Póvoa de Varzim to Esposende, Portugal

September 25, 2026

It felt like I was awake most of the night but my energy level was fine all day so maybe I did sleep better than I thought.  I took a couple Ibuprofen before I started walking and maybe they helped too because I felt 70%!  We were on our way before 8 am.

Our walk today was 22 km.  It was from the bottom blue arrow up to the black arrow-

There are statues everywhere and most are of men-

The wall was in better light this morning-

I spent a lot of the morning walking on the boardwalk which is nice and springy-

There were farmers spreading seaweed out to dry-

There were also covered piles to protect it from getting wet-

They use it to fertilize their sandy fields and it’s free!  They just have to drag it up to higher ground-

There are a few windmills along the way.  They were used to grind grains but now some are abandoned and others have been restored as homes-

There are also commercial gardens-

next to a golf course that no one was playing-

There were lots of nice plants-

The last of the beach for the day-

I switched a few times between the Litoral Norte route-

and the Coastal Route.  I’ll do anything not to have to walk on cobblestones and the Norte route was a lot of walking through villages and on roads.  That’s very hard on the legs!

Should have been a translator-

A typical cemetery-

We are staying at the Esposende Guest House in Esposende-

We have been booking two days in advance because apparently September is high season.  So far we haven’t had any trouble.

We were here early so had time to get a few groceries, eat- I had a doner kabob, and saw St. Jean-

in one of the churches!  He is the reason I am here!

Looking forward to another sunny day and a great walk tomorrow!