Viana del Castelo.

At Saõ Roque, in Póvoa de Varzim, with his loyal companion, is my saint of 'choice': at least he probably existed, is the only church I've set foot in so far on the journey. And to see him showing the same wound on his leg as Jesus's ... He wears the attributes of a pilgrim, with the scallop shell adornments, but was he a pilgrim? Today the only pilgrim I saw until Viana del Castelo was going to Fatima. He had a dog. It was in Esposende - perhaps he was Saint Roch?

Seems ages ago since I left the coast for inland, and, after an enjoyable meander alongside the river, it's up through the eucalyptus tree plantation until, in some desperation and a little fatigued, I've stopped opposite Saõ Sebastião(Pão Quente) for lunch around one. Now it's a little over 8 Kms to finish the day? Chafé. As I run out of energy I do get stupidly hungry!

Wednesday already: day 5. Yesterday I was 'seeing' very clearly for the first time, but this morning I am full of a cold ... I think they understood at the reception to the albergue - in the old Carmelite Monastery(now Igreja do Carmo) just after you cross the wonderful Effiel Bridge over the majestic Lima river - so I am in room C with only one other pilgrim... The girl from Bulgaria - who is silent in bed at the other end of the damp room. Something about the contrast of the dead ferns and the living green on the edge of the woods...

Turning in prior to 8pm, after I'd eaten a filling, but average, pizza, (Mr Pizza next door but one to the church/monastery complex,12.50€) seemed to be the sensible option to help shift this sniffle?

It's cold on the top floor of the sparsely furnished albergue - I looked for blankets, but there weren't any so slept in all my thermals. Finding the kitchenette seemed a quest in itself: to go all the way to the top of the monastery from the portal, to then go down all the way to the back; only the voices of some pilgrims drew me to the correct spot to consume the pizza!

But, as a train passes in front of the monastery, and the Bulgarian girl shifts in her sleep I consider getting together for the next leg of the journey to Caminha - for there I can stare at Galicia, once more, and consider my future after Valença...

***

Step back. Walked back towards the Albergue on a cold December morning. A circuit passed the station, along the main avenue to the quayside. Excellent: Broa! A treasure of Portugal indeed - Padaria da Saudade. A Christmas Broa I think with it's spice and fruit akin to the Portuguese Christmas cake?