The 3 German ladies I shared my hostel room with last night were perfect roomies. No snoring, no midnight trips to the bathroom, all early risers. I got up about 6:25 am and took my stuff downstairs to pack so as not to disturb the lone sleeper and was out the door by 6:45 am.

Cool and clear this morning, I could see the sun was just peeping out over the buildings of the town. I was the only pilgrim that I could see, though runners were gathering for a road race in town (national holiday today) and fishermen were slowly making their way out to sea.

The boardwalk system will one day extend along the whole coast to Spain but for now its only partially completed so one has to venture off onto local farm roads or dirt tracks, sometimes without guidance, before returning to the coast. I found my maps.me app invaluable to find a route – even the smallest path seems to be documented. I had no worries about getting lost….

About halfway through the walk the way turned inland as there’s a river to cross ergo a bridges was needed. There was a bit of a bottleneck of pilgrims but everyone else turned Right after the crossing following the arrows for the Coastal route but I turned Left to go back to the sea and the Senda Litoral way.

Soon after I found a tiny bar/market with a bunch of local men drinking their breakfast. I’d hoped for food but had to settle for a coffee and prepackaged pastries. Oh well, I have snacks and it should only be a couple more hours.

It really turned out to be a stupendous day. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, the views were magical and at 15.3 kms in I was feeling great. Life was good until near the end when the sandy farm road myself and a fellow camiga from Toronto were following ended at the edge of the ocean and we then had to trudge thru the dunes and along the beach the final couple hundred meters to Amorosa. We tried to walk down by the water but as it was high tide it was soft going and the wind was so fierce we were being blasted by flying sand. The easier way was actually up in the dunes tromping on the delicate plants. I did feel bad about that.

We asked a previously naked sunbathing gentleman if, when, and how we could exit the beach and the answer was soon, just by trespassing through the next house’s yard and hopping the fence. He didn’t really say all that but pointed in the right direction and I figured out the rest!

I hate “wash walking” with a passion and my hip was very much in agreement with that so I was very glad to find my hotel was just down the street and I could finally stop, relax and eat!

I never checked my backpack’s rations this morning and didn’t realize it was missing the granola bar I thought was there until I was already hungry. It was supposed to carry me through the day. I had an orange at seven and 2 tiny madeleines at the cafe by the bridge so after 13 miles of walking I was starving when I got to my hotel! I decided my shower and laundry could wait so after checking in I went straight to the restaurant for a steak and beer! Well fed, watered, and washed I’m staying in this afternoon to relax in the privacy of my own room and start the latest Louise Penny novel.