Day 14 San Joao da Madeira to Porto

The alarm went off at 0400 and I looked out of the window and as feared it was raining, we decided to put on our wet weather gear and leave, sadly by 0430 it was coming down like stair rods, so we decided to review the situation again at 0600, sadly it was still raining and the weather was forecasted to thunder so we made the decision to abort the walk altogether, which was probably the wise thing to do as my back was killing me, I think the soft mattress had done the damage.

I went back to sleep and awoke at 0730 to find Yotty hiding in my rucksack.

When he eventually extradited himself we went and had breakfast which was a novelty in itself.

We arranged for a taxi for take us to Porto. I have to say I was extremely disappointed I had not completed the last stage.

We arrived at our hotel checked in and went for a walk, it was only 1000 hrs, we had the usual four tarts, then went for a rubber necking session. The weather forecasters had got it wrong. The thunder that was predicted never happened and the rain ceased, even though I was upset we could not walk, I think the Lord had interevened as my back was killing me. I would never have made it.

Our next port of call was the cathedral.

The view from the cathedral was stunning.

We could not get away from it.

So predictable.

We did a bit more necking then went for some lunch.

Steve recommended the restaurant; he had eaten here the night before. He said he had the best pizza he had ever had and he was right, my mushroom and truffle one was superb.

The roasted peppers were divine.

We went back to the hotel to meet Matt who arrived at 1700 hrs it was great to see him, needless to say he was wearing his kilt, then there were three.nWe are looking forward to seeing Martin the Great Dane, when he arrives the day after tomorrow.

Sadly my iPad died on me just as I had finished the blog so I lost all the work I had done, so I rushed into Porto to get a new Ipad, otherwise I would not have the means to do the blog.

We arranged to meet Steve at the restaurant where we had lunch as it was a place we both knew and decided to have dinner there as the food was so good.

We said goodbye to Steve who leaves tomorrow to walk the coastal route, I think we will catch up again in Santiago.

Then it was back to our hotel as it was getting late.

Don't ask.

Tomorrow is going to be a rest day for Yotty and myself, I think we deserve it. I need to get my back sorted otherwise I am going nowhere, plus we need to get our clothing washed.

In case you are getting worried about Oscar, I had an email from him, he is well and somewhere in Porto. I have missed seeing his beaming face. We will not see him again as he will be ahead of us and I suspect will be walking the conventional route, he has the blog address so Buen Camino Oscar

Time for dog on a blog.

Stats for today.

209 miles walked 

Tarts had 55

150 miles to Santiago.