A wet day on the Portuguese Way from Santarém to Golegã
The weatherman had forecasted a rainy day and I had mentally prepared myself to have to start walking in full rain gear. However, I was pleasantly surprised to wake up without hearing the rain and even after breakfast it was still dry. I started walking in my rain pants anyway, so I wouldn’t have to change when it would start raining. It looked pretty chilly and I had layered up, but during the first half an hour I stopped twice to take off some of those layers.
I walked all the way down the hill to the lower part of the city and soon stood in the middle of a vineyard. The Caminho actually walks right through the vineyards, which is really cool. The road was at least 8 km long and all I could see was grapes. After kilometer 6 the forecasted rain finally came. It started with a drizzle, but only got worse after about 2 hours of walking, just before I reached Vale de Figueira. I was already in my rain gear and quickly found a bench to get some food and water out of my bag before it got really bad. A good call, because in the hour after that it was pouring down.
I walked on sand roads in between fields, mostly with corn. There were deep tyre tracks from tractors which had turned into gigantic puddles and sometimes I had to step on the mowed corn to avoid them. I really tried hard to find a dry path, but it kept getting harder. The rain was so heavy that my feet slowly started to get wet anyway and from that point on I just trotted in a straight line, puddle or no puddle. The rain got a bit lighter for a while and then came down with force again and this is how the rest of the day went on. I got used to hearing the rustle of my plastic raincoat in my ears, the drops sliding down my nose and my feet feeling more and more wrinkled.
Today I simply walked. Sure, there were a couple of nice towns, and perhaps the fields could even have been peaceful, but with the rain and mud it just wasn’t enjoyable. It was impossible to sit down and relax or eat something. I tried to have some lunch at a nice little park near Azinhaga, but as soon as I took my food from my bag, it started raining more heavily again. Luck wasn’t on my side. Imagine, even finding a ‘toilet bush’ is a nightmare. I had to keep my bag on my back because the alternative was leaving it in the mud! Sometimes men have it so much easier.
In town the people were hanging in their doorways, enjoying fresh air and avoiding the rain. I was turning my head a lot, looking around and making sure I didn’t miss an arrow. “Santiago?” said one of the men in the doorways. He made a gesture that meant ‘just keep going straight’ and said “Bom Caminho!”. With 6 kilometers to go I started dreaming of the warm, dry hostel I would find in Golegã. But I didn’t get much time to dream. The 6 km were on a very busy road without much of a shoulder. There were some signs to warn drivers for the pilgrims, but some drivers didn’t adjust their driving style at all, even if they did see you.
It is hard to walk on a road like this at the end of the day. My feet were wet and hurting and the asphalt then feels like a punishment, the same pressure points catching your weight at every step. As if the rain today wasn’t enough! Furthermore, you can’t enjoy walking when you’re making sure you stay alive. At the edge of Golegā stood a sign with a photo of the pilgrims in the 17th century. The town seems proud of their place along the camino. I was overjoyed when I saw this. Finally I could leave the road and the racing cars behind me.
I was the first to arrive at the hostel and immediately jumped into the shower, letting the water slowly warm up my core. Then I spread out all of my wet gear, did my shopping and stuffed my shoes with newspaper. I was sipping a cup of tea when a German guy arrived. Later, we were joined by a Spanish girl too. The two had walked parts together since Lisbon and we shared our stories. I would end up seeing them a lot more often on the way to Coimbra. It was nice to know there were other pilgrims on route. Somehow it gives an extra sense of security and even though I didn’t walk with them, a shared experience.
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