Jack and Dianne - Portuguese 2023

 This was a tough one and we knew it before we started.  We decided to get a taxi in the morning to move us ahead 6 miles.  We still ended up walking 16 miles in some rather warm weather.  There was a breeze which helped but it was still a long day.   The first part was thru some beautiful valleys on country tracks.  We saw more olive trees and more wine vines.  We got to see the real Portugal countryside as we walked thru many small villages.  We stopped at a fun cafe where the locals were out for a nice Sunday lunch.  We picked the cheese plate since others had ordered it and it was goat cheese from the local area.   We went across the street to change our socks and locals gaped at us as we stripped off our socks and taped and newskinned each foot.  One car came by 3 times - we assume they wondered what we were doing at the bus stop bench.   The next stage was back out into the countryside on gravel roads between farmers fields.  We looked at the different types of pruning done on th

We left  Alvaiazere under a cloudy and foggy sky.  It was a perfect day for walking.  The first part was uphill thru a beautiful valley with many small villages.  There were olive trees on both sides of the road and path.  There were also plenty of rocks which had been used to build low walls - some of them hundreds of years old.  There were also hundreds of abandoned buildings in various states of decay.  The trail was rather rugged in some areas but well traveled and clear. Today was the first day we saw pilgrims on the trail.  Some were traveling in our direction and other’s in the opposite direction which was the ‘Fatima’ trail.  They use the same trails just go in opposite directions.  The Camino Portuguese trail is marked with the yellow arrows while the Fatima trail uses blue arrows to keep them separate.   At the highest point this morning we had wonderful views down the valley.  The hills are tree covered and wonderfully green.  We keep seeing groves where trees have been cut

  Weather was cooler so it was a much easier day. We had a wonderful breakfast of yogurt and cheese and meat and bread.  We also had orange juice and I had a cafe/. A very Portuguese breakfasts. We are staying here two nights so no reason to pack iur suitcasees.   We got a taxi to take us back to the cafe Saavedra which is where we ended yesterday/. The drive was quick and after a chocolate croissant we headed out to the Camino.  We walked up the hill to get back on the Camino which was in the forest.  The track was lovely with shad and a nice breeze.  At the highest point we found the old water tower complex in high school explained the road.  We left the forest to head our down the local road for 2 miles. There were olive groves in both sides as we made our way down the two lane track.  We got to an auberge and stopped for a quick break.  Then we headed out down a very old cobblestone road that snaked thru many small villages.  You can’t explain everything you see as you walk thru th

 We started on a hot day to begin our Camino journey. The high was 88 which is unusual for April.  Our walk was 13.5 miles long but had some pretty good inclines as well as some time spent fully exposed on asphalt roads.  We left Tomar around 8:20 and quickly found that the trail was well marked with posts and yellow arrows.  We travelled along the canal and the river to start then headed cross country thru many small villages.   The countryside was covered by olive trees and eucalyptus trees.  Many of the villages were small and didn’t have any services or people out and about.  We stopped at a cafe early where we had Bundt cake. Cafe and a Coke light/. We only saw one other camino hiker.   We had lunch along a quiet stretch of road in the shade.  The temperature continued to rise and the sun was beating down.  As we got a few miles from the end we had steep climb that took a lot out of both of us.  We stopped and took a break - pouring water on our heads and surveying how much water

We slept late and then headed out to the Convent of Christ which was built by the Knights Templar. We toured the extensive grounds then went into the monastary and church. The buildings date to the 1500's and were added on many times. It was a beautiful place with many interesting rooms. The main chapel was octagonal with ancient artwork and sculptures. We visited the rooms for the Knights which nimbered more than 100. The mosaic tiles throughout were spectacular. We followed the Convent visit with a lunch at the Medivel restaurant where the food was very good. We finished the evening with a stroll on the waterfront and I had an ice cream cone which was bright blue in honor of the movie 'Frozen'. Then back to our hotel to get ready for our first day of walking the Camino Portuguese.

