I find myself in a hotel room in Sao Sebastiao do Paraiso as I write this. Some 20 kilometers up the road from where I ended my walk today in a small town called Sao Tomas de Aquíno. My initial plan was to stay there for the night but upon arrival I found out quickly that the hotel which is listed on Google is not functioning as such anymore. “The hotel is closed” says the man sitting on the doorstep of the hotel. It’s the owner whom a bit later explains to me that it’s just not really good business. I had tried calling ahead to see if I could book a room but nobody answered. Now it’s clear why.

He fills up my water bottle with mineral water and is so kinds to arrange a taxi. 10 minutes later I am already in a private car on my way to the next stop on the route to which I thought I would be arriving on foot. The owner of the car is a retired man who has a hard time sitting still and occupies himself with various jobs of which taxi driving is one. We arrive there quickly and I have him take me to a hotel which I had already spotted online.

After washing myself and some of my clothes I decide to go out to get something to eat. The city is quite uninspiring. Maybe it’s because of the weather, it’s raining again. Or maybe because it’s a holiday today, it’s good Friday and that might be somewhat of a deal in a religious country. After finding some closed restaurants and not wanting to struggle any longer today I decide to just go and eat a quick hamburger in the fast food place across the street from the hotel.

Now I am back in the hotel room in between my clothes which are hanging out to dry. Hopefully they will be dry enough to get going again tomorrow. I have armed a drying system involving my walking stick and the hotel room ceiling fan. I feel a bit uncertain now by today’s events: stormy weather and non existing hotels in particular. I am not keen on getting drenched and dirty once again and the forecast says that it will rain during the next few days. Reality will have to tell what kind of rain that will be. And regarding the hotel situation; I have tried to call ahead to tomorrow’s accomodation but again without any luck. Another accommodation that is closed, maybe? I guess I will find out tomorrow.