Sunday 18 August 2013

There is another..

I have the provided breakfast and pack up. I leave at 7am and manage to find a bar open just on the edge of the town. A quick coffee and I'm off walking down a small road with corn on either side. It's only 17 degrees and I cover 5.6kms in an hour. A few times I have to dodge the irrigation spray as it overshoots the corn and waters the road. After another 3km I walk into another village and decide it's a good time for a break. There is a small Mary shrine with some steps that look perfect so I set myself down and get comfortable. I remember that it's stood time to talk to Meredith and so we have a chat for a while. I don't hear from either of the girls as they are watching X factor. What am I going to have to do to out rate that?

As I am getting ready to head on I see someone else walking up the hill with a backpack on. Another pilgrim! He is as surprised and pleased to see someone else as I am. Carlos stayed at the volunteer firefighters last night. I was warned away from that area and it seems with good reason. The festival didn't finish till after 3am. He hasn't had breakfast so after we check plans for the day he goes in search of an open shop while I continue on. As I reach the end of the town I come to the church. I realise that it is Sunday morning and there is a service in progress. I stand in the porch for a while and try to connect with what's happening. It is good to see a community together, even though it is not mine. After 10 minutes I decide it's time to keep going.

The next section is 6.5km through a eucalyptus plantation. It's hilly and the gravel track is not easy to walk on. The smell is a nice reminder of home. The sounds are not, it is too quiet, and I wonder if this is an ecological mistake to put these Australian trees here. There are none of the bird sounds I have been hearing in other areas.  I get to a section the has been recently burnt and the track markings disappear. I have gps so I can see my destination but I have to do a little CSI work when I see a tree that has some marker sized bark on it that is a little less burnt than the rest. I take the direction I think it would have pointed in and soon walk past a burnt out fire truck. I am grateful that I wasn't here that day. It looks like it happened in the last few days and I find out later that it was only last week.

Eventually the plantation gives way to something that again looks like Portugal. After walking through a village with no shops I stop at Asseiceira and have lunch in a cafe/bar. After talking with a multilingual truck driver for a while Carlos arrives for lunch. We have a chance to talk about what we've just walked through. He has no map at all. His 'guide' is a single piece of paper with the places and distances between Lisbon and Santiago. We decide to walk the rest of today together, which will be about 11kms.

It's very different walking with company. The time passes differently as we talk about culture and our different experiences. He's a 20 year old Spanish art and history student. He blistered his foot on his third day and had to take a bus from Azambuja to Santarém.

Tomar is an old Templar castle and convent. We walk past a gypsie camp on the edge of the city, where they are building shanty huts. It seems at odds with all the abandoned houses and cottages that I have past today. Of course it is always more complex than the obvious answer...

I find the Pensão my guidebook says is one of the cheaper options. It's €25. Carlos decides to go to the firefighters, as it's generally free. We clean up and then meet up for a drink. We decide that now is our only chance to go up to the castle and convent. We are too late to go inside but still get a reasonable view over the area. We find a place to eat back down in the city and then head off to our beds. We plan to walk together again tomorrow, with a 6:30am start.

I am losing track of days already. As I count up where I have been so far it is day 6 and it is done.

Today's photos: 1. Last night's accomadation, from the street. 2. A 7am pilgrim selfie. 3. 15th century church, (in English) St John the Baptist.

My camera battery has gone flat towards the end of the day and I have found out overnight that it is not charging via usb. I don't have a wall charger for it. As I am leaving Tomar before anything is open I will have to use my phone for the next two days, which will be fine, though the camera takes better shots. Looks like my bid to carry as little as possible but still take several gadgets will continue to require some effort.


6 comments:

  1. Great that you are having some companionship, we missed you on Sunday as well. May God continue to bless you Phil. R&L PS You could always enter X Factor next year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Also glad you have human company as well as God. Hope your feet are holding up. Can't believe its only a week since you left. All the Jans miss you. Keep safe xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. What are "the firefighters"? L says you sound happy. D

    ReplyDelete
  4. we're enjoying your commentary Phil. It's evoking some very strong memories. Buon Camino

    ReplyDelete
  5. @david, the volunteer firefighters often allow pilgrims to sleep on the floor for free. So far I have decided to go for the more upmarket options.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Phil following this is amazing, the poeple you are meeting, the places you are seeing and the food. I am looking forward to following the rest of your trip and meeting the man you are when you omce back after all of this.

    You are always in Maggies and my prayers.

    ReplyDelete