Crossing the river on my way out of Porto was pretty neat. I was amazed at how the buildings could cling to the steep bluffs over the river. What a view, but I would not want to sleep walk there - you could be in for a long sensation of falling, then a cold and wet surprise. Not to mention that with this continuous rain, how did everything not just wash into the river and out to sea?

The long wet climb out of Porto afforded me some nice views of the inside of the clouds I was perched within. Each successive hill brought me a bit higher and a into a bit cloudier air. Before long I could hardly see anything, which made the ride kind of interesting. At least my x-ray vision permits me good visibility under such conditions.

My plan had been to get about half-way to Coimbra (KWEEM-bra) but when I got to the town at that point, lo and behold, they had no hotels. And it was not just a little Tunis. It was a big enough town. So, on I went kind of past my strength (kind of a common theme by now, eh?) until I came to the first Residencial on the edge of Agueda. I did not want to go a metre further so I pulled into what looked almost like a cube made of cement. But, they let me rinse off the bike with the hose, and my room had perhaps the best bath tub I have ever been in. Big, comfortable and lots of hot water.

I basically spent the rest of the day trying to dry off and warm up, which was tough, since what this place was missing was heat. But the blankets were warm, and my book was good. And then later in the evening after I got back from a walk around nowhere, there was a James Bond movie on. And everyone loves to watch a great James Bond film (all are great, aren't they?) with Sean Connery. What a great end to a kind of trying day.

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