Distance travelled: 29km
Time on trail: 4 hrs 6 minutes.
Difficulty rating: 13/10

Well this Atlantic coast is certainly throwing everything at us. We left our (very cosy) hotel round 9am in teaming rain but (fairly) well equipped for whatever Mother Nature chose to send our way- and boy this she send it. The headwinds were enormous , rain was driving and we even had a bit of hail, but in a quirky way it was quite exhilarating.

The coastline was spectacular despite the greyness- with waves churning like a giant washing machine.

Most of the trip today was along the shoreline , alternating between structured bike paths, cobbled roads and board walks. The board walks were by far the most challenging, with sharp turns and slippery surfaces.

We’d like to pay special thanks to the lovely hooligans that swivelled the Camino pointer to send us down this track – what ended up as a 4km detour up to our ankles in mud! I can now confidently say that my Gortex boots do hold water perfectly- on the inside.

We passed through several small villages, but not much sign of human life- only Aussies and dogs go out in this weather it seems.

Arrived in Esposende around 1.45 very wet and chilly and starving but with our combined senses of humour in tact. Weather can only get better tomorrow can’t it?

Hot showers and massive lunch in a local cafe – now lying on the bed, heating cranked up drying our clothes contemplating whether 7.30 is too early to go to bed