to eat. Our last supper of our whole trip – no pressure!

Well we found an awesome new tapas restaurant in our neighborhood, Endente. The owner was featuring traditional tapas from all Portugal, local wine, cheeses and even served the food on Portuguese made ceramics. The place just opened this summer and he was so great to us! We loved it.

Portugal you have a very special in our hearts – we both cannot wait to be back. What a country and what an awesome finish to just an amazing trip we both feel so grateful for having the opportunity to take.

We are now boarding our flight back to Canada – smiling as we reminisce about the trip. A bit sad it’s over but very much looking forward to seeing our families!

Thanks for following our adventure!
Brande

Lovely Lagos

September 29, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

I know I already gave you a ‘city you must visit’ for your bucket list .. well now I must also give you a ‘beach to visit’ for the list too. Lagos, Portugal. In a word – stunning! Oh and it’s pronounced LagoSH as we quickly learned!

We arrived by train from Porto on Monday, early evening. At first I was underwhelmed as the train station is just your regular, ole station with nothing to make it a warm Lagos welcome. And when you walk out of the stations, it’s into a parking lot and you can’t even see the ocean I was so looking forward to being at. However just yards out of the train parking lot and around a stone wall, it was a very different story!

We were greeted by a beach side resort town that many Europeans consider their holiday destination – like us Canadians consider Mexico and Cuba. The streets were all cobble stone walks and the marina was full of boats and the water crystal clear and full of fish and the beaches and the cafes and the pubs and the shops and overall a beachside city of wow! Yup wow! The air was warm and smelt of salt and we had arrived at our Camino reward!

It was around 6pm when we arrived and we were due to meet our Air BnB host straight away. So we made our way right to the flat we rented. We did not have to go far. It was just a half block off of the main cafe and market street and we ogled the fun as we walked.

Our host met us and gave us a very thorough introduction to our little one bedroom and a futon home for the next 3 nights. Very thorough and we were dying for it to end so we could just relax. She was sweet for sure but when you have been traveling all day, you just wanna throw your feet up and enjoy your new home already! I have never had an Air BnB host take 40mins to welcome us – just another charm of Lagos.

After our host departed, we checked the place out for real and got settled. Checked in with family on our safe arrival on social media and then headed out to explore this cool new town we would call home for 3 sleeps!

The place was full of great cafes and pubs, and we ended up at Giovanni’s a pizza place for dinner. Sitting at a wee table right on the main pedestrian thoroughfare – people watching, sipping Somersby and eating gooey cheese pizza. We wrapped up by grabbing groceries for breakfast and headed back to our flat.

Lagos – Day 1, Hiking and Beach Day

After my morning run (my fav way to see a new city), for our first day in Lagos we enjoyed a home cooked breakfast and then decided to hike (yes more walking yahoo). There is a sort of path around the perimeter of the entire Lagos coastline covering about 10km. Hiking this gave us a chance to check out all of the 6+ beaches Lagos has to offer and experience the famous grottos at birds eye level.

We were not disappointed! We had great fun hiking about, checking each beach for what it offered, grabbing a cool Somersby at the lighthouse cafe and making time for some photo fun as well. Looks like many a tourist does this little hike about, we were never alone but also didn’t feel overwhelmed by people.

At one point we decided to poke a little fun at those peeps who do their yoga poses for photos in famous places. In good fun of course. We are total geeks who can’t do yoga to save our lives …. we ended up with a chuckling audience at our timer on the camera antics.

Hike and laugh till we cry photo session complete, we selected the Costa da Mos Beach as our beach for the day. We rented a 2 chair beach umbrella for 13 Euros (a bit steep in price but for this gal the only way I could spend a day in the hot 24C sun!)

We went in the water despite Lana’s crippling fear of sharks (there are rumors of hammer heads in these waters). Laughing at ourselves as the bottom has large stones and rocks which are rolled by the waves and actually kind of beat you up as you get in. So you have to just suck up the cold of the water and get in quick. Everyone getting in looked hilarious trying to avoid the rock beating. Us included!

We wrapped up our evening back in town enjoying, believe it or not, Chinese food! Yum!

Lagos – Day 2, Boating and Beach Day

Another beautiful day in Lagos (around 24C expected again), we started our morning with a grotto and cave tour by boat! Wow and wow and wow.

It was 15 Euro per person and worth every penny. The tour was just under an hour and the guide took us into each cave – his driving skills were pretty fantastic as some looked only big enough for the kayaks around us and yet he went right in. He also slowed and told us the names of the rocks and caves as we went and had a great sense of humor. It was just Lana and I in the boat for the tour.

