Trens Passando - Day 3

Passing Trains

Vila Franca de Xira - Azambuja (14.2 miles)

I ended up exploring Vila Franca de Xira more last night. I left the hostel and walked down to one of the busier one way streets and saw crowds of people all moving in the same direction. Curiosity prompted me to follow and see what was happening and I am glad that I did. Just a few blocks away was the bullfighting arena! It was already closed because the events had happened earlier in the week, however there was still a festival going on around back which was drawing the crowds I had followed. It was like going to the county fair. There were rides for the kids, carnival games, food trucks, and artisanal shops. Most of the hand-crafted items were boat, bull, or christian themed. I wandered around the booths for a while, then purchased a ham and cheese sandwich before going back to my room and getting ready for bed.

The hostel dormitory room had two bunk beds. I was the first one there that afternoon, so I picked the top bunk nearest the air-conditioning unit because it was very warm. However, the three girls also staying in the room kept themselves bundled up in blankets or sleeping bags all night with the window open and no air-conditioning. I had already met the girl from South Korea on the first night. She has a degree in nano-physics. Then there was Audry from Hungary who worked as an ambulance paramedic. The last girl was Deana, who I met right before bed. She is from Park City, Utah. Very surprising! 

In the morning, I went back to the bullfighting arena to get some pictures in the daylight. The rest of the walk today was not very exciting. The route was mostly on quiet side streets, busy highways, or a dirt road following the train tracks. I saw a lot of passing trains today and thought about my friends from Philadelphia going up to Porto. I guess they don't leave Lisbon until Saturday. Along the way, there was a thermoelectric plant, a water treatment plant, and the side door was open to what appeared to be a boxed wine packaging facility.

I was able to identify some new birds during today's stage. I'm sure some of you reading this might be interested in the species I observe, so I'll provide a complete list soon. There were also some new faces on the trail today. I met Mark from Florida, who is also making a blog about his trip. We walked together for the entire second half of the day. There are two Dutch women and a Swedish guy, whose names escape me, but I had met them on the first night in Alpriate. There were also 5 Italians traveling together who speak almost no English. They didn't understand me saying United States or Estados Unidos, but understood American and got even more excited to hear I was from Utah. They seemed to know exactly where that place was.

Then there was Senhora Céu and Carlos at the albergue in Azambuja. Even though the albergue didn't open until 3 pm, Senhora Maria de Céu opened the albergue at 1 pm to let me drop off my pack and go to lunch (tuna sandwich) and see the town without having to carry it around. She was a very sweet lady who was really impressed by my Portuguese. Carlos was the volunteer working the albergue this evening and I had a wonderful conversation with him about Portuguese military history and genealogy. He joined the Portuguese air force to fulfill the national requirement and started on until his early retirement. Carlos now spends his days volunteering at the albergue, collecting quarters from the USA, spending time with his family, and working on family history. He has done a lot of his family history and was interested in why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has so many of the genealogical archives. Our whole conversation lasted about an hour and was entirely in Portuguese. Not only was Carlos impressed, but I was impressed with myself for carrying on a conversation that long including diverse topics. I left Carlos to go have dinner with Mark from Florida, the Dutch women, the Swede, and Audry from Hungary. Tomorrow is supposed to be a long day, so I will be up and starting early.

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