The people in my room are early birds. Even though one stumbled in drunk last night, the alarm was set for 6.30am. Ok, she stumbled in at 9pm. But she was so drunk she couldn’t open the door and later fell out of her bed. I tried to ignore the morning bustle, but I’d been awake for some hours already. Wait, I didn’t hear rain. I checked the forecast and it had shifted. It was now meant to start raining later in the morning. Time to get up and get as many kilometers in as possible before the rain starts.
I felt a few drops early on and it seemed to increase, so I put on my rain gear. Then of course it stopped again. Today started with some forest, went through a bunch of tiny, quiet towns and had long stretches of walking along busy roads or industrial area.
I thoroughly enjoyed the different towns. Some had gorgeous houses, or even mansions. Most had kept a traditional style, but were perfectly painted, with big well-kept gardens and impressive gates. There were also several quintas, large properties, with vineyards. But in one town, where I also found many beautiful houses, I saw a woman doing laundry in a public fountain. Surely they all have washing machines? But even though some houses looked rich, there were also many neglected houses. Some properties were obviously empty, but others might still be occupied.
I walked past a few shops and cafés early on. I wanted to get some distance covered. At a little church in Avelãs de Caminho, right on the side of the main road, I sat down for a while. It had gotten pretty windy. I still saw some people making their way South to Fatima. After a short rest, snack and sips of water, I continued. I had spotted a cake shop on the map and thought I’d be there around the time the rain started, so I was looking forward to a cake and a hot tea. When I arrived in Aguada de Baixo, the pastry shop seemed non-existant, or at least very closed at this moment. In the meantime the rain had started. I did see a small kiosk café and behind me the 2 walkers I met at lunch the day before decided to make a stop. I continued. But after some minutes the rain became very intense. I started to feel my socks het wetter and wetter. So I entered my destination with warmed up water in my shoes.
And then I reach Águeda with about 33.000 steps on my watch. It’s early and I need to wait an hour before I can check in at my hostel. So I head to a bakery for a cup of tea and a pastry. Finally tea! And bolo de feijao! Delicious. Then I wander around for a bit, through the rain, until I finally reach my check in time. Time for a shower and some dry clothes!
I would have never thought to visit Águeda, but it’s a very pleasant town, besides the rain today. Aparently it hangs up lots of umbrellas during summer and the whole town gets in on the theme. The main umbrellas were gone now, but here and there I found some leftovers. I also found a bunch of street art, also by famous artist Bordalo ii. There is a lovely park with a view and a cute church on top of the hill. Great town to stretch the legs and get another 7000 steps in!