I will let the pictures speak for the amazing beauty of these grottos and caves themselves … selected just a few of the 50+ pics I took!

After our grotto by boat morning, we headed over to the only beach we had not explored yet. The one you can actually see right from the tourist area – the beach is 5km long so hard to miss. Before heading over though we made sure we had the three things that make a beach day a success – over and above a beach and summer weather of course … beer, roast chicken and a good book ha ha!

We spent the day on our rented beach chairs for just 12 Euros this time, me under the umbrella and Lana as usual soaking up maximum rays. My time out from under the umbrella was spent combing the beach for shells! (Yup hubby I am coming home with a freezer ziplock bag full of shells.)

We also went in the water on this beach and it was quite different than our rock beat down from the day prior – this was all sand and shells and fish and was wonderful to walk out on.

By about 5pm we figured we should probably shower up, get prepped for our departure the next day and find some eats. The night prior we had walked by an awesome, tiny pub called Ol Bastard Fish and Chips and we were keen to make it our supper destination.

Ol Bastard was amazing. So small and so busy the atmosphere just brought you right in – they had all kinds of fish and chips and fish tacos and loads of fries, as well as a great assortment of wine and craft beer. We loved it, sat right at the bar and had an awesome time! Were even given a complimentary order of fish cakes to make the new chef feel good about his special and some Kraken rum to try. Check out this spread of food yumminess mmmmmm

Our final full day in Lagos wrapped up, we headed back to the flat to chill and get our last great sleep in our awesome BnB before heading to Lisbon (pronounced Leesh-boa), our last destination before heading home to Canada.

Lagos – Day 3 (1/2 Day) Laundry and Marina Lunch

Our final day in Lagos was just a short one – we had a train at 2pm so had ourselves a lazy morning and yummy breakfast at home, then did our laundry (oh the every 3 or 4 day plight of a backpacking pilgrim) before our train.

Oh and just a heads up, you are not allowed to put your dogs in the washing machine in Lagos. So if your pup needs a wash? this is not the place to make this happen.

We ended our time in Lagos with a final toast and snacks at the Marina right beside the train station at the Lighthouse Cafe.

We loved Lagos- add it to your list! While it felt very much like a British tourist beach town, it was really fun and had awesome positive energy and beaches worth spending a week at!

We will check in again post Lisboa.

Brande

Camino-a-pooloza wraps up in Porto

September 23, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / 2 Comments

Yesterday we completed our final and fourth Camino in our Camino Mash Up Adventure!

The Camino de Santiago (St. James Way, 285kms of the total distance) the Camino Finisterre, the Camino Muxia and now the Camino Portuguese Coastal Way (Fisherman’s Route). A sort of Camino-a-pooloza! We walked the sections, or stages as pilgrims and guidebooks like to call them, that we thought we would get the most joy from step by step. Overall, despite some sore feet and muscles and a few detours and lost moments, our mission of joyful walking has been accomplished.

Here is how we wrapped up our final day …

We started the day earlier than usual at around 6am. As you have probably read, we have had some issues getting our extra bag with all the heaviest stuff transported to the next place we are staying. It seems there are very few companies who do this for the Portuguese Way compared to St. James Way and even less who are willing to help a couple of pilgrims walking ‘backwards’ away from Santiago in Portugal. But the company Top Santiago did us a favour the last two nights and made it happen – what a crew! However, we did have to have our bag ready for 7am which was early for us. The sun is not even close to being up at that time, let alone the other peeps in the hostel.

At 7am, after saying best of luck to our roomie from France, we were waiting in the lobby of the Erva Doce Guest House for Top Santiago to pick up our bag. Here is our Guest House. So pretty and feminine, but as Lana is demonstrating below also a veritable death trap for top-bunkers!

At 720am the Top Santiago guy came screeching quite literally to a halt in front of our home, grabbed the bag and gave a quick Bom Dia (good morning or good day) and was outta there to assist other pilgrims!

Bag sorted, we got to walking right away – we did have breakfast included in the Guest House cost but it didn’t start till 830 and we had 33km to Porto to cover to best to not set out so late. We determined we could catch a cafe on our way for breakfast instead.

