Day 1: Matosinhos (Porto) to Mindelo

Starting from Matosinhos was easy. Although there weren't any arrow to guide us at first, we just followed the advice from blogs: hop off the metro (above ground there), climb the winding stairs to the top of the bridge, cross the Rio Leça, turn left, walk a few blocks to the Atlantic, then turn north and keep the ocean on your left all day long.

Crossing the river was a good symbolic start to our Camino.

It didn't take long to find our first arrow. The arrows were helpful but not important on Day 1, but it was good practice to look for them. They were essential from Day 2 onward.

Before long, we were walking on boardwalks. These were our pathway for quite a bit of Day 1.

After awhile, the arrows were easy to find.

At about 11:30, we stopped at a seaside café to get something to eat. It turned out that they didn't serve food until noon, so we just got something to drink.

A bit later, in Vila Chã, we found Residential Sandra. It had a sign welcoming peregrinos. They had rooms and a café. Sandra made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for us. With a large 1.5l water the total was about 4€.

Near the end of the day, the Camino turned inland a bit, and we found our way to the town of Mindelo where I had arranged to meet our lodging host, Teresa Pamplona. The center of town was just a short way from the Camino. Teresa had told me to call her when we got there. I did, and she arrived in a few minutes to take us to her home, Quinta Das Alfaias (next page), in Fajozes. While we waited, I stopped in at the local bank to make an ATM withdrawal to be able to pay cash for dinner and lodging.

Quina Das Alfaias was a perfect place to end our Day 1 on the Camino!

Today:
Distance:    19.9km / 12.4mi
Walk time:  3:51
Stop time:   1:20
Avg. pace:  11:37/km / 18:38/mi
Ascent:       556 ft
Descent:     615 ft
Weather was cool along the coast

Progress:

Day 1 Credencial