The forecast wasn’t good. It would rain a lot today. But just like the other day, it turned out better than expected. Much better. Just before 7am I got up and saw two Spanish pilgrims standing in the doorway. Outside, in the little alley with the decorative umbrellas, the rain was just pouring down. They were hesitating. While I went back to bed and did some Duolingo, they eventually stepped out in the rain. But by 8.45, when I’d finished my breakfast (prepared on a table with a little chalkboard with my name on it) the sun was driving out the clouds.
I still started walking with my poncho on. The way out of town passed another work of street art and then climbed a steep hill. And it kept going up. I was sweating like crazy in my poncho. After the hill I decided the risk of rain was gone, and therefore so was the poncho. It was all wet on the inside, sticking to my skin. It turned out to be a really sunny and warm day and I couldn’t be happier. I quickly met some other pilgrims who were sipping coffee in the sunshine. I kept going. The road took me through long streets with beautiful houses, although some were in need of some love.
At one point I came down a hill and had to cross the main road. But on the other side I found the loveliest place. There was a big pond with an island in the middle. It could be reached by a little bridge and had picnic benches. I walked on the other side on an old Roman road. Ahead was a big hill with a cemetery. It was such a beautiful place. A bit further along I had to walk alongside the main road. But it went across a huge bridge. From there I looked down on part of a town and on the river.
Afteŕwards I found a small café where I had an iced tea. The place was tiny, but the locals seemed to all drop by to have a drink. It was not even 11am and the liquor was already poured. Saturday morning in the countryside. From here the road went uphill again. What is normally probably a quiet road was now a detour due to construction. So I took care to make myself visible for the cars coming ahead.
After lots of walking through towns and streets with houses, I entered a eucalypt forest. Unfortunately there had been fires a couple of weeks ago and the trees were all black. They did give off a strong eucalypt smell still. I was in the forest for quite a while, until I crossed over the highway and entered Albergaria-a-Velha. I walked down towards the center and found a bakery that already had a pilgrim sitting outside. The sun was strong and I got some bread and chocolate cake for lunch. It was so delicious.
It was so early that I couldn’t check in yet and I was contemplating walking further to Albergaria-a-Nova, like everyone else seemed to do. But I had this place in my head, so at 1pm I walked to the albergue. I’m glad I did. I had read reviews of how lovely and welcoming the woman at reception was, but she was kind beyond expectations. It was just me and one other woman for the night. I walked around town for a bit, did my laundry to let it dry in the sun, sat in the yard reading my book and cooked my dinner while talking to the other guest. The place felt super homey. I’ll have a bigger stretch to walk next day, but it’s worth the calm and quiet of this night.
