Tuesday 14 April – Porto
Last full day before the Camino.
Spent the morning with Sophie just walking the city. No plan, just letting it unfold. Found a proper local place for lunch. Simple Portuguese food, nothing overdone, just good honest cooking. You can tell straight away when it’s the real thing.
Picked up a couple of things to remember Porto. Sophie found some bits for the kids. I kept it minimal. She kindly took a few things back for me so I don’t have to carry them across Portugal and into Spain. That felt like the right call.
Around lunchtime the weather broke and the sun came out. It made a huge difference. The whole city lifted, and so did I. Porto in the sun is a completely different place.
There’s an ease to life here I didn’t expect. Ubers are cheap, everything’s close, and you don’t feel any friction moving around. It just works.
Sophie flew out around 6. We had a fantastic time together and it was sad to see her leave, but it really was a special few days. I am going to miss that girl
Victor arrived just after 4, so it was a quick turnaround at the airport. Dropped Sophie, picked him up, and straight back into it.
Even though Victor had about three hours sleep in the last 24 hours, he was straight into it. Full energy. I ended up playing tour guide and gave him a proper whirlwind tour of Porto. Down to the river, along the Douro, across to the bridge, through the old streets. Covered a lot of ground. Over 20,000 steps by the end of it.
Good energy all day. Felt steady, simple, and ready.
It’s happening tomorrow. It begins.
Begin the Begin not the Beguine 😉
