Covilha to Guarda . . .

Wandering out of Covilha, the plan was for a short walk to Belmonte, about 15km.

At the padaria, thinking it a long way to walk, the woman gives me a large cake to keep me going. Then, at Orjais, sitting in the square, listening to the church bell announcing loudly it's 11 am, repeated a few minutes later in case we missed it, and admiring the crocheted decorations on the trees, an old lady brings me three oranges in a bucket . . . I take one and thank her . . . todos, take them all, she insists . . .

Walking along in warm sunshine, it feels good to be back on the road. At Belmonte, a tourist place on a hill, the skies darken and I discover the Guarda bus is due . . . and since I don't fancy another 24 km today, especially in the rain, I'm on it and in Guarda by 3pm.

The cathedral is amazing, the old town interesting, the residencial cheap and comfortable, the precipitation thick and white . . . the first snow I've seen since arriving in Portugal on New Year's Eve . . . and it's settling . . . maybe the Dao tomorrow . . . an offer from Ourense to consider . . . let's see what the morning brings . . .