Physical uncomfort marked the end of day 4 and such is also the case the next morning. Is the physical undertaking starting to take it’s toll or is this just one of those other things that comes and goes. Let’s see how the journey continues.

I wake up several times during the night. My sleeping bag is warm, I am glad about that, but the mattress I am lying on is covered with a slippery cover, causing me to slide around a bit. Together with the limited space I have in my mummy sleeping bag and the noises caused by the other sleepers turning around and oxygenating, this makes that my sleep is restless. I wake up several times during the night wondering what time it is and then turning over again to continue sleeping. When I finally wake up I still feel tired. While walking to the bathroom I feel the muscle pain in my calves and also some pain on the upper part of my right foot. Once in the bathroom, of which the floor is all wet for some reason – maybe the humidity – I look in the mirror and see circles under my eyes. Is the walk wearing me out already? I can imagine as I haven’t ever done anything like this to my body. The image I see in the mirror is a bit preoccupying and I decide that I will try and eat a bit better and also buy some multi-vitamins as I will not always be able to buy proper food along the way.

I planned a slow start this morning. Initially it was because of the weather report but I feel that my body also needs some additional time to get up and running today. First stop is the bakery where I order a coffee and a sandwich. When I look outside I see that the weather isn’t all that bad. I might start walking anyway. But first I walk some 200 metres to the pharmacy. While doing so it starts to rain and I am wet again already. After I scored some multi-vitamins I am off to my next mission. Find a supermarket and score some proper food. Luckily there is one not too far away and I obtain all I need while paying attention not to add to much load to my backpack.

At 10 o’clock I am finally ready to start my day. I imagine that all of the other pilgrims in the hostel are already long gone and that I might pick some up along the way. Not really relevant but something in me hates being the last one in line I guess. Some other pilgrims have told me about how complicated the exit out of Ponte de Lima can be, especially when it has rained and by now you should know that is has done so in ample manner. When I rejoin the Camino route I see what the other pilgrims were referring to. A lot of water and mud but I decide to go for it anyway as I don’t want to take the detour along the busy road. I find my way through mud and puddles of water. The water is sometimes literally streaming down the path but it’s manageable. I think about what the other pilgrims have decided to do. Did they also take this route?

After a bit I arrive at an untakable obstacle. In front of me the whole path has been converted into a small river. If I go on then I will definitely get my feet wet. I take off my walking shoes and socks and put my slippers on to wade through the water. It’s actually quite fun to be doing this although i would not make much progress if the whole way would be like this. Luckily after 200 metres the way is dry again and I dry my feet and put my socks and shoes back on. My feet feel a bit cold now but they quickly warm up again when I resume my way.

The sun is coming out now which is pretty nice for a change. Pretty quickly I swap my rain jacket for my ultra light jacket and hope the weather forecast was wrong and that this weather will last during the remainder of the day. Meanwhile water is flowing everywhere. I pass rivers with large quantities of water, see water streaming down pathways continuously and all the times outlets on the side of the road are spitting out water in large amounts. It’s a nice sight to see as long as it does not involve me getting really wet.

My guidebook indicates that we will be going up a relatively big climb today. Bigger than anything I’ve seen up to now. I wonder if I will see any of the other pilgrims before I get to the bottom of the climb. After a while where the Camino takes it’s way between the pillars of a highway overpass I see Serge, the walking monk, at work. He is picking up garbage and when he crosses a pedestrian bridge across a river I say hi to him. After a short talk we both resume our ways in our own rhythm.

Today’s walk is a mixture of small town roads, mountain like paths and medieval looking cobblestone pathways leading from one town to the other, each town, no matter how small it is, having it’s own church. It’s always a nice sight to see from afar but I would not really be able to tell one village apart from the other. Without the arrows guiding me I would be really lost inside this repetition of surroundings. But luckily I don’t have to worry about that. This, I guess, is one of the nice things about the Camino; you can just concentrate on walking from A to B. It’s quite a careless experience. Untill it starts to rain or something starts to hurt of course.

Well on my way to the base of the hill that I still have to climb I arrive at a small cafe which doubles as a grocery store. I order a coffee and join the somewhat older Danish woman who is sitting outside. As we chat a bit various of the pilgrims of the hostel pass by. I am surprised to see them as I thought I was the last one in line but it seems that I was wrong. I use the coffee stop as an opportunity to give my right foot some rest and stretch it a little bit. I am also waiting out the rain which has started coming down again. After about half an hour I resume my way. In the 20 minutes that follow I change jackets about 3 times untill it really starts to pour heavily and I just quickly put on one jacket over the other to avoid getting too wet. 50 meters further luckily there is a bus stop. I think I hear some thunder and I decide to already eat the lunch I bought at the supermarket and wait it out again.

Then I can finally start my ascent. The path leads into a forest like area and steep sections intertwine with more horizontal ones. After three kilometres of climbing and wondering if I really like the intensity of walking up a mountain i find myself alone at the top. I thought I might find some of the other pilgrims here but they seem to be long gone. The view is nice though but quite quickly I resume my way. The pain in my right foot has become more intense after the climb. During the descent I wonder how far I should push on today. Most pilgrims will stop at the next stop which is Rubiães. I had planned on walking 5 kilometres further but with the signals my foot is giving I am even thinking that I might be forced to take a one day break and give my foot some rest.

In the end the pain subsides and I decide to walk on to the destination I had planned, Café Castro. I liked the sound of it and the images on Google Maps looked satisfying enough. During this last stretch I am not thinking about the other pilgrims anymore. I heard some of them talking when I refilled my water bottle at the hostel in Rubiães. Liberated of this recurring thought I walk more freely and it makes the last part of the walk quite relaxed.

When I arrive at the Café Castro I find it’s not all that I thought it would be. It’s the local bar where all men come and drink their after work coffee, beer or wine accompanied by a gaming ticket to see if they can win some euros. The television is on. Senegal and the Netherlands are playing their first match in the world football championships, something which I had more or less decided not too pay to much attention to. But now it’s there. Funnily enough there are also three young Senegalese men watching the match. The situation is entertaining and it’s interesting to hear the men talking Portuguese while I sip a beer and see the Netherlands win the match. And I am also in luck because I am the only guest and have the appartment-like space above the café to myself. So no snoring or squeaking mattresses tonight.