Best deal so far yesterday at Santarém at the N1 hostel. 25 euros for bed with fantastic dinner last night and this morning with a big breakfast spread at 8 am. A bit late to be starting after 9 am when the distance today is around 35 km. The weather didn't help either. The view of the city yesterday at the porch was covered with fog this morning and the weather report on the screen are not promising. Luckily the rain is of a misty sort, not big but one can still can get wet when exposed for long.
All the French walkers I believed (including the two sisters) are going to Fatima (the fork is here in Santarém). So we might see them tomorrow in Tomar if they don't stay an additional day.
Bumped into the two Italian ladies on the way, one of them asking me to pose from my back as my poncho matches the vineyard leaves. Sheesh...
The thought of the muddy trails scares me, but with the Maps.me app and their guide we managed to find alternative route via the small roads. This I let Ryan the Danish guy know when he pop up at the bar we were at about a third of way at Vale de Figueira. His shoes were soaked and a little muddy (apparently trail runners like my old pair). Luckily he had another drier pair. Moving on one can see the lakes and plains flooded, and nothing else worth mentioning except the cherry blossoms around midway. Wind was cold and I had to keep my second layer on throughout the day's walk. The rain stopped at the first stop (sort of).
Another break in Azinhaga after a long walk for Pastei de Nata and coffee to fuel me up for the last 7.5 km. Funny how many complained had complained about road walking from Lisbon and when there is a trail we go back to the road. Mind you, the drivers here are different from Spain. They are fast even on the small roads.
Finally at Golegā, took the app and found me the albergue Ademas, recommended by Migel yesterday. 10 euros with kitchen with lots of items already there (some from the establishment and others probably from pilgrims who had stayed there). It's actually a house. With pasta, egg and sauce I just cook my dinner there, same as Ricardo from Catalan who arrived earlier (same room again). Clean sheets and blanket (Yay! Another night without our sleeping bags). With too much exposure from the wind, I don't even have the energy to move 500 meters to the center for dinner. The Italians ladies came later, followed by Ryan who requested his own room as he can't sleep when distracted (hence his 3 am walk from Lisbon's dorm hostel to Azambuja (60 plus km). At least now he is covering a more sane distances with normal start time. Forgot to ask Bowie (HKG girl) which road she is taking today as she is not here (but she could be in another hostel here in Golegā). We tried to put each other on Facebook but the 'add friend' button is greyed out.
Anyway, just want to lie down and rest and sleep early. Another 3 German bikers ladies just popped up. Only Ricardo and myself have the downstairs room. The rest are upstairs.
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