Breakfast was included with my hotel room so I enjoyed a little sleep in this morning. At breakfast I chatted with a couple from Hawaii also walking the Camino. They’re spending three whole months in Europe and are carrying everything with them! I suggested they send on to Santiago any extra stuff they had but it seemed as though they felt they should be suffering the weight. To each his own. I know I couldn’t walk with a full pack.

By 8:45 am I was standing at the edge of the boardwalk looking north at a gorgeous beach and in the distance my destination of Viana do Costelo but far too much loose sand stood in the way so I turned around to find the route through the forest.

Obviously the trees had reclaimed much of the path since Maps.me charted the route so I had a couple of false starts before circling back to the beach but now finding the Senda Dunas, a path just in from the beach.

A great mix of open dunes, pine forest, a proper walking path, and at the end a boardwalk they all led to the Rio Lima and a little ferry to take me over to Viana.

At noon it was too early to check into my hotel so I had a little wander through the old town and lunch at a little cafe in the park. I’m here for 2 nights as a break and I’m already relaxed!