Viana do Castelo – A Guarda (32 km)

Today the day started early: at 5 in the morning I got up and went to make breakfast for three, which was worthy of a hotel.

Then we hit the road along the coast, planning to stay at the Caminha hostel. I followed the Ecovia Litoral Norte, with boardwalks, packed earth, a small wood, bushes, a few windmills and lots of water.

On the way, near Afife, Anastasia, João and I met Anne and Federia, and we carried on walking with them.

Arriving at Vila Praia de Âncora we took the morning break at the Confeitaria Petinga Doce, when Cláudia, with whom I'd had dinner the day before, walked into the café, having passed by and seen us, and joined us.

When I set off again I met Mariola, the Swedish woman I'd met on the first day and to whom I had given a passport for the stamps that confirm we're walking the Camino de Santiago. She came running to give me a hug and told the group how we had met.

That's just what the walk is, made up of many meetings and reunions that happen naturally without any planning, everyone following their own pace and the route they chose.

Then we carried on to Caminha. The heat was already making itself felt, and the sea breeze helped keep us cooler.

Today the churches were off my route, but just as I reached Caminha I found a small chapel where I did the only ritual of the day.

Then, already in Caminha, as I was heading to the hostel, a man in a jeep pulled up next to our group. He spoke a portuñol that many didn't understand and I took the initiative and led the negotiations. The man organised boat crossings on the River Minho and asked if we wanted to cross to Spain right then, and said the price per person was €6 but that he'd do it for €5.

Although tired and knowing that the hostel in Spain was still 5 km away, most decided to cross, only Cláudia stayed in Caminha because she had already booked a night in a hostel and the next day was going to Valença to follow the inland route.

The man asked for the €5 from each of us and told us to walk 500 metres back while he called for the boat to come and pick us up. I said right away that I'd only pay when I saw the boat, and that's how it went. Only once the 7 of us who had decided to cross were in the boat did we pay, and then we made a quick crossing to the sand of the deserted Lâmina beach.

We looked like a bunch of illegal immigrants coming ashore.

From the beach we carried on to A Guarda, a small seaside town where the first pilgrim hostel was. It was already 5 pm when we got there, because of the extra distance we walked and the extra hour in Spain.

After settling in and showering, I went for a short walk around the town.

Dinner was at Restaurante Xantar, the first course being vegetable tortilla, the second a pork chop and, for dessert, a cream crêpe. Then I finished the night at Art Bar with a beer and a tapa before heading back to the hostel for a well-earned rest.

Tomorrow will be a calmer day, a shorter stage to recover from today's 32 km.