September 19, 2017
After a quick breakfast packed a day pack and optimistically set out to the Sau Bento train station bound for Espinho (a beach town some 45 minutes by train from Porto) > 7 Euros (10 Cad) return.
…..why optimistically ???………because the fog was in and it was coolish, although the forecast called for a nice day. The train station is vibrant, with blue/white tile murals depicting various historical scenes …
….and the train setup is quite efficient, at 9:14 we departed and arrived in Espinho precisely on time ……the weather however was the same as in Porto > so loungers and Sangria were not on the menu. The area is quite nice with a seawall stretching in both directions…..we elected to walk to some fishing boats in the distance …..a rather gritty area with some of the boats on the beach (interesting resemblance to the fishing boats we saw in Bali) and a few fishwives selling the mornings catch > mostly sardines/herring ……
…we then reversed course passing lots of restos and some intrepid surfers and fishers….
……at the end of the seawall there is a lovely trail through the dunes which we did not follow….although we did see some optimistic sun bathers in the distance heading onto the sand
While the weather improved a bit (patchy sun), lunch was in order and with the beach side restos mostly empty, found the Mar Azul restaurant which was quite busy….wise in the ways of the land, we claimed a table then signalled for table covering, menu etc. >>> not a tourist in sight and whilst the ambience was “snackbarish”, the food was very tasty > 2 big plates of grub, a beer and a glass of wine for 15 Euros (22 Cad) …
Train back to Porto which by now was sunny and toasty warm, so we took a leisurely walk/climb back to the apartment……a good day !!