Camino de Santiago Portuguese - Day 3

Jeff Warner
Sep 20
4 min read

Updated: 7 days ago

Daily Overview

We woke up in the little campground in Pria de Angieras to a heavy overcast and mist in the air. It was a little disheartening after the difficult day yesterday, but on the Camino, you walk rain or shine. We were happy to find the makings for a decent breakfast at the little camp store: fresh bread, fresh bananas, and hard-boiled eggs. A great meal for us after walking so far yesterday with not much to eat. It took us a while to collect ourselves, but we were out on the path by ten o’clock, not as early as we would have liked, but better than yesterday. We had our packs covered, and Sandy was wearing her poncho. It never rained hard, but everything, including us, was still wet. In the middle of the morning, we encountered a woman from Germany headed in the opposite direction. This is unusual because everyone is headed to Santiago. We stopped and talked with her for a moment and discovered that she had already been to Santiago and was on her way back. WOW, she was doing the Camino both ways. I looked at Sandy and just shook my head. By noon, the rain had cleared off and the sun was out, and the rain gear was put away. Again and again today, I was struck by the long stretches of the Camino disappearing in the distance before us. So beautiful and intimidating. A metaphor for life, perhaps. You cannot run ahead; you are only responsible for the next steps in front of you.
What we planned to do: The plan for today was to walk from Pria de Angieras to Agucadoura, but after consulting the ma,p I realized that would mean another fourteen-mile day. We just couldn’t do it. Somewhere inside of me, a little twenty-four-year-old is still running around, but the current me just can’t keep up with him. By three-thirty, we were only as far as Vila do Conde, and Agucadoura was out of the question. We stopped at a little seaside cafe and had lunch and regrouped. We decided to go only as far as Povoa de Varzim and stop there. We secured a spot at a guest house a few blocks off the Camino and were very happy to have a little extra comfort tonight with a private room, but shared bath and kitchen. We found a little grocery store to buy a few things for breakfast in the morning. The owner didn’t speak much English, but when he found out we were American,s he made it clear that he wasn’t happy about the current state of affairs.

This is the street where the guest house was located

The Day's Focus

Topic: Finding the way versus knowing the way
Word for the Day: Confidence
Scripture: John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life.
Spiritual Practice: Look for one sign that has clearly been placed in your path by God and take one small step to follow it.
Camino Portugues video for the day:
Even on this rainy morning, the coast of Portugal is hauntingly beautiful

Moments and Images

Images from the Way Today:
Beautiful Spot of the Day:
A beautiful park with flowers in full bloom in Vila Cha
What Church We Saw:
People we experienced: There are lots of old people on the Camino (us included), many who are clearly in their 70’s and one lady in her 80s. There was one couple we walked close to for a long time who were much older than us.
Unexpected Surprises: All the signs along the “Way”
Animal/Nature or local life:

A million birds in the tidal pool looking for breakfast

Reflections and Learnings

Knowing the way is one thing, but finding the signs is something else entirely. We use our phones to navigate a lot on the Camino, but the most encouraging thing we see is a sign that is pointing us in the right direction. It might be a yellow arrow, or the yellow clam shell symbol some other tiny sign that we are going the right way. It is a joy to see.

Reflections from Today: Anybody can do one hard thing one time. Almost anybody can do that, but sometimes we are called to do a hard thing again, and again, and again. Sometimes that is in loving or forgiving or just plain walking. That is Camino.
"Well, that was hard." Today we weren’t just walking. We were walking on top of walking. That is a different thing. And a painful thing.
"What helped me today": Letting go of what was planned to find a better plan.
"Something I learned": A grocery store here in Portugal makes the average convenience store in America look wonderful.
"Insight for the day": Being realistic about what you can do does not limit you; it gives you freedom.