Dianne and I took a taxi from Lisbon to Tomar today. We both slept well and were ready for our first day on the Camino. The taxi driver was great and gave us alot of information about the areas we were driving thru and Tomar. after checking into our hotel we went in search of food and found a wonderful French restaurant. Three hours later and several glasses of wine with amazing food we ended up back at our hotel and took a nap. Tonight we enjoyed a walk along the river, stopping for a glass of wine where we decided we were still full from lunch. We skipped dinner snd found a wonderful cafe with live music. What a great way to end our first day in Tomar.

We spent yesterday afternoon and evening out and about in Lisbon.  The goal was to stay awake until evening and overall we were successful.  We each had our periods when the eyes drooped and we wanted to sleep - but the other would urge us to wake up and keep moving.  We had lunch on the plaza overlooking the bay and walked up to the church where St Anthony was born.  We saw a lot of Lisbon but mainly we just kept moving.  We had a wonderful early dinner and got back to us hotel around 7.  Jack was asleep first but Dianne soon followed.  We slept well and got up around 8:30.  We are headed for Tomar at noon for our first days out on the Camino.

 We are at the airport headed for Lisbon - traveling first to Phoenix then on to Philadelphia and arrive into Lisbon Monday morning at 9AM.  We plan on staying overnight I. Lisbon just in case there are issues with luggage.  On Tuesday morning we travel out to Tomar to start our Camino.  We are both excited and ready to get walking.  

 Dianne and I got a call on Thursday telling us that her oldest son nicknamed ‘JC’ had suffered a stroke that morning.  We quickly repacked our bags for a trip to Oregon to be with him and his fiancé and our granddaughter.  The drive Thursday was smooth and we saw him in the ICU Thursday evening.  He underwent a procedure thru his femoral artery to remove the blood clot in his brain.  The procedure was a success and he was able to talk to us Thursday evening.  He continues to improve ea h day but is still in the hospital as they try and figure out why he had a clot at the age of 40.  He is having scans each day to gather more information.  Hopefully he can go home next week.   Dianne and I will travel to Portugal when we can.  Stay tuned for our upcoming Camino adventures.

Dianne and I have been accumulating our gear for the trip and today we do our final pack and check our bags for weight.  Mine is at 39 pounds so I have 5 pounds available if I need to add things. The total weight for the bag that is transported every day is 44 pounds or 20 kilograms.  It’s funny that summer clothes don’t make up most of the weight - it is chargers and shoes and massage gun and food and toiletries.   Above are pictures of our piles before they go into the suitcase.   We are both getting very excited as we finish up checking our lists and making sure we have everything we need.  Luckily we can always buy what we forget.   It’s an early morning tomorrow for a 6AM flight.  First we fly to Phoenix then on to Philadelphia and finally into Lisbon Portugal arriving on Saturday morning around 9AM.  We have 3 days in Lisbon and we start walking on Tuesday the 18th.  

We wanted to give a quick outline of the trip. We fly on April 14 and arrive in Lisbon, Portugal on the morning of the 15th. Our first day of walking is April 18 and we walk for a total of 37 days and the total mileage is 'roughly' 400 miles.   We use a GPS tracking app and when the map shows 12 miles we usually walk at least 14 with all the stops and lunches and short detours to all the wonderful churches. We arrive in Santiago, Spain on May 27th and fly back home on the 31st. We have made our packing lists and continue to add items each day. This is our second Camino so we have a much better idea on what to take.  Mainly a lot of synthetics with just a few ‘nice’ items if we go to a special dinner.  We also carry a bunch of bandaids and tape and newskin for blisters.   When we were in Cozumel Mexico last month we walked several days to get in some miles ‘on the road’. Walking for this many days you into a ‘walking mode’ where you just put one foot in front of the other an

Dianne and I are counting down the days! The map shows both Camino routes - Blue was last year and Green is this year. We walk the green flags from south to north starting in Lisbon Portugal and ending in Santiago Spain. We are feeling very good and looking forward to the adventure. I changed the settings on the blog so hopefully anyone can comment without setting up a blogger account.