I traveled from the Netherlands to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Lisbon is one of my favorite cities and has some great sights to see. Since I had been to Lisbon previously, I planned to enjoy a day out to Sintra. If you have never journeyed to Lisbon, I would put down on your "don't miss list" the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (tile museum), the Museu de Marioneta (puppet museum) and the Casa de Fado. I still have not seen the Museu Nacional dos Coches (coach museum) as the first time I went there was not sufficient time and this time it was closed, but it is still on my list. Of course any visit to Lisbon would not be complete without a tour of Belem.
I made Lisbon my home for a couple of days, intending to get some starter walks in for the Camino and to see some of the sights I had previously missed. Some of you may be wondering exactly what this Camino thing is. The Camino de Santiago de Compestela (St. James Way) is a bunch of pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compestela in Spain. There are many routes that one can take to the cathedral that houses the remains of St. James. The most famous/popular is the French Route. If any of you have seen The Way, that is along the French Route. If you have not seen the movie, it is worth the price to rent it or watch it on Netflix. The route I will be hiking is the Portuguesa Route and I plan to walk from Lisbon to Santiago in 3 - 4 weeks. People jump on a pilgrimage for as many reasons as there are people on the route. I met one man that had been walking different routes since July, when his 3rd divorce was finalized, another man that walked every year as a type of emotional, physical and spiritual detox, I met two girls who were seeking a closer relationship to God, another lady was walking as a memorial to her sister. Me? I wanted to get a clear picture of what I should be doing for the next part of my year long journey.
My first full day in Lisbon I found my way to the Se Cathedral. This is the starting point for the Camino from Lisbon and I got my first stamp on my Pilgrim's Credentials. This first day of following the yellow spray painted arrows was a bit nerve wracking. I quickly lost the arrows due to construction and made my way towards the tile museum, which was noted as being along the path, when I found them again. I tried to follow the arrows the best I could through Lisbon to the park with the aquarium but lost them somewhere along the way. Since I knew where I was to head, I stopped at the aquarium and enjoyed the sea life and learned more about sea turtles at the special exhibit. From the aquarium I walked along the river walk towards my destination of Sacavem to knock off the first 11km (6 miles) of the Camino. I made it to Sacavem and did not notice that I had passed right by the train station, luckily, a kind old man gave me a ride. Too bad I had to redo those 2km in the next portion of my hike. (As a side note to the markers, I later learned that though the markers may not be very often, they were always marked whenever a turn off from the path you are on was made - had I known this, I might not have been quite as stressed the first day).
Lisbon Photos
I made Lisbon my home for a couple of days, intending to get some starter walks in for the Camino and to see some of the sights I had previously missed. Some of you may be wondering exactly what this Camino thing is. The Camino de Santiago de Compestela (St. James Way) is a bunch of pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compestela in Spain. There are many routes that one can take to the cathedral that houses the remains of St. James. The most famous/popular is the French Route. If any of you have seen The Way, that is along the French Route. If you have not seen the movie, it is worth the price to rent it or watch it on Netflix. The route I will be hiking is the Portuguesa Route and I plan to walk from Lisbon to Santiago in 3 - 4 weeks. People jump on a pilgrimage for as many reasons as there are people on the route. I met one man that had been walking different routes since July, when his 3rd divorce was finalized, another man that walked every year as a type of emotional, physical and spiritual detox, I met two girls who were seeking a closer relationship to God, another lady was walking as a memorial to her sister. Me? I wanted to get a clear picture of what I should be doing for the next part of my year long journey.
My first full day in Lisbon I found my way to the Se Cathedral. This is the starting point for the Camino from Lisbon and I got my first stamp on my Pilgrim's Credentials. This first day of following the yellow spray painted arrows was a bit nerve wracking. I quickly lost the arrows due to construction and made my way towards the tile museum, which was noted as being along the path, when I found them again. I tried to follow the arrows the best I could through Lisbon to the park with the aquarium but lost them somewhere along the way. Since I knew where I was to head, I stopped at the aquarium and enjoyed the sea life and learned more about sea turtles at the special exhibit. From the aquarium I walked along the river walk towards my destination of Sacavem to knock off the first 11km (6 miles) of the Camino. I made it to Sacavem and did not notice that I had passed right by the train station, luckily, a kind old man gave me a ride. Too bad I had to redo those 2km in the next portion of my hike. (As a side note to the markers, I later learned that though the markers may not be very often, they were always marked whenever a turn off from the path you are on was made - had I known this, I might not have been quite as stressed the first day).
