O Supermercado - Day 11

The Supermarket 

Sernadelo - Águeda (16.1 miles) 

Another early start this morning with the Italians in the Albergue! One of them was up at 5 am getting his bags packed and ready. My bed was closest to him. He then sat on his bed and waited until closer to 6 am for the rest of his traveling companions to start packing their bags. They were relatively loud for so early in the morning and even had some lights on. I heard a lot of Italian being spoken as they traded communal items between their packs. There were many bags being zipped or unzipped. I didn't want to get up, but eventually gave up trying to sleep at that point. Others in the room were out the door nearly 20 minutes before the Italians and I left not long after them. I believe 7 am is too early to start walking because it was still dark outside for at least another hour or so.

The path quickly turned off the city streets and onto a forest road. I couldn't see the arrows after that. I tried my headlight, but the batteries were already dead, probably from turning off and on inside my backpack while I walk each day. There are some spare batteries in my backpack, but I tried using my phone light instead. It didn't shine very far and the signs were still obscured by the dark. I tried using Google Maps and saw the route to the next village. I turned left and headed that way hoping to find the trail again where there were streetlights. Fortunately, I was on the right path. I found out later that many of my friends had been lost for a few minutes in the woods this morning. I'm less inclined now to start very early in the mornings. It's getting colder and there is plenty of time to get to the next stop. I walk a bit faster than most, so I can make up any lost time by waiting closer to sun up.

I eventually caught up to Yeji and Xenia. The three of us walked together for a while and then I pulled ahead. Yeji kept close behind and we ended up having a late breakfast at the same café in Anadia. The Italians arrived about the time I was finished. Taking breaks feels easier now than it did before Coimbra. Well, it wasn't the rest that was the problem. It was starting to move again! I started having pain in my right knee and I noticed it was mostly when walking downhill. I don't know how to avoid doing that on this trip, so I'll take it easy and see how it feels over the next few days. There was a kiwi farm near the route and later at the albergue I asked Alana from New Zealand if she had seen the kiwis. She got excited thinking I was talking about other New Zealanders. However, I learned that it is more appropriate, especially when speaking with a New Zealander, to say kiwi fruit to avoid any confusion.

Yeji and I arrived in Águeda shortly after 1 pm. We checked out the downtown district and tried several hostels in the area, but they were either fully booked for the night or far too expensive (£35+) for us. That was disappointing because downtown Águeda seemed like a fun place to be. It was colorful and musical. There were positive murals painted in bright colors on the walls and stairs. Everything, including the benches, were painted. Umbrellas were also the common unifying theme throughout the city. I had seen photographs of one of the main touristy, shopping streets in Águeda and the space above between the buildings had been strung up with colorful umbrellas. This ceiling of umbrellas provided shade and colorful lighting on the popular street during the day. Sadly, that was not the case today as there were no umbrellas hanging up. Maybe it is just a seasonal festival thing, I don't know. It would have been fun to see.

Anyhow, we left the downtown district and took the main road up the hill and almost out of town. There we found the albergue for a much more reasonable price of £15. B from Belgium was already there taking a rest day. Her name is more complex than that, so she tells everyone to just call her by the first letter of her name. Xenia showed up later as I was finishing my laundry and B had made us all spaghetti for lunch. We sat outside that afternoon, eating our spaghetti, drinking water, and fighting off flies. Alana, Ilaria, and the two Italians arrived later, followed by a Frenchman riding a bike. He has ridden the Camino Francés, then turned south and is on his way to Fatima. There were no restaurants nearby, so we walked down to the supermarket and purchased snacks and food for dinner. I found some cheese and crackers along with bananas and an orange to eat tomorrow along the way. For dinner I tried a microwaveable Feijoada Portuguesa and a dinner roll with passion fruit juice. The microwaveable meal had white beans and several questionable types of meat. We decided one piece must have been the stomach of some animal. It was very soft and chewy. I had already tossed the package and felt it might have been best not to know what exactly I was eating. I'm still glad I got the quick meal because the kitchen was busy with everyone trying to cook all at once. We ended up having way more food than we needed and everyone was offering this and that from their bowls or plates.

As dinner was winding down, the Frenchman started a great conversation about why we are all doing the Camino. Going around the table, each person shared a little bit. Many of us here are in a similar situation, transitioning between jobs. While listening to the others share, I was able to do some personal reflection. So far on my journey I have just been along for the experiences; meeting new people, working on my Portuguese, looking for new birds, trying new food, checking out historical places, and of course walking from Lisbon to Santiago. I've neglected to do as much pondering and contemplating my next steps as I had hoped for. I'll try to do more of that while I am walking the next few weeks. I'm glad we had our separate dinners from the supermarket together this evening. It has given me more to think about as I walk the long road.

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