Knowing the weather forecast put a touch of dread into my preparation for the day. Just as I walked out of the hotel a torrent came down with a big gust of wind. Yikes!
As we gathered in the covered parking area it began to subside and as we walked to gas station machine coffee it was raining but not too hard. Walking along the N1 did not look pleasant with cars and trucks flying by, spraying water at us. We cut over to the Camino at the first opportunity.
We had our next coffee break about a kilometer and a half later. Francisco and I split a ham and cheese toast. Jeanne got a flower from the coffee girl. She was puzzled but a few kilometers later realized it was for International Women's Day. Happy IWD everyone!
The day was not the rainfest we were expecting. In fact our feet stayed dry. It would rain a bit now and then. The ponchos came off, the ponchos went on. I carried mine all day so I could put it on quickly as needed.
We had our third coffee at only 5km! This was an out of sorts day and coffee seemed to be the solution.
We made it all the way to 11km and about the halfway point before the next coffee. The place was called Caminho Bar.
We seemed to be making distance in a bit of a daze. Jeanne was sometimes amused by Francisco and me chattering away or she listened to music.
More and more we were in suburbs and industrial parks. In Barro we found Limão Rosa a grilling restaurant and had a nice meal. Since we only had 5km to go, Jeanne and I split a bottle of vinho verde. It is kept in ice water at the table and is really refreshing.
Not too far after the restaurant, Francisco left us to visit his uncle. He will rejoin us tomorrow evening.
Not much after that Jeanne and I arrived in the main square in Agueda - a name I have not even come close to pouncing correctly. Portuguese is very hard. We found a seat outside at a bar and had the tiniest glass of draft. The lady who brought it was older and maybe that size was all she could carry.
My hotel which is also the albergue is not in town and it nearly a kilometer from the town center. I headed up the hill not very confident I would be making the trip back down. I met the South Korean Pilgrim who was at the albergue last night coming from this albergue. He said he was on his way to the big Lidl store I just passed to get some food.
My hotel room is quite nice. Nice and warm. My clothes are almost dry already. I fell asleep for a few minutes before I even took a shower.
Around 6:30, Jeanne convinced me to go out and just as I got up I realized there was a torrent coming down. I bailed. My feet need the rest and to stay dry.
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