O Caminho Montanhoso - Day 7

The Hilly Path

Tomar - Alvaiázere (20.3 miles) 

I failed to mention that I found Ilaria from Spain last night after returning from dinner with Christian and Christina. I went upstairs to fill my water bottle and she was in the kitchen having dinner. I was so glad to see her again and know that she is continuing one her journey. She couldn't stay at the Albergue on the very first night and had to take a bus somewhere else. I hadn't seen her since that day. Adrie from Hungary was also arriving in Tomar late in the evening when I got back from dinner. She had walked 44 kilometers (27.3 miles) that day and was exhausted!

I left the hostel after a quick breakfast in the morning. The route out of town was poorly marked and I had to find alternative roads. There was also a fog hanging over the city that made it hard to see the signs. That also explained why my clothes I had washed and hung out to dry on the balcony the day before were still damp.

Once out of town, I walked alongside the Nabão River for a ways. There was an old stone bridge to cross over the river. Overall, this day seemed very hilly and sections were supposed to be on old roman roads. Although, I don't know which sections they were.

I found myself leap frogging with Yeji from South Korea and Xenia from Germany for part of the day. I saw Mark from Florida in passing at one point. I was leaving a bench after taking my lunch break as he was stopping to find one. There were not a lot of cafés along the trail to stop and refuel with food, but I had brought in extra bread/roll from breakfast to eat for lunch. Earlier in the morning, I had encountered a nice lady taking a bowl of fruit over to her neighbors house. After I said hello, she stopped and offered me some grapes. I sat in the shade beside her house and ate them while she visited with her neighbor. The grapes were a wonderful treat and I didn't mind spitting out the seeds too much.

Later in the afternoon, I encountered about 8 guys in green safety vests almost running down the road. I had to pick up my pace to keep up with them. They were getting close to their support vans carrying all of their stuff and were looking forward to lunch at a restaurant when they arrived. This explained their very quick pace. As we walked briskly together, they all chimed in excitedly with questions about how I know Portuguese and if I like the Utah Jazz or not. Before long, I realized that I had missed a turn and could no longer see the yellow arrows. These guys were heading to Fatima, which is a local and rather recent caminho trip to a religious place here in Portugal. From what I understand, there were some reported modern day miracles taking place in Fatima during the last hundred or so years. It is now an annual tradition for people to make a pilgrimage there. I have even seen news reports about it on the TV while sitting in the cafés during my breaks. Anyway, I was so wrapped up in the conversation and bustle that I lost my route. When we arrived at their support vans and the restaurant, I looked at my maps and reoriented myself. It was a short walk along a busy highway to get back to my route. I hadn't strayed too far. As I was approaching Alvaiázere, I looked back and found Yeji and Mattias coming up behind me. Mattias had left the hostel before me and I didn't recall passing him. Turns out, he had a quick phone call job interview that he took a little ways off the trail and among the trees. He had watched me pass by, but I hadn't noticed him. This was the second time that has happened. I walked with Mattias the rest of the way into town until he turned to find his pre-booked hostel and I continued on to find the albergue.

The albergue in Alvaiázere is run by Carlos Pinheiro. Upon arrival, he offers his guests a box and tells them to pick a small key. He then proceeded to position that key, a small silver shell, and a ribbon on our Credencial. Using melted wax, he fixes these objects in place and then adds his personal wax stamp verifying we came through his hostel on our journey. Each stamp is unique with different objects and blending of wax colors. Next he adds drops of wax around the edge of the pages saying this is our footsteps from Lisbon to Santiago. All of this is performed with his personal trumpeting sound effects. Later, he created an extra personalized postcard wax creation for me, saying it was my lucky day!

I had been thinking about having dinner by myself tonight and went next door to the chicken place Carlos had recommended. It was almost like a cafeteria. You grab a tray, pick a drink, and select the food you want as you move down the line. The workers then go in the back and make a plate for you and bring it out to your table. I ordered grilled chicken, migas, and rice. Migas is a traditional Portuguese dish with a mix of cooked spinach, beans, and bread crumbs like in Thanksgiving stuffing. I ended up sitting with Xenia from Germany, who was also there alone. We had a nice conversation over dinner and shared a Pepsi Maxx before heading back to the hostel. I had a room to myself, which was very nice! I left the window open and could hear the church bell ring every 15 minutes until about 10 pm. It was also the first night that I was actually cold and needed a blanket.

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