Swimming to Angeiras

I decided to bring a poncho this time on the Camino instead of a raincoat and it turned out to be an almost comically horrible choice. Try getting a poncho on by yourself while wearing a backpack in whipping wind and lashing rain. The snaps kept flying open and the poncho sailed up over my head. So I pulled a rain cover over my pack and put the pack on over the poncho to hold it down. I still got soaked completely through.

The walk took me from the mouth of the river at Porto, north onto a miles-long wooden boardwalk, built to protect the beach and dune habitat along the shore. Rough surf breaking over the rocks beyond a wide expanse of beach. Quite beautiful. I got a couple of photos before it really started to pour raining. I stopped at a little seafood cafe for lunch and, with my lousy Portuguese, I ended up with a steak. The beer was good, though.

I've only seen a few other walkers, huddled in rain wear, heads down against the storm. I stopped at a campground in Angeiras that rents out tiny cottages and I have one to myself. Spread out my wet clothes, made a cup of coffee and watched the rain out the window. Heaven.Read more