Day 2: Good God Almighty!
Today the PoCo (the people have spoken and that’s the preferred abbreviation. Okay, one person spoke. Kathrynn, this is your fault) - started out misty and kind of dreary and I headed down to the breakfast room to commit my daily act of societal rebellion. You see everyday in the previous Camino, and each day so far on this one, I make a simple sandwich of ham, cheese and bread and smuggle it out of the breakfast area with me. That’s right, even though there are undoubtedly signs that state this is forbidden I do it anyway. I’m the Billy the Kid of the morning buffet. I then eat this sandwich sometime around mid-morning, usually at a sidewalk café where I make sure to buy a coffee so as not to be a jerk. This lets me keep my breakfast kind of light so as not to hamper my speedy pace. At least this is how I justify it. Also, there’s not the boss of me.
This is today’s sandwich. It’s wrapped in napkins and a shower cap. Previous versions were wrapped in the cool, free plastic bag I got in the hotel until someone asked why my lunch was wrapped in a sanitary napkin disposal bag. I went with the shower cap after that..
A majority of the trek today was on boardwalk near the coast. I love boardwalk. It’s easy on the feet and just kind of feels faster. The sound of the ocean was lovely and I was flying (or my version which is just above a slow amble). Then the rain started. And the falling commenced. You see, I brought a great pair of Hoka walking boots that I put quite a few miles on while training. The second day in Porto something happened near the heel of the shoe (you can actually feel where something collapsed a little) and this gave me a big rub that I couldn’t fix. So I did what I’m pretty sure all hiking experts say you should do and that’s bought a brand new pair of shoes and decided to break them in on a 180 mile hike. Also, they might be a half size smaller than I normally wear, European sizing is kind of weird. What the hell is a 45 1/3? Regardless, I’ve had remarkably few issues with the fit. I thought I was going to get away with the new shoe taboo until the rain came and reminded me that the lugs on bottom of said new shoes (which are trail runners) are still hard and smooth and have all the grip of football cleats on a frozen lake. Down I went. Twice. I landed on my pack both times and my back and butt were spared. My sunscreen however was not and I spent a chunk of this evening cleaning out that pocket of the pack. All in all, I got off easy. The lady behind me cried out, “Good God Almighty!” when I fell and that was the funniest thing ever.
Good God Almighty!
I also walked about a mile in the sand on the beach and that was exhausting but fun. Right before the town I’m staying in I was treated to a nature reserve with a forest and a ton of birds. I never actually saw them but you could sure hear them.
The Forest of Invisible Birds. Sounds like a horror film. John T., let’s get on this
I know that these pictures are huge, especially for how simple they are but I’m not sure of how to resize them in Squarespace and I’m content to let it remain a mystery like the Loch Ness Monster or Billy Ray Cyrus’ success.
Tomorrow is another really long one and I pass through a few towns on the way. I plan to spend the first few kilometers trying to scuff the shit out of the lugs on these shoes because if it rains when I’m walking on cobblestones this could be a very short blog.
