Stapleton Travel Blog

Because it’s Sunday, most places will be closed which makes it more difficult. We caught a break as there was no rain and the peak temperature was 15 degrees cooler. Max temperature today was 75.

The first half of the day, was a lot of climbs and descents. There never seems to be a place for us to sit down so we can air out our feet. Most times we are just sitting in the dirt

At one point, we were walking down a street and at the other end was this huge dog staring at us with no one around. Luckily he did not show any interest in us as we walked by.

The second half of the day took a turn for the worse. Beth got lightheaded, etc and struggled at the end. We finally got to within a mile of our hotel and I had the hotel call a taxi to bring us in. This is not an easy Camino and we are trying to be smart about it and not walk big miles. Today was around a 24 K day. Luckily we planned a day off tomorrow.

Had a good night sleep in private home stay in Azinhaga. Today was a short 17.6 K walk to river town Vila Nova da Barquinha.

First cafe stop was in Golega. More pasteis da nata with a chocolate eclair chaser. A Macy look-a-like was resting on the cobbles nearby.

We met a friendly local who was walking with his son. He said after Tomar it will be hilly and to watch out for snakes. I said if you make noise don’t the snakes just slither away. His son said “sometimes”. Ugh.

We stopped on a bench in front of a closed albergue in Sao Caetano to air out our feet and have an apple. The albergue owner was cleaning up inside and then came out and asked if we needed to use the restroom and opened the door for us. Nice.

We came off the Camino for about a mile to stay at the Riverhouse Hotel since accommodations are not great on these stages. Feeling spoiled but that will change soon.

For lunch we had a great meal at Reiberinho restaurant. We both had a delicious seafood lunch. We had a traditional Portuguese bread soup type of side dish called Acorda. Not bad.

Decided to visit a Templar castle (Almourol) on the river. Originally built in 1200s.

Tomorrow the heat wave ends and it’s supposed to rain. Big day heading to Tomar and our first rest day.

Following the way marks out Santarem was a little difficult so we used the Camino Ninja app to make sure we were not off course.

Later on that day we were on a small road with a lot of cars wizzing close by us and it was several miles before we realized that we were not on the Camino. We eventually picked up the camino but not sure how both of us missed the waymark for that.

We finished the day again where it was over 90 degrees. Normal weather in May for Portugal is around 75. Beth is struggling with blisters on her toes each day.

We made it to Azinhaga and went to the only restaurant in town. It was over 90 degrees…..I’m talking inside the restaurant. The waitress couldn’t speak English and we don’t know Portuguese so she started to Google translate when the customer behind her said something to her in Portuguese. She picks his plate up and shows us….yes, we’ll have two of those please.

As we come out of the restaurant we met this Irish guy who struck up a conversation with us about the Camino. I then realized it was John Brierley who writes the guide books for the Caminos…..so cool. To me it was like meeting one of the Beatles.

Today we did another 20K day. Only one coffee stop at 3K mark then nothing but farmland until we hit the final 2K climb into Santarem.

We met up with Andy (UK/Austria) and walked with him and his 8 pound lighter backpack. Still huge.

I’ve got to work on my selfie face

Starting to get pretty funky. We try to avoid making eye contact with mirrors now.

Interesting night at the albergue last night. 16 of us in the bunk room, 1 camping in the garden and another sleeping on a cot in the kitchen.

Most of these peregrinos will be moving onto 32K walk to Santarem tomorrow so this may be the last time we see them since we are not ready for those big walks yet. Still working through foot issues.

The bunk mates included Craig(Scotland), Andy(UK), Owen & Dan (Ireland & UK), Leon (Germany) , a few French guys walking around in their underwear (come on man put some clothes on!), and then right at the end we got swamped by our remaining bunk mates – a group of Portuguese peregrinos headed to Fatima (the yellow jackets).

We had a goodbye dinner with Craig and Andy. Andy is on his first Camino and has a 45 pound backpack with a tent, stove, multiple changes of clothes…..Insane. He is going to ship stuff home once he gets to Santarem.

We are taking a short 13 K walk today to Valada since the accommodations on this stretch are very limited. Having lunch next to the river. Nice

Staying at Dois Caminho albergue that sleeps 7. Beth and I are in a private room with a bunk bed. They even had a washing machine. Feels like luxury.

Andy (UK) is one of the peregrinos here. He is mailing stuff back to lighten up his backpack.

