I started my walk at 7 AM, a little bit before official daybreak. The first 6 km of today’s journey were along a busy highway. For the most part, there were sufficient sidewalks or at least asphalt outside of the fog line, but occasionally things got tight. Drivers are very courteous and always pulled towards the center lane as they approached.
Today I met my first fellow pilgrims on the trail. As I was entering the town of Alhandra, I noticed two men with backpacks up ahead. I caught up with them as they attempted to find the transition from the city street to a river walk. They were both from South Korea and spoke relatively good English so we chatted for a while.
By the time I reached my destination of Azambuja, I had met six pilgrims: four from South Korea, one each from France and Scotland.
Questioning my pace
I like to walk fast. On hikes by myself I’ll often walk 3.5mph (a little over 5kpm). And now I find myself doing the same here in Portugal.
But why? I was lucky yesterday that my hotel was ready at 1 pm, but my alberge for this evening didn’t even open until 3 pm.
Earlier today, the two Korean guys stopped along the riverwalk as soon as they found a bench with shade. In my head I thought “no, I have to keep going because I’m stopping in Xira after hiking for 2 hours.”
A bit later I realized there was no reason I couldn’t do both. This isn’t a race. It’s not like it’s high season and the last one there may not get a room. From this point on, I vow slow down a bit, take more beaks and enjoy what there is around me.
I did stop in Xira at a cute cafe called “Croassanteria da Praca”. The pastry was delicious and the tiny cup of coffee was so strong that for the first time in my life I added sugar. The bill: €2.2
The majority of today’s trail can be summed up as follows: flat, straight and devoid of shade. In one 7km stretch the only shade was a highway overpass and a small olive grove (12 trees). At one point I ventured off trail a bit to sit in the shade of a parked semi trailer.
Tonight, I’m staying in a true alberge. There are beds for 15 and as of just before 6 pm, 13 are claimed. Only the Frenchman, Dominique from the trail today is here. I learned that there are 12 South Koreans traveling through and they are all staying elsewhere.
I haven’t met everyone here yet, but there are guys from Estonia, UK, New Zealand, Denmark and France; and women from Belgium and the US (Portland by coincidence). In hope to hear where the others are by dinner time.
The cool thing about this melting pot is that English is the common language.
