Caminho Português: Days 6, 7 & 8
Miserable distances
Well, if I had a chance to go back in time I would advise myself to start in Tomar and skip all the stages out from Lisbon. The previous 3 stages were absurdly long, repeatedly over 30km (20 miles).
We made it into Tomar (really cool hostel) but we were so exhausted we almost missed our chance to see the major sight of the Convento de Cristo. We ended up taking a Tuk Tuk up the hill and doing a quick visit right before closing.
Yesterday we ended up walking much of the day with Cam and Claire from Australia. We never thought we’d meet them again after the first day!
The countryside turned quite beautiful, with eucalyptus forests and rural hill villages. But the distance was 34km to get to the next destination from the guide book. Adding in the hilly terrain and lots of asphalt and cobblestone roads made for an absolutely miserable day.
Today was better because I planned a shorter day. Pretty landscape but with a greater percentage of dirt paths and a cooler morning really helped. A thunderstorm welcomed us into the town of Alvorge where I booked us a private room at the nice new hostel/restaurant.
Over the last few days we have really started to make those pilgrim friends that are the heart of the Camino experience. Tonight we’re with a girl from China, a South Korean student, and a young Portuguese woman.
My feet are a mess of blisters and pain but in a day and a half we’ll be in Coimbra for our rest day.
Tracy | 2nd Jun 23
Enjoyed following you both on this journey! My feet hurt just reading your posts and just by thinking about walking it and I realize now that my days of attempting such a feat as La Camina are gone. My feet already feel the pangs of 40 years standing on them, I doubt that I would have made it, were I along with the two of you. I admire your perseverance!
And so I am grateful that you shared this with all of us and I wish you a wonderful and long day of rest at your next overnight.