The place I stayed last night was comfortable except for the one bathroom that always seemed to be in use when I needed it. There wasn't much hot water when I did get to take a shower. It was so cold in my room that I had to sleep in my jacket and my leggings. But, they made me a delicious dinner and the owners were as sweet as can be. Instead of the usual pilgrim stamp in my credential, the lady there drew a beautiful colorful little drawing. In spite of a few little issues, I was glad I stayed there.
I left at 7 am but it was so dark that I couldn't find my way even with my iPhone flashlight. I stopped at a cafe and grabbed a coffee until it got a bit lighter. Of course it was also raining. It was pretty scary walking along the side of the road still kind of dark and raining.
I came to a spot where the Camino turned onto a dirt track. There was so much water that it would be up to my knees. I stayed on the road that paralleled the trail instead.
But the road took me a little off course so I flagged down a passing truck and asked for directions. He in turn stopped two women who were walking and they said I should follow them. We reached a main highway, N1 and they pointed me that way.
But it was not really the Camino although it was heading in the right direction and the Camino would cross it in a couple of miles. The traffic was kind of loud but there was a wide sidewalk. Since by now it was pouring rain, I would have been happy to stay on that road all day.
I did eventually link back up with the right route and was relieved to get off of that highway. It led to some short stretches of dirt trail but they weren't too muddy. I only took a couple of pictures because it was raining too hard to keep my camera out of my pack.
I loved the beautiful statue of Our Lady of Socorro. I also walked on some ancient stretches of Medieval roads and crossed a couple of ancient bridges. Sometimes in those places it feels a little like traveling back to the time when the original pilgrims had to find their way.
By the time I reached Oliveira de Azemeis I'd about had all I could take of the non stop rain. Everyone else out wandering around was carrying huge umbrellas. I was starting to feel a little jealous. Even with two plastic and one Goretex rain jacket, I still felt water trickling down my back and dripping onto my face.
I found a store with umbrellas for sale. I have a collection of small ones at home but none of them would have stood up to the deluge and accompanying wind I was dealing with. 6 euros got me a giant very sturdy pink polkadot umbrella. I was in heaven. I was glad I didn't have trekking poles on this trip because that left my hands free to hang onto the umbrella, especially in the wind. Although at times I was worried it might whisk me away like Mary Poppins.
I was really enjoying my little walk in the rain until I reached my destination of Sao Joao da Madeira. My hotel was not on the route so I was struggling with the iPhone GPS trying to find it. The wind increased to what felt like near hurricane levels so it was no longer possible to use the umbrella. I could barely see the map in the phone because it was so well protected by plastic.
I went into a gas station and a woman who spoke English directed me to my hotel. It was less than a 5 minute walk. By the time I arrived I was quite drenched but so relieved to be out of that horrendous weather.
Tomorrow I'm off to Porto. The forecast is once again 100% chance of rain. I do hope that wind subsides though. If so, I'll be happy with my cute polkadot umbrella.
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