Lisbon Photos
My second day in Lisbon, I had planned on going to Sintra; unfortunately, this was the morning that I slipped on the tile sidewalks and broke my wrist. I made my first ever foreign ER visit and though there was some waiting, overall I was pleased with the service. In total time I was in and out within 2 hours, that included waiting, 2 x-rays and my cast. After my ordeal, I was not really up to doing much and made my way back to the hostel where I met a fellow who had walked 2 of the routes of the Camino. He and I spoke for quite a while and he encouraged me to carry on with the hike as I had been a bit discouraged about the markers and the missed station the day before. I vowed to just take it one day at a time and decided that I would head back to Sacavem the next day.
The next morning I took the train to Sacavem and headed to the bridge I knew I had to cross (again) and ran into a fellow pilgrim who was headed to Fatima (blue arrows), which follows the Camino until Santarem. Angel was his name, and he was my angel for a few days. Angel is from Espana (Spain) and knew very little English so we spoke a lot by hand gestures and drawings. This is the man that has been walking since his divorce in July. I am not sure if it is because I am a woman or because I had a cast on my arm, but Angel (and others later on) seemed to feel that he should look after me and we walked together. Since he is a "veteran" to the way of life on the Camino, it was comforting to watch how he found our lodgings for the night and it was nice to have a pal to have dinner with. This first full day was a 27km (16 miles) day to Vila Franca de Xira, my feet hurt and I was exhausted.
The second full day of the hike was mainly on road surfaces and was a 20km (12 miles) day to Azambuja. I had left before Angel, knowing he would catch up to me, which he did, and we walked the remainder of the day together. The last 3km of today's hike was extremely difficult as my feet were still sore from the previous day and I found myself doubtful that I could keep up the pace I would need to for the next sections. Azambuja was a very homey little town. It was a Saturday night and there was live music in the park, which many families came to enjoy. It was a wonderful evening of dancing and laughing in which the locals made me feel a part of their community.
The next morning I took the train to Sacavem and headed to the bridge I knew I had to cross (again) and ran into a fellow pilgrim who was headed to Fatima (blue arrows), which follows the Camino until Santarem. Angel was his name, and he was my angel for a few days. Angel is from Espana (Spain) and knew very little English so we spoke a lot by hand gestures and drawings. This is the man that has been walking since his divorce in July. I am not sure if it is because I am a woman or because I had a cast on my arm, but Angel (and others later on) seemed to feel that he should look after me and we walked together. Since he is a "veteran" to the way of life on the Camino, it was comforting to watch how he found our lodgings for the night and it was nice to have a pal to have dinner with. This first full day was a 27km (16 miles) day to Vila Franca de Xira, my feet hurt and I was exhausted.
The second full day of the hike was mainly on road surfaces and was a 20km (12 miles) day to Azambuja. I had left before Angel, knowing he would catch up to me, which he did, and we walked the remainder of the day together. The last 3km of today's hike was extremely difficult as my feet were still sore from the previous day and I found myself doubtful that I could keep up the pace I would need to for the next sections. Azambuja was a very homey little town. It was a Saturday night and there was live music in the park, which many families came to enjoy. It was a wonderful evening of dancing and laughing in which the locals made me feel a part of their community.
The next morning I got an early start as it was my first 30km+ (18+ miles) day. On my way out of town I saw Angel eating breakfast in a cafe, thinking I would see him later as he passed me, I waved to him through the window and headed out. The morning walk was beautiful, the fog was rising through the hills and a lot of the walk was on old Roman roads along the river. Today was the first day of rain - luckily it was only for a short while (1.5 hours) and I realized that I was not totally prepared for the rain and my cast - I would have to think of another strategy later on. Not realizing it was Sunday, I thought I would be able to find a cafe for lunch in the small towns I would pass through today - I thought wrong. I was glad I had some nuts, dried fruit, and cereal bars, but if I had known, I would have planned a bit better. I met a girl from the Netherlands today as well - she and I leapfrogged for most of the afternoon. In a way it was good that we were doing this as the afternoon turned into a very hot, long, afternoon and we each had our little "breakdowns" on the path and we encouraged each other to make it to our final destination of Santarem. Neither of us thought we would ever make it through the grape and corn fields - we both even ran out of water. We were miserable and the last 4km of the 32km (19 miles) for the day was all uphill. Once I made it to town, it took me another hour or so to find the pension I was planning on staying for the night. My entire body hurt and I was unsure if I could do another day like this as it was physically and mentally demanding. I decided I would wait until the morning to make any decisions. I also never saw Angel today and this is the town in which our paths will split. I hope he finds what he needs to complete his journey.
So far on my Camino I have not had as much reflection time to clear the cobwebs as I had hoped. There were a few times in the past three days that I did get into a meditative state of mind, I just hope it becomes more regular as it makes the miles go by quicker and my mind clearer. I did get to reflect a bit on my life fulfillment meter and I wondered if there is a different career path I could take that would intrigue and stimulate me on a more constant basis. If so, what would that be? And why don't I just know what it is? Shouldn't everyone know what they want to be when they grow up? I wonder why have I never been able to pin-point that in my life. More cobweb clearing will be needed.
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