Heat Wave

CAMINO PORTUGUÉS – Day 2: Wednesday 27 May 2026 – VAIRÃO to BARCELOS (33 [+4] kilometres)

Today will live long in my walking memory. I slept well, through the heat and snores of the Vairão Monastery dormitory night, awoke at 5.45 am, and was walking, alone, within half an hour. The quiet and stillness of the morning was striking – not a soul stirring as I walked the short way into the nearby town of Vilarinho – but the air already had a tepid feel that bode ill for the many kilometres ahead, on what would prove to be a nine-hour walking day in baking heat. But I was not the first to rise: Vivek and Daniel, from the comfort of a private room, had hit the trail by 6.00 am, and we met over breakfast at Arcos a couple of hours later. What a day we had, somehow managing to stay hydrated in the face of the fierce sun and our non-stop banter.

Here are a few snaps of today’s highlights on the trail.

I have conducted a rough calculation of my water consumption for the day, and estimate that I took on 4.5 litres of water (as well as a couple of morning coffees) – and I needed every drop. If I have a tip or two for hot-weather trekking, it is to force down twice as much water as one perceives necessary, and of course to wear a sun hat. Thus we all survived the trek to Barcelos without undue discomfort, and survived to walk another day.

My promise of some more extensive notes on the Camino Portugués will need to wait a further day. I have rather taken to Barcelos, and it’s smaller sibling Barcelinos just across the river, and so I have decided to rest up here for two nights. I have an ulterior motive, namely a day trip to visit the ancient Portuguese city of Braga, around 45 minutes’ bus journey from Barcelos. I had planned two short Camino sections to follow today’s marathon, but I am assured that one long day should be sufficient to put me back on schedule – so that is the plan I am going with – with the prospect of catching Vivek and Daniel again further along the path to Santiago. But, as ever on the trail, who can tell what the future holds?

No prizes for guessing why I have chosen the song titled ‘Heat Wave’ for my Blog heading today. The world seems to be burning: Vivek tells me that Dubai (where he lives) was 39 degrees today and New Delhi (where he comes from) was 43 degrees – in the shade – both many degrees hotter than the norm for May. So by those measures today’s walk, at 32 degrees, and even the UK in the mid-30s, might seem cool. ‘Heat Wave’, the song, was a hit for Martha and the Vandellas on the Motown subsidiary Gordy label, topping the US chart in summer 1963. Many other artists, including Linda Ronstadt and Phil Collins, have had a decent go at this Holland-Dozier-Holland number, but perhaps none have bettered the raw power of the original.