This morning there was a cold wind blowing and the rain was coming down in sheets. I found a bus stop a couple of blocks from the alburgue and planned to take a bus to the next stop on the route, Viana do Costello. It would be a long walk from the bus station to my alburgue in Viana do Costello, but there was no way I was going to walk the 20 kilometers from Marinhas to Viana do Costello in the wind and the cold and the rain. The bus was scheduled to come by at 10:00, but you never know with public transportation. I got down to the bus stop at 9:00 and spent 30 minutes in a cafe having breakfast, an orange juice and a chocolate croissant.
After breakfast I was sitting at the bus stop, wet and miserable and cold when I saw a cab approaching me going towards Viana do Costello. Reflectively I jumped out in front of the cab, waved my arms and screamed at him to stop. The cab driver, Thomas, pulled over to the side of the road and got out to castigate me for being a stupid pilgrim. After I explained my plight and my desperate need for a cab to take me to Viana do Costello he threw my sodden backpack into the back of his cab and drove me to my destination and gave a 25% Pilgrim discount. The Camino does indeed provide.
This is where he dropped me off.
When I got there the wind was howling and the rain was sheeting down and it was bitter cold. And I packed for a warm Camino. My alburgue didn’t open for three hours so I had some time to kill. The church looked like a good place to kill some time, say a few prayers and get in out of the rain and cold. The inside of this church was amazing.
The church didn’t have heating and the roof was leaking and it was drafty because bus loads of tourists kept coming and going. After an hour or so I decided to go out and look around. It was still raining so I ran over to the gift shop which had a generous overhang. I was soon joined by Peg and Sue.
It finally cleared up and I took some pictures of the beautiful views.
I finally got to check into the alburgue attached to the church.
I needed to go down the hill to town to get a late lunch and food for tomorrow. This is how I got down the hill.
I found a sushi buffet place for lunch/dinner.
That’s it from Viana do Castello, Portugal. I hope you are having a good day wherever you are.
Steps walked – 8,220
Kilometers walked – 6.2
Flights of stairs climbed – 17
AbeAndMarkontheCamino 
sounds like this Camino journey is challenging in the cold rain. I would have taken a cab too. Hope the weather improves! So you can enjoy your miles of walking. Do you have a walking companion or are you by yourself?
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