Monday 6/24/24
Finisterre
Today we left Santiago to bus to Finisterre. The walk to the bus station was easy and we had already bought the tickets online. We arrived at the station about an hour early so we had plenty of time for breakfast; croissants and tea- our usual!
We found our way down to slot 2 and when the bus pulled in everyone started loading. With only a few people left to board the driver started instructing people to get off! Without knowing the language, and what he was saying, it was very confusing for us but eventually we got the gist that there are two busses going to Finisterre; one direct and one local. This was the local which would take at least an hour longer. This actually worked out well because the bus we were supposed to be on pulled in and we were some of the first ones on and got the front passenger seats! We had great views!!
The bus took about two hrs to get there and then we found ourselves very early for the hotel. We went anyway and they were very kind and although they would not let us check in yet they were happy to hold our packs, so we wouldn’t have to lug them all over town.
With our packs dropped, we wandered around town and then found a ni e place to sit near the waterfront and enjoy a beverage. During our wandering we saw a kiosk for a sunset cruise and decided it was a beautiful day so why not?! It doesn’t go out till 8:30PM so plenty of time to get situated, at the hotel, and rest before dinner followed by the sunset cruise.
Dinner wasn’t fabulous but the sunset cruise was very nice!
Tomorrow we are hoping to do a hike to Cape Finisterre.
Tuesday 6/25/24
Finisterre, Spain is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. Today we are taking a hike from town to the most Western Point of this area .
Wednesday 6/26/24 – Thursday 6/27/24
Finisterre to Muxia
After leaving Finisterre we had one more stop here in Galicia Spain. the fishing village just North of Finisterre, Muxia, Spain. We arrived in Muxia in the cold and wind though unfortunately it’s our only day here so we head off to find the lighthouse, the monument (two huge stones side by side) and the church on the water…
We start the morning with breakfast and of course tea and meet some E-bikers in the kitchen that we had spoken with the night before. We have a great, lengthy conversation before they have to head out on their e-bikes to their next destination. They have biked here from Amsterdam!! Super nice and adventurous people.
Our tourist walk today is not far and given the weather is rainy there is hardly anyone out.
The church by the water is super cool and from there we can see and get pics of the monument and then we walk up the path to the mountain for beautiful views of the surrounding area. Muxía is a final destination for pilgrims on the Way of St. James. (The Camino). The rocks and the ocean are thought to be where the Virgin Mary visited St. James, one of Jesus’ twelve Apostles. A Ferida is a 36 ft tall granite sculpture that faces the Atlantic Ocean. It’s the largest sculpture in Galicia and Spain. Santuario da Virxe da Barca is a sanctuary/Cathedral building that’s a popular attraction in Muxía at the very edge of the rocky coastline.
On the way back we wander through an area of town we hadn’t seen yet all along the Atlantic. Once we had a little rest at the room we headed over to the restaurant the biking couple had recommended.
A Furna is an exceptionally nice restaurant, right on the waterfront. Although it was cold and windy we had a table right at the window overlooking the harbor. We ordered the grilled scallops and the chef’s version of Paella with Razor Clams and other seafood. A delicious meal!! So glad we did this!
Because we have a balcony, that is pretty protected, we head back to just relax on the balcony with some wine. We gather our packs together so the morning won’t be so crazy. By 9:00PM we are ready for bed! The only downside to this hotel is the seagulls! They are everywhere and unfortunately Joanne got a little dumped by a passing gull that required a little clean-up. Lucky she had her rain jacket on…
Overall a good stay here at a wonderful hotel; but the weather was not good and there is not a lot to do. Two days here max!
Friday 6/28/24
Muxia to Porto
We got an early start to the day as the bus to Santiago (then on to Porto) departed Muxia at 6:15 am! But with Mike up much of the night watching the presidential debate (Biden vs Trump) the early rise time didn’t matter.
We were very surprised at how many people were there to catch the bus and we even stopped to pick more up on the way to Santiago! Glad we purchased tickets online! We sat in the front seats for more leg space; not sure why no one else wanted them! The ride was smooth and we seem to be getting used to the traveling in other countries. We pulled into Santiago bus station around 8 but the bus to Porto does not depart until 9:30. No worries; we get our tickets, use the rest room, get some tea at the station cafe and then head down to wait for the bus. This ride is about three hours and we actually gain an hour of time going in this direction.
Since we have been to Porto when we first began our Camino walk (our plane landed here) we are familiar with getting from the airport to the metro station, getting metro tickets and familiar with the area we are staying in.
We make our way to the station platform to wait and from there it is pretty easy. We get to old town and find our apartment. It is in a great location and almost as soon as we let ourselves in the host of the apt comes to greet us and tell us about some things we may want to do that we don’t already know.
