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Conversations and Reflections as the Sun Goes Down

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 Sunday 04/09/22 Christine and I have been living out if our back packs for 12 days. We have carried a couple of changes of clothing, the bare essential of what we need to be able to walk and take care of ourselves through the Portuguese countryside, plus one or two luxuries for 130miles. We are again having a rest day and Christine’s husband Stephen has joined us. After spending the day at Nazare beach Christine and I indulged in a deep tissue and lymphatic drainage massage which was my belated birthday present to her. It could not be said it was an enjoyable experience, I felt as if I had been though a washing machine. However had the desired effect of loosening our tired muscles and relieving our aches and pains.  At lunch time we had a delicious barbecued fish lunch and brought the left overs back with us. We now ate it    on our balcony with some bread, tomatoes and yogurt that we had been carrying for our lunches. It was a lovely picnic and as the sun went down our conversation t
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Turcival towards Outeiro da Cabeça

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  Tuesday 30/8/22 I woke at 4.30. Christine was already awake, as she spoke she seemed uneasy. Tearfully she told me her foot was causing her a real problem and she hadn’t been able to tell me the day before, it had kept her awake for much of the night.  We decided to take it slowly and take a bus of taxi if needed. After an initial climb from the hotel, but nothing on the scheme of previous days we walked steadily to Torres Vedras along tracks and quiet roads. Bus stops became our new best friends allowing a space to rest for a few moments and take our packs off.  We passed a few men in a field,    ploughing a    furrow over a meter deep. It necessitated the use of a bulldozer and a huge plough rather than the ubiquitous ancient tractor, we had seen so many times. The furrow at the top of the field was pale crumbly and dry, whereas lower nearer where we stood was a the plough had carved out a dark shiny slice of soil creating a hole big enough to get lost in. It seemed likely that the
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Sintra to Mafra

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Sunday 28/8/22 Just after 7am we closed the door on the elegant Art Deco rooms of the hotel Saudade. The quiet streets now devoid of people and traffic. A lone elderly man stood on the corner where rejoined the Camino. he smiled and said a few words, we didn’t know what, but it was clear he was commenting on our packs. The old winding streets took us out of town and down a steep sided lush green valley. Small stone houses tucked amongst the prolific bamboo. These were not the fancy period villas of the town they were simple dwellings with a bit of well tended garden.  The landscape changed as we progressed, the land becoming flatter. For a few ours we walked along quiet roads and tracks through semi industrial countryside passing a few pungent pig farms. We new what they were some time before we could see the long low buildings. Where the animals, no doubt, would be crammed into small stalls. It was completely quiet and not in a good way! I noticed the buildings were set amongst large
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The Caminho Begins

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Friday 25/08/22 27/08/22 Since we landed life has been so full I have only had time to write the briefest notes. Now we have a rest day and I can record my thoughts more clearly. I am also having some difficulties editing, on my phone so please forgive any typos. Uploading  photos is also taking a lot of time. If this continues I will abandon them but you can find plenty on my FaceBook or Instagram. Christine, a great friend, who is walking with me for two weeks to Fatima and I began that afternoon. A 5km brisk walk from The Ingreja De Santo Antonio in Estoril where we paused a moment for photos with Bernardo, who picked us up from the airport.    He has developed ‘Walkbox’ a walking app of trails all over Portugal. We are using a prototype of the Caminho to Santiago de Compostela been designed specifically for us, leading to and from each accommodation. Santo Antonio’s is just around the corner from the casino of Ian Flemming’s Casino Royal in the James Bond books. We followed the fir
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Deciding What to Take

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 23/08/22 24/08/22 Deciding what to take with me has been both fun and a challenge. This is a long list so get yourself a brew and sit down. Or you can skip it in the hope that my next post is more interesting! •Clothing I am not one for buying fancy walking gear unless it really works for me. I prefer cotton and natural materials to specialist quick drying fabrics which are supposed to wick moisture away from the body but smell pretty awful at the end of a warm day!  I have kept clothing to a minimum, 3 vests, 2 short sleeve t shirts,1 long sleeved t shirt. To save on weight I cut the bottom off my t shirts, they are usually too long for my short body anyway. 3 knee length, a line skirts with pockets which are really useful. It is even better if the pockets have zips. I will keep the bright pink one I bought inBanardo’s for evenings. I don’t wear shorts, they don’t fit me are uncomfortable. 1 pair of lightweight trousers, A fine cashmere pashmina I bought on a trip to India and has se
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What is Pilgrimage Part 3

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  20/08/22   Since walking on the Camino in 2018 I have thought more about what it means to be a pilgrim. In the past, the religious aspect was very much the focal point of the journey. For thousands of pilgrims today this is still so, however many of us who walk today do not have religious beliefs but still attempt to follow the practices of a pilgrim. In John Brierley’s excellent Camino Guides of many of the caminos, he points out that a pilgrimage is supposed to be a challenge! Walking long distances day after day, carrying only what you really need, living simply in basic accommodation    and having time and space to explore your own thoughts creates that challenge. The choices that the modern pilgrim makes about what to carry, where to stay, going it alone, abstinence or following practices such as meditation or prayer are very much an individual decision. There are also divided opinions about the pilgrimage routes. Some are of the firm opinion that creating detours or new routes
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What is Pilgrimage Part 2

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  03/08/22 In part one I described a pilgrimage as a journey usually taken on foot to a place of religious significance. Many faiths have special Pilgrimage sites across the world to which pilgrims have walked great distances for centuries. It is deemed necessary to be a challenging journey both physically and mentally, taken with intent to achieve greater understanding or enlightenment, to give thanks or to give penance or take action to change behaviour in some way. In doing so the pilgrim steps away from their day-to-day life and may give up many of the material aspects that go with it. In effect, throughout their journey, they live a simpler life often carrying their possessions and taking time to think. In 2018 when I completed the last 100km of the Portuguese Camino I attended the traditional service usually held at the cathedral in Santiago, however due to renovations it was held in another church close by. The service is a celebration of the pilgrims endeavour. During that
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