Day 10, Vila Pouca de Aguiar to Vidago

Tuesday, 13 May

A beautiful friendly cow early in the days walk.

Best laid plans .... What we hadn't factored into our walk today was, with the heavy rain all day on Monday, the Camino path would once again be flooded. 

After struggling on for a good part of the day, at 2.45 pm we decided to catch a bus as we were in an area where the Camino trail intercepted the bus route. So we bussed the last 7.5 kms into Vidago with several pairs of wet, muddy socks and with walking shoes soaked through from slipping and sliding in the huge muddy puddles.

Unfortunately the one lavanderia in town is closed until the morning. However we have nice accommodation and can do our washing and drying tomorrow.

The walking shoes are more problematic as, apart from a pair of jandals each, they are the only footwear we have.

Steve overcoming a minor puddle problem by laying broken roof tiles to act as stepping stones. We have seen this quite a lot on the minor roads, the potholes filled with broken tiles.

The puddles got larger as the day went on and mostly we were able to get through as above, but as the puddles became is across the whole of the road space in the end there was nothing for it but to wade through. Better to have very wet, muddy shoes than to fall into the mid calf deep puddles and have everything wet. It was fairly cold all day, the promised 19° high never eventuated.

Part of the Pedras Salcadas thermal Parque.

A shrine to Mary of the Camino across the road from where we waited for the bus.

The above photos are from Teresa's camera.

The ones below are from Steve's.

If the path had been like this all the way it would have been a very easy day.

Entry to the Pedras Salcadas Parque. The sparkling thermal mineral waters here made this a popular spa park in the first half of the 20th century.