Starting Wet or Dry?
I hear a lot of rain during the night. Shall my caminho start wet? In the morning I sit down for my breakfast, I eat my grapefruit, because it rains and I will not leave with hard rain. I go outside to see if it rains a few times and then 8:15 I start, it is dry. I walk through Porto’s cobbled streets and I am lucky because it is dry with some showers. I know it can be a lot worse this time of the year in the north of Portugal.
Lots of Yellow Arrows
There are a lot of yellow arrows, but after two hours I see the first official Santiago sign of the central route. When the rain gets harder and harder I rest in a café and it looks like I get a nice cocktail, it is fresh orange juice. The cobbled street don’t stop, and I walk through the industrial zone of Maia, near the airport. For me it is okay. A lot of people complain about the route because it is on asphalt and not really nice to walk on. Some even take the bus or metro. With the rain a street is much better than a forest believe me.
The caminho represents life, in life you have ups and downs, so the same as on the road, beautiful roads and asphalt roads.
The Chief Pilgrim, Refugio de Cabaca in Fonte Coberta
And it is true the Portuguese people walk a lot on the road especially with their pilgrimages to Fatima, they don’t mind, it is quicker too. The goal is to reach Fatima quickly.
Quickest or Safest Way?
I see a lot of signs for Casa da Laura. the place where I like to sleep. Now it rains harder and harder. When I am almost there I see the following sign:
What would you do if you see this sign after 24 km, burning sun or heavy rain?
Take the safe way, Portuguese drive fast and it is really not safe on the road. I am relieved that the caminho offer us a ‘desvio’, a detour, and now I it is just 2 km extra. 3 from the 8 pilgrims in our hostel took dangerous route, most of us did it the safe way, including the Portuguese couple!
Only 2 km to the Albergue, and the arrows go to a forest. Wow, a lot of mud, and water luckily it is just a km and then cobbled street again. It is slippery but step for step I am getting there.
Albergue Laura
I arrived very early because I didn’t take a lunch break. I wanted to reach my destination for today because the rain is adding up and all is getting wet.
I’m the first person in a room with three bunk beds, next to a private double room—perfect. Carlos shows me around the house, and his wife Laura will come later. Right now, she’s in Vila do Conde, where they’re opening a new albergue today on the coastal route. They have tea cookies, yoghurts, drinks, all you need after a days walk.
It’s a nice albergue along the caminho, with friendly hosts, and the small town center is nearby, complete with a castle and a restaurant. Outside, there’s a big garden, but of course, I’m sitting inside now. The albergue is full, and we have an international group: Taiwanese, German, Argentinean, English, Romanian, and a Portuguese couple.
We’re going for dinner together, but first, some people head to the self-service laundromat to dry their clothes. We all wait in the lavanderia, and afterward, we go to a local café around the corner where they serve simple dishes for 8,5 euro including a drink. There is a football match and it is busy. The bar tender is happy that he can speak Portuguese to our Portuguese pilgrims. They translate all and make sure all goes fluently. The café is packed with men watching a football game. It turns out to be the nicest evening I’ve had in an albergue—we all go out for dinner together. I am sure we will meet each other every day.
On our way back we see the church with lights, and I need to make a photo to remember it.
