It has rained pretty much 20 hours in the last 24 so I did remarkably well to get at least some decent cycling. The day started with a good breakfat in a cafe opposite my hotel followed by packing the paniers and watching the weather - the radar suggested there would be a gap in the rain between about 9 and 11 so as the rain appeared to ease at 9 I went for it.
I had a 1600 ft climb to start the day to get across to Fafe and as I laboured up the busy road out of town the rain got heavier and heavier. When I reached 1200ft I found a Bus shelter to jump into and I waited while a 15 minute downpour went over.
Afterwards that gap must have appeared as 2 decent hours of dryness followed although not much sun. The top of the climb was a town called Lixa and although the climb stopped it didn't get any easier - I had to endure 2 miles of awful cobbles with gaps bigger than my tyres ! I had also expected to be out on open hilltops but the road was very urban all day as all the villages and towns along this part of Portugal sort of join up to make what is an urban environment out in the countryside.
A nice descent into Fafe followed where I picked up another Ecopista, this time the old railway line taht ran from fafe to Guimaraes and it was lovely and smooth and I passed a pretty waterfall where I stopped for pictures before continuing. The Ecopista was only 10 miles long and soon I was in Guimaraes cycling under the motorway which was way above me on stilts, this had also happened in Fafe (I took pictures of both !)
In Guimaraes I passed the City Walls before arriving at the famous Igreja e Oratórios de Nossa Senhora da Consolação e Santos Passos where I took many photos of the famous avenue leading up to the church.
A quick ALDI lunch followed to get my energu up for one last 1000ft climb up to Leitoes, the road forked next beneath the motorway and both forks were not my route having tried both ! Then I spotted a cobbled road disappearing down into the valley - I decided from bad past experiences to divert and stay on the main road, a good decision as after 5 minutes the heavens opened and I was once again sheltering in what was a crowded Bus Shelter as two Portugues schoolkids were doing likewise.
After 10 minutes we were all off and my route into the city was pretty tricky, just the way the roads run and the fact I wasnt on my route but eventually I passed the Cathedral and my hotel was just around the corner - I arrived just as another shower was starting which I managed to miss !