We went back to the river cafe with Andy and end up meeting some Irish couples that were hysterical. Looking forward to another 20K walk.

The day after that we have to put our “big boy” pants on and do a 25.5 K walk in the heat. Ugh.

Bom Caminho

Leaving VFdX as the sun was coming up was pretty. Its one of the nicest towns around so far.

The walk today was another almost 20K. The weather gets hot fast here. We walked mostly on either side of the railroad. By the time we finished and had lunch the temperature had reached 91 degrees.

Our albergue in Azambuja was right on the street that they will have their “running of the bulls” in a couple weeks. So cool seeing all the preparations they need to make. These 20K walks should not be that hard but the hot weather does a number on your feet. Spirits still high and tomorrow is a short day for us. The rest of the people we met will be going for a longer 33K walk which we are not ready for yet.

Earlier start today and only 19K. We started the day walking with Daniel (Germany) and later Craig (Scotland) caught up to us.

Uneventful walking day. Nice walks along the river. Also walking on the shoulder of the highway for awhile (not so nice). There was a large group (over 75) of pilgrims with support vans headed to Fatima which is on the same Camino as the Camino Portuguese for the first 4 days then they go west.

Once in VFdX we relaxed on a quiet street with a few beers then lunch. We got to try francesinho which is a common dish in Portugal. Pork on toast covered in cheese and topped with a fried egg.

Tomorrow is more of the same but Beth is nursing her first toe blisters right now. Hopefully they will be better by tomorrow.

Didn’t get much sleep last night. Too anxious about starting the walk. We left around 08:00 and then found ourselves still out on the Camino past 15:00. It topped out at 85 degrees today with almost no shade.

The albergue we are staying in sleeps 10. No sheets, no pillow, no blankets…. no problem. Couldn’t walk further today. We met one of our roomates Craig from Scotland/London. Nice guy….. but aren’t all Scottish nice?

There is no Wi-Fi at the albergue so we are at a cafe nearby with spotty service so the blog will be brief today. Also there is a local guy at the cafe talking so loud it feels like my head is splitting open.

Talk to you tomorrow, hopefully better Wi-Fi and less screaming at the cafes…..Follow the yellow arrow.

Took the 12E tram today to the Castle stop. As we walked up the hill just before the castle is a public urinal which is a metal screen where you just pee into a drain. This is wrong on so many levels and no I did not use it…..yet

We walked down a bit to the Miradouro Santa Luzia lookout for some nice views.

Headed further down to the Lisbon Cathedral to get our first stamp on our “Credencial del Peregrino”. We start from here tomorrow. Shouldn’t be too hard, just follow the yellow arrows, right?

We took the 28E tram to Campo Orique to have a meal at the food market. Turns out that Lisbon was playing Porto in football and everyone was hanging out. Cool.

When we got back to the plaza outside the hotel. I asked a guy if we can share the table he was at and we spent the next hour and half talking to Ricardo who is a doctor in Lisbon. Great evening, great conversation. He would like to visit NY someday so Beth shared her Instagram account with him and said he is welcome anytime.

Hope tomorrow goes well. Good night.

We made it to our hotel using the Metro from the airport. Very easy and got to check in early. Grabbed a quick bite as the 1930 28 tram rode by then got a 2 hour nap. So tired.

Went for a walk before heading to our traditional Portuguese dinner at A Provencia. Cobblestone sidewalks everywhere. So cool.

We walked by a Tourist attraction which is an elevator from the 1900s that would take you up 7 stories rather than having to walk up the hill.

Got to try “Green wine”. It’s a thing. More like a spritzer. Nearby, there were 15 guys celebrating a bachelor party in the plaza. The groom was dressed in a full wedding gown and vail. So funny. Regret not taking a picture.

There are many pastries we want to try while here. I tried a coconut bread cake. Not bad. When we got back to our hotel we had 2 Pasteis da Nata (popular custard tart) waiting for us in our room. Damn good.

Dinner at a traditional Portuguese restaurant down a hidden street. Momma cooks, Dad works the bar etc and the daughter is the only waitress. Crazy. The allure is that there is always a line outside waiting to get in.

I got to try the sardines (good) and Beth had bacalhau/ cod fish (not so good…sorry Momma)

The whole place is decorated by homemade clocks that the dad made…..none of which had the correct time but are hysterical to look at.

Good night.