Camino Portuguese 15: Labruge to Povoa de Varzim

Monday, June 16, 2025

Camino Portuguese: Day 15 – Labruge to Povoa de Varzim

For the first (and possibly only) time this Camino, I was able to sleep in this morning! I woke up at 07:00 and spent the next half hour getting everything ready for the day. At 07:30 I went down to have breakfast. The woman who was preparing breakfast greeted me very warmly and ushered me to my seat. She spoke very good English and we spent several minutes chatting while I ate. I had bread with cheese and ham, orange juice, coffee, and one of the best croissants I’ve ever eaten – it is made by a local baker. When I told the woman that I had started the Camino in Lisbon, she was very surprised and said several times how impressed and proud of me she was – she had such a vibrant and warm energy. When it came time for me to leave, the woman saw me off and gave me a big hug goodbye. This hotel was truly a wonderful experience, made all the better by the incredible people who run the place.

Today’s walk was markedly shorter than any other previous day – I only had 17km to walk! I returned to the wooden boardwalk to rejoin the Camino. The area immediately after I began walking was a nature reserve, and it was very beautiful to walk through this morning. The weather was warmer this morning and, most disappointing of all, the refreshing breeze from yesterday was gone.

The boardwalk ended about 20 minutes later and it was time to walk through some small village streets. Thankfully it was a short stretch of road and then it was back to the beach. I was thoroughly enjoying the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore as I walked. The boardwalk veered away from the beach for a while, meandering through some fields, as it headed towards an upcoming bridge. As I walked through the fields, dozens upon dozens of bugs kept flying about and landing on me. I could feel them in my hair, ears, and neck. I ran my hand through my hair and it came away covered in dead bugs!

I was relieved when I reached my first rest stop of the day because it meant that the field portion of the walk was over. I spent about 45 minutes at the rest stop, enjoying some coffee as I talked to Thinh on the phone. I didn’t physically need such a long break – I needed to pass the time so I didn’t arrive at my hotel too early! From the café, I only had about two hours left to walk, so I had oodles of time.

The Camino hugged to the coastline throughout the day, though it followed a paved sidewalk for most of the second half of the day rather than the wooden boardwalk. The beaches that I walked by were unfortunately less pristine than earlier ones. Seaweed was everywhere, not only dirtying up the sand, but also making the area smelly. I soon walked around the exterior of an old stone fort and I continued my stroll along the beach. I was making such good time that I stopped at another beach-side café for another break.

The closer I got to Povoa de Varzim, the more restaurants and cafes could be found lining the beach. Hundreds of people were lounging along the beach, some swimming in the ocean. I did not see as many pilgrims today as I had yesterday, so I didn’t manage to make any new friends as I walked.

I arrived at my hotel at 13:00 and the woman running the place was waiting for me. It’s another converted house and was quite cute. My room was at the very front, with an adjoining bathroom. I got my pilgrim passport stamped and then settled in to rest during the afternoon. At dinner time I went out to a kebab place that was tasty (though not the best kebab on the Camino).

When I got back to the hotel, I met another one of the guests, an Irish woman named Trish, who was walking some of the Camino with some friends of hers. I was so starved for social interaction, and I was so happy to have someone to talk with this evening! Trish and I chatted for about 20 minutes and I was happy to have met her (though I doubt I’ll see her again because I’m walking at a much faster pace).

I went to bed early because tomorrow was a return to my early morning alarms.

Distance Walked: 18.08 km
Steps Walked: 23,982

Total Distance: 432.26 km
Total Steps: 575,462