Once he leaves we get out to explore and find some areas we didn’t see the 1st time we were here a few weeks ago. On the way back to the apt we find a market place he told us about that we love and make a plan to come back tomorrow night for dinner.
We stumbled on Mercado do Bolhão as we were walking which was such a bonus for the day. Unbelievable authentic Portuguese fare including fish, fruits, cheeses, wines, bakery goods and so much more… We decided to have a bit of a snack and a glass of wine and just do a bit of people watching. The only challenge was their was so much to select form we could not decide what to get…
One more stop for gelato close to our apt and then in for the night. We know we have tomorrow to explore some more and with little sleep and an early rise we are exhausted!!
Saturday: 6/29/24 Porto, Portugal
Today we had a plan to walk across the bridge and explore the other side of the river. On the way we stop at the meeting point for our full day tour tomorrow. We feel so fortunate that we are staying in this area as everything we want to do is very close. So with knowing where we need to meet at 8 am we begin to walk across the top of the bridge, get some photo’s from the bridge and once on the other side begin to figure out how to get down below along the river. Their are a lot of switchbacks to descend back to the river… We see a vendor with some “bird whistles” that we think Mac would love and so negotiate to purchase one for her.. She is going to love it!!
We eventually find some stairs to make our way down. It’s fairly easy to get down and we enjoy walking along the vendors right along the water. We find a few things we want to think about then find some seats at an outdoor winery and order some snacks and a red and a white sangria. All is delicious and we truly enjoy this afternoon just relaxing and enjoy the people-watching.
At some point we stroll down to see the river boats that are in port- there are about 6 docked. We agree that we must look into taking a river cruise soon! We finally close out our tab, make the purchases we had our eyes on and walk across the lower bridge which brings us to the river front on “our side” of the river. We find a place to sit to enjoy another drink and gasp when they bring the bill- it is three times the cost of drinks on the other side! This place is really taking advantage of tourists just because of the location. We voice our opinion, tell a few tourists that have sat down to order (they leave bee ordering…) and then make our way back to our apt. We really enjoy the other side of the river much more!
Sunday: 6/30/24 The Douro Valley
Today is our full day Douro Valley wine tour and we are due to catch our bus by 8:00. Unfortunately none of the breakfast places open till 8! We manage to get some tea’s and croissants at a place that opened a few minutes early. Unfortunately we are told at the bus that we cannot take coffee or tea (or any liquids) onto the bus! We have to wait for a few late people so we stand outside the bus sipping our tea until we absolutely have to toss it. We saw people dumping full trays of coffee into the dumpster and it would have been nice if it had been written in the tour description so we all wouldn’t have made the purchases just to have to toss them.
This day was awesome. The drive in the bus up the Douro Valley was amazing. The first stop was at a small town just to give people a chance to walk around and use a bathroom. Unfortunately an older couple got lost and didn’t report back to the bus on time so that delayed us a bit. They were finally found and on we went. Next stop was at a winery. We got some history and a small tour then a tasting of (maybe) 4 port wines. They were pretty good but neither of us are really port wine connoisseurs.
Monday 7/1/24: Our last day in Porto, Portugal
After hiking the Camino, Visiting Santiago De Compestella, Visiting the “End of World Finisterre & Muxia”, Back to Porto and the Douro Valley , we are down to our last day… We decide to Gave a relaxing day and again revisit the area adjacent to the River across form the city and enjoy some people watching and a few more Sangrias… We decree to take the Tram this time down to the River …
Tuesday 7/2/24:
Time to leave Porto and fly to Boston:
This afternoon we decide to head, via train, to a hotel just adjacent to the airport so we can be at the Airport terminal first thing tomorrow morning. The plan is to get up by 4:00am, walk to the terminal from the Hotel, and be in line by 6:00am at the airport. Everything went well up until having to wait for nearly 2 hours in line to get our boarding pass. Their must have been over 300 people on line for the 2 hours…We thought with our boarding passes we were set so stopped for a quick breakfast. Unbeknownst to us that their are new rules for Portugal that require you to go through customs to leave try country. This line was probably 2 hours long as well though we only had 1 hour to navigate through and make our departure. Angst would be an understatement!
Our departure was delayed for 1 hour which allowed us enough time to get through customs but then we were confronted with a random check for Joanne that necessitated her discarding all o her toiletries even though they were in 3oz bottles. No time to waste as we boarded a bus shuttle to the out reached of the airport where our jet was awaiting us. We were literally the last 2 people to board as they locke the doors to the aircraft behind us!
Well that’s a wrap on our Portugal Adventure. To say we “LOVED” our time in Portugal would be an understatement in everyday. We loved the people, culture, the history, the countryside, the FOOD, and the wine! We both agreed in reflection that going to Portugal for a month and hiking the Camino wil forever be etched in our memory on this continuing “Revolutionary Journey”…
CHEERS….