Some of the views on our way out of Vila do Conde:

For the path, we knew right away there was bridge to cross into the next town called Azurara. Then we could sort of see on the guidebook map (which is way too high level to follow with any confidence and it rarely has street names) that we needed to then take a left for the Way that was all inland to Porto or a right for the Way that was all Coastal to Porto. Well I am sure you know where this is going – we went the Coastal Route and there were absolutely no Way markers to help us find our way. Now what?

Well when in doubt, go with your gut! A few times over the course of this trip Lana has said ‘let’s turn right’ – so that’s what we did! It hasn’t let us down so far and didn’t this time either. In about 40mins we found a marker or two. The markers were few and far between but we had the ocean directly to our right all day so that gave us all the compass we needed!

We soon started to see pilgrims coming the opposite / usual direction. Another welcome confirmation we are on the right route.

Some morning highlights:

At about 845am we walked through a tiny little village – the smell of coffee and cafe sounds brought us into this tiny, local cafe. We had wished for real breakfast but the cafe, in Portuguese fashion, only had sweets. So we shared this puff pastry, chocolate covered, custard filled cone of goodness. Wow and yum and wow! The place was full of mom’s and kids – we assume the mom’s getting their coffee fix before dropping the kids at school, and seems the kids were getting their morning candy fix. (I wish I had a pic of that pastry to show you – clearly I was too excited to eat it to pause for a photo opp.)

About 20mins later we were back on the Way. The sun was fully up now and it was hot. I was already considering when and how many times I would be putting on sunscreen – the pilgrim tan lines I have developed are not hot!

At about 1130 we stopped for lunch. As much as we loved our pasty it does not fuel the pace and distance we were walking. We found an awesome little place right on there beach:

We ordered a Somsersby (they have them everywhere here, like everywhere – Portugal has a Somersby addiction) and a famous Portuguese sandwich called the Francesinha. Basically a delicious combo of multi meats and cheese and special beer sauce on a bun. Wow! This one was a Francesinha Especial and included an egg. Brunch it is! (And yes that is the baggy of pepper I have been carrying around and using anytime we get eggs.)

Completely stuffed and relaxed an hour later, we got up to enjoy (aka wrangle and ramble instead of power walk) our last 18km into Porto. We were full but the weather was beauty, the coastline was magnificent and it was easy walking. We decided it was a good time for some headphone and tunes (audio book for me) to get going.

A few highlights of our afternoon:

At around 4pm we were really into Porto proper now. Our feet started to bark quite a bit louder from the cement boardwalks and cobble stones, and the number of people (insert not-paying-attention-cut-you-off-as-you-walk tourists here) were increasing quickly.

We were ready to hoof it to make the meet and greet with our Porto Air BnB contact, and then we saw this wee, old tram …

Well why wouldn’t ya?! We hopped the rickety tram and caught a ride the last 6km or so into old city centre in style. Well truth be told it was a very bumpy and jarring ride and as we were standing was not really a break on our feet, but it was an old fashioned tram in Porto and that’s awesome!

The tram conductor (I think that’s what he would be called) literally moved the big cable from one end of the tram to the other and flipped the seats to face the other direction at each end of the tram line – which went from the old Fort to the bottom of hill up into old city. So we got to stand at the back but in the other direction would be the front of the tram, and stage a little photo shoot of sorts!

We got off at the bottom of the massive hill into the old city centre, hoofed our way up to pick our bag up at the Hostel Invictus (were are not staying here just needed a place to send our bag forward to) then enjoyed a ‘cheers Camino complete’ glass of wine before meeting our Air BnB.

Wow here is our Air BnB in the middle, dead centre of the old city – we are so lucky! Here in Porto Lana gets the room and I get the futon – it’s this amazing studio and we love it.

We are here in Porto till Monday before making our way to Lagos by train. Expect a Porto blog post on Monday with a summary of what we already can feel will be an awesome city!

Porto look out, we are here!

Brande

Loving Vila Do Conde

September 22, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Yesterday was another interesting day on the Portuguese Camino Coastal Route.

We were supposed to walk 25km but a few detours from the hard to find route probably added a few to that number. Good times!

The day started out with a great breakfast from our Albergue, Hostel Eleven, and their much appreciated help sending our bag from Viana to Vila. (Oh and yes that is chocolate cereal you see and absolutely I poured the left over ‘chocolate milk’ into my coffee!)

After breaky, we stepped outside to a beautiful day and our hostel lady smiling, waving and wishing us Buen Camino at about 830am. We knew which direction to start and had a chocolate cereal spring in our step!

