I left my lovely hostel from the previous night shortly after six and well before the sun began to brighten the sky. The hostel was not on the Camino. so I hiked down the highway about 1.5 km until the Camino intercepted my road.
The temperature today so far has been moderate although it is again expected to get into the low 30s which translates to low 90s
I’m trying to stop every 5 km to rest with with stops ending in 5 being brief rests by the side of the road in the shade and on the tens with food and beverage.
I’m traveling with some snacks, including some peanuts and a Tupperware container that I continue to toss different items in. It currently contains some dried apricots, grapes, and some trail mix.
As I write this, I’m taking my 15 km break just outside the hamlet of Vendas at the highest point between Lisbon & Porto (450 meters).
I have not yet decided how far to go today. There were really only two options within reasonable walking distance. The town of Ansiao is about 27 km from my start point and the town of Alvorge is another 8 beyond that. The reason I may have been considering Alvorge is that if I can make it there, I might be able to catch back up with the people I’ve been walking with for the majority of my pilgrimage.
Of the four communities in between the two towns, only one even has a café and none has overnight accommodations.
I will see how my feet feel and how hot it is when I reach Ansaio and we’ll make a decision then as to whether to go on.
I reached Ansaio around 1 pm and had yet to see another pilgrim. In fact, I went a couple hours without seeing another human.
Shortly after entering Ansaio, I found a mercado and bought a couple bananas and an ice cold can of 7-up. One banana was consumed practically on the threshold of the store. Then I opened the soda and started walking down the street.
As I rounded the next corner, there was a restaurant with outdoor seating and sitting there was John & Sherry (Idaho), Jennifer (Tennessee) and Charlie from Germany, whom I had not yet met
I joined them and we started discussing where to end the day. Jennifer decided to press on to Riberia – 15 km away – but hired a bag service to take her backpack.
The rest of us decided to shoot for Alvorge since the weather was overcast and not nearly as oppressively hot as the prior few days.
I arrived at the O Lagarerio Hostel in time to claim the last of the 5 lower bunks. The one familiar face was Karen from Austria, whom I had met yesterday at a cafe. I’m sure that I’ll get to know the others at dinner, but right now people are napping or talking to family (in what sounds like Italian).
As I’m writing this, John and Sherry arrive and claim two of the five upper bunks.
We have a nice pilgrim dinner with new friends from Italy & Spain, as well as those met earlier on the trail.
