After planning for our Portuguese Camino walk since 2019 and having to postpone it twice, we officially started our trek to Santiago on Thursday, August 25th. Can't believe we're actually doing this! We took a taxi to the Cathedral this morning since it was our first day of really long walking and we were concerned about how we would hold up. Today's route was supposed to be @ 14.5 miles, but ended up being much longer (more about that later).
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| Six pilgrims setting out on our 450 mile journey |
We started our walk through the industrial section of Lisbon, past railway lines and shipping industries, until we finally came to a lovely path along the river Tejo, which we followed through the Parque das Naçόes, the site of the 1998 World Expo.
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| Parque das Naçόes |
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| The three amigas in front of a statue of Catarina de Bragança, the Portuguese bride of Charles II of England |
Although hot, our route was relatively uneventful until we reached the small town of Granja and realized that the hotel we were staying at that night was almost 4 miles OFF the Camino! Thank goodness Rich was able to use Google maps and get us to our hotel, although it was not always the easiest route. At one point we were scrambling through brush, climbing over downed chain link fences, and scaling a hill that rivaled the Pyrenees in steepness. Hot and bedraggled, we staggered into our hotel at 6:15 pm, after 18 miles and 9.5 hours on the road. So glad this was supposed to be one of our easier days!
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| Kebab lunch spot |
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