A few photos on the way out of town below. The rooster is the symbol of Barcelos, this region of Portugal. He is everywhere, cute as a button with his big heart and I love him! (Is it appropriate to warn my husband via this blog post that I am bringing home some kinda of statue or stuffy of this rooster guy!?)

After a number of kilometres of clear way markers our luck started to run out a wee bit. We had a choice to take a Coastal option or stay on the main Camino path.

Well we chose Coastal of course and that was our demise. We ended up all over hell’s half acre just off the coast in some farm land stretch with markers that made no sense at all! We finally decided to just revert to finding a milestone noted in the guidebook and using Apple Maps to get there. We finally made it back in civilization after walking many roads as designated by Apple Maps but which were actually a sand track with some old tire marks. All in all, we determined we had spent an hour guessing and hoping and walking only to realise that the Camino has white and red markers and the national park in this region has yellow and red markers – we were following both and basically chasing our tails. Insert forehead slapping motion here! When those colours are faded or rusted out they look the darn same!

Any who, we made it to a wee village called Apuila. Once there we stood on a street corner, ironically with a statue of Saint Santiago on it, looking confused again when a local guy drove by in his car and slowed to give us directions. Amazing! We ‘leap of faith’ followed what he said and headed in the direction he pointed. When we tried to take a right where we thought he had indicated, a cafe shop owner came out to give us the X ‘don’t go there’ symbol with his arms and pointed us to keep straight – we were making the right turn too soon it seems. A couple blocks later, the first guy came back around, put on his car’s hazard lights, got out, and showed us personally where the right turn had to be made. And as the sound of angels singing from heaven rang out a Camino shell and arrow appeared on the stone wall to confirm! Wow!

So we were on our way again …

Only to quickly see that the signs were clearly indicating that there had been Camino detour that we never saw one sign for 2 hours ago/ had we saw a sign maybe we could have headed in the right direction.

A detour explains a few things!

Ok so for real back on track and making good time, we hit our next ‘detour’ of the day. A street we needed to walk on was torn up and under construction. Just as we started to wonder where and how do we get around this without getting lost (important point), the construction worker waved us to just walk through. What? I don’t have hard hat or steel toed boots? Where is Worksafe? So we walked through – it was an excellent photo opp!

Ok for real, for real on our way on The Way now, we started to make good time. We were hoofing it through farmland at a great pace and passing loads of pilgrims making their way in the opposite (and usual) direction to Santiago.

Then all of a sudden the pilgrim steam ran out and the Camino markers did too. Crap! But do not worry some Portuguese lady working in the field waved us down and pointed the direction to Porto for us. Yahoo for the locals. We of course turned in the direction she pointed and kept on keeping on. Well oops. At our next intersection kilometres later we couldn’t find a way marker and still hadn’t seen one for a long time. Crap again.

With no idea where we were again, we did the most logical thing and popped into the pastry coffee shop on the corner and had a coffee and a pastry! There is nothing like some caffeine and a donut to get you sorted!

We also again used Apple Maps to find a another milestone from the Guidebook to help us get back on track again. Turns out, thanks to the well intention but not exactly helpful lady, we were (insert groan here) 2.7km off course. No problem. We can knock that off in 20mins and be back to the Way – we had sugar and caffeine fuel now!

We stepped out of the cafe to literally a drastic change in weather, a storm was rolling in. Come on really! Lost and raining – is this a joke? Are we on candid camera or Punked? Ah well nothing to do but get the rain gear on, make some jokes and get back on course. It didn’t take long to be back on track or for the rain to stop. Yah us!

Seems the rain brought out our rain jackets and the snails! They are flowers, decorations for wine bottles, crossing roads, climbing walls and more. Weird and cute and gross really. We took it as a sign that our mascot was cheering for us.

Finally, we were back on the right track again. We were passing pilgrims coming the other direction again, we were spotting Way markers again and having fun. It’s a little stressful being lost and having little knowledge of how to ask for help IF there is even another human around to ask. So you fake it and hope for he best. When the sun came out again we knew (hoped) the rest of the day would be a good one.

We stopped for lunch on the boardwalk after while. Enjoying our pre-made sandwiches which included a little mustard thanks to the couple I scooped from a restaurant – they gave it to us technically but perhaps to use while in the restaurant not days later?!

Well we made it Vila and wow is it lovely! Here are a few pics of our town as we came in last night!

We toasted our crazy day with some vino at Cafe Cacau and had these amazing but a great odd hot dog with special sauce (which was poured on top instead of out inside) sandwiches. Wow delicious – might be something I crave when back home!

