Day 7: Caminha to Oia (12 miles)

Walking the Camino

We had our easy morning, meandering down to a cafe for breakfast around 9am. That gave us some time to walk around beautiful Caminha before catching a boat to cross the river. When we got to Spain, we discovered we lost an hour (time change). So our late start got even later. No worries.

Still more coastal beauty, with more of the rugged, rocky shoreline we've seen as we've travelled north. There's just nothing like the feeling of the soaking sun and fresh sea breeze, infused by the sound of breaking waves. So peaceful and invigorating at the same time.

We met Christina from Germany along the way. She climbed out of a wooded slope while we were walking along a road. She had decided to ignore the sign to go up a street from the shoreline at an earlier point, something we too had been tempted to do.

When that trail ended abruptly, she found herself scrambling over boulders to climb her way back up several hundred yards. "I thought it would be nicer to stay along the water. Be careful with your thoughts, Christina," she reflected out loud.

This is her second Camino. She did her first, a 3-week 500-kilometer section of the Camino Frances, 15 years ago. That's considered to be the original Camino route and we've encountered several who've done it. When I asked Christina how she decides when to do it, she said, "Whenever there's a need for a change."

That seems to be the answer for many of the pilgrims we've come across. It's something people talk about coming out of them rather than something that is searched and found.

I like that. It's about stepping outside of normal, quieting all the noise, taking a long, deep breath. It's discovering something in there rather than something out there. I've seen God work in that way in my life. And I pray for this now.

It’s now almost 10pm. We're almost an hour into a lingering sunset over the Atlantic that we are witnessing from our west and north facing windows. The warm colors turn the gentle sea a silver blue, and bathe a 12th C monastery standing guard over the sea in a soft glow.

The end of another remarkable day.