First things first. I must apologize. I know I have been writing daily but somehow someway, my date is a day behind. I’m not sure where I messed up but as of today, I’m back on track. Today is Saturday, October 21st. And it is the 17th day of our journey, I think 🤔

Another raining day on the Camino. George and I had little miles to cover today. We didn’t set an alarm, which honestly, we typically don’t. We woke up when we woke up which was 7:30am. Not so bad being that breakfast isn’t served till 8am. We packed and headed down to the lobby, checked out and walked over to the breakfast hall. They had a great spread including scrambled eggs and some kind of boiled sausages. Not my thing, but I’m sure someone liked them. There was tons of fruit and yogurt. I ate to my hearts content and waited for the weather to change.

The weather guessers called for rain in the afternoon but here it was, early morning and it was already here. We dressed up like we were heading out to the Arctic Circle. Everything we had for cold weather gear was on our body’s. We are ready for whatever this day can bring!

Our first steps were finding the fastest route to the Boardwalk. Out the side door, over the slick ceramic tile, through the sand and back on the Boardwalk we went. There were many Pilgrims walking today. I guess they all decided rain or shine, here we come. And they came.

First we saw a couple of Bike-Packers heading southbound, which seems counterintuitive being it’s going away from Santiago. But maybe they have already been there and now they are riding home to South Africa. Long ways to ride. Hope the weather gets better!

As we walked through the ever-so small villages of Agucadoura and Apulia, we saw some familiar faces. Rudy, our German friend, who we met on Day One was walking with his friend Hochi, from Japan. They met seven years ago on the Camino and walk together almost yearly. We walked for a few miles until George and I stopped for lunch in Fao.

I’m sure you’re thinking these two stop and eat quite a bit. And you’d be right! Truly it’s a great way to break up the day, get out of the rain or heat or wind or whatever excuse we can find, to stop and eat. And while you eat, drinking must accompany your food. We found this little hole-in-the-wall place in the small tiny square. I walked in and knew immediately this is my kind of place. They had Dire Straits playing Money for Nothing with the entire playlist of nothing but, Dire Straits!

The Staff brought over a menu and I asked him what was a good recommendation. He went right to the hamburger which I knew George would like. I asked for fish or chicken. He said something in Portuguese like chicken and pointed at his biceps. Chicken arms? Oh Chicken Wings. Sure that’ll work. And two beers please. We are walking and need some extra hops and barley please.

When the Hamburger came out, George was amazed. It looked just like an American Burger, big and juicy. My Chicken Wings were great too. We devoured our food, and finished it up with espresso. Now we can venture back out. As soon as we got ready to walk out, the rain came back with a vengeance. Here we go again.

The walk out of town wasn’t too terribly wet, not until we crossed the River. Today was the first day I heard thunder. It was loud but no lightning. I believe the lightning stayed in the hills above us. This is another reason the Coastal Route is a better option right now. They are getting hammered in the mountains and on the Central Route. Tons of flooding, downed trees, mud and muck. And this girl has had her fill of mud and muck! No thank you Mother Nature!

Once we arrived in Esposende, we struck up a conversation with a couple of locals, George and Isabelle. We asked them about the bronze statue in the center of town. It is a tribute to the fishermen of the town, their hard labor and commitment to their families. It is truly a masterpiece of art. They escorted us to our home for the night, the RiverZenHouse. It’s a four bedroom house that evidently George and I are the sole occupants of tonight. Once we had our tour, Ana left us the keys and asked us to lock it up in the morning. There you have it.

We ran around like we owned the place. I guess we do for the night. I finally have a bathtub and George has a massage sprayer in the shower. This is living large. The balcony overlooks the River, which flows into the Atlantic. It’s a dreamy house.

I blogged for a bit while George took in the sights. We met back up and headed for dinner to O Baraco. Two separate people recommended the same place so that sealed the deal. Funny thing was they both pointed south to the Restaurant but Google Maps had me going north. What the heck is going on with this Mapquest. After walking one mile north, it took us to a nothing place, said we arrived and then had the audacity to ask me to rate its route finding! Well that is a big fat “F” in my book.

George was a bit perturbed, I was frustrated so we asked a couple of locals. They pointed south about two miles. Give me a break, really?!?! Yep, that’s where we started from. After an hour of going up and down and back up the street, we arrived. Luckily being only 7:45pm, everyone else in town were still enroute. We found a table and thanked the Lord for getting us here without Google maps. Once again, I’m not impressed with the piss poor directions of my app. Oh well, at least it didn’t pour on us as we were walking. We sat down and ordered dinner. It was good, not the best that we’ve ever had but we are full and content. Now we can return to our house and hunker down for the night. Before bed, George played a game of Pool. Yes, they have a Pool Table at the house. Pretty darn swanky.