Then a glass of wine at a cool little cafe called O Navel which was built out of old doors and neat nautical stuff and there house wine (white and red was super yummy).

We then headed back to our lovely little home for the night called Erva Doca Guest House and got ourselves organised for today’s walk.

We are now off to walk the 33km into Porto, the end of the Fisherman’s or Coastal Route and our last day of walking. Feels weird to stop walking but we are also excited to just be tourists for the last week as we so smartly planned in advance. Yah us!

Buen Camino!
Brande

Tourists Dressed as Pilgrims

September 21, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Well yesterday was a tourist day! While we still had the pilgrim shuffle, clothes and packs; we decided to take the day and be tourists.

We didn’t get to see any of Viana de Costa after coming in so late and tired the day prior. Sad thing. We had heard from many pilgrims that it is one of the nicest cities on the Portuguese Coastal Route. So we decided to strap our hiking shoes to our packs and instead venture around the city of Viana in sandals before making our way by bus to Esponsende. Our new home for the night and the start of today’s walk.

Wow are we sure glad we did!

Our day started with breakfast and a reminder of how wonderful the people of Portugal are. We were invited into this tiny cafe by the most sweet little old grandma for breakfast. They really only eat pastries for breakfast here and we were looking for something beyond a sweet. She personally made us coffee and a ham and cheese bun sandwich (so fresh and good) and then also gave us some traditional pastries to try as dessert. Ironically she gave the very pastry we were talking about wanting to try just minutes before. Custard / creek brûlée in a puffy yet chewy pastry shell. Mmm We were the only ones in the cafe and she was so sweet!

Next, we took the cool little elevator trolley car thing up the huge hill in the middle of the city center to see the city from and coast line from a birds eye view and check out this massive church.

Funny as we made our way up in a normal elevator to get to the street that has this trolley elevator an old wee man joined us. He simply rode up with us to ask if we are pilgrims,how far we are walking, where we are from, etc. we assumed he was just in the elevator by chance. Nope when we got off he took it back down and wished is a good journey. He simply wanted to know more about us and say good luck.

The church at the top was a temple and monument to Santa Luzia and it was very impressive! We could see it for a long long time in the distance as we walked into Viana the day prior, so it was neat to check it out!

Before we went into the church, Lana was held up by some wee grandma who was rubbing her arm talking about the Camino and pilgrim and her poor feet. All in Portuguese so only a few words were understood.

Next we ventured though the small, winding, character streets of the city center that have all these little shops and cafes, amazing tiles and iron work, and just feel so different than our streets back home in Canada.

We enjoyed a super yummy lunch sitting at a wee baby table on one of these side streets. We don’t understand all the words on a menu so find something we think we know and get that. Today we got ‘pork meat’ and it came with salad and chips and rice and a bun. I appreciate how seriously these great people take their carbs and starches!

Then made our way to the bus station behind the below gorgeous old train station for a 3pm bus to Esponsende. Prior to boarding the bus, the very nice man who gave us the bus timetable earlier that day came to the platform to confirm for us that we were getting on the right bus!

By 4pm we were in our new city of Esponsende checking into the really great Hostel Eleven.

We dropped our packs, checked in with the family on our arrival then headed out to see what this city has to offer.

Before leaving we asked the hostel guy to help us arrange bag transport for us, from Esponsende to Vila do Conde. It’s been tough every day to get someone to move our extra bag. Yesterday we couldn’t final a single company or person willing which was a big part of our decision not to walk. Well Hostel Elevan was amazing and they worked our a deal with a local transport company to move our pack for us as an exception to the services they provide for just 10 euros. Deal. What was so easy to arrange on the St James Camino is a real struggle here on the Portugal Coastal away, especially walking backwards!

That done and dealt with, we ventured out into the central city of Esponsende.

We wrapped our day up with some red wine and homemade pasta in our hostel kitchen. I hate cooking usually but when you have been eating out all meals on most days it feels so good to prepare what you eat! Also all this for 7 Euros plus an apple and cookies for a trail side snack tomorrow is a price we can’t resist!

By the way – that big plate of cheese and bread and chorizo isn to make sandwiches for it walk today.

Just prior to making this meal, we saw the three pilgrims we crossed the ferry into Caminha with a couple days again show up in a taxi. We weren’t the only ones who suffered the day before and had to skip some or all of yesterday’s walk as a result. Ouch!

We are heading out now to walk 25km to our next home, Vila do Conde.

Buen Camino!
Brande