Today’s quote comes to you courtesy of this meme.
Day 1 of the Portuguese Camino is complete. It’s amazing how much happens in one day when you’re walking and talking with a bunch of strangers from around the world.
I was awake at 6 am…but not out of bed until 6:20 am…my wagon was dragging from the time change. I met my first Pilgrim of the day…where else, but the bathroom. Gisella from France. She doesn’t speak one word of English and I know about as much French as I do Portuguese…Oui. But we made our friendly introductions nonetheless.
In the lobby, while checking out, I saw her again and so naturally we walked out the door together and onto the Camino path…which wasn’t marked very well due to recent construction. We may have gotten temporarily lost a time or two.
Gisella and I tried our best to communicate but I don’t think Google Translate is programmed with her dialect because I received many blank stares after she read the translations in French. But we were able to communicate enough, mainly through hand gestures, to tell each other how many Caminos we each had walked, this is her second, and to make a joke about riding those little electric scooters instead of walking the Camino.
At 8:30 am Gisella pointed to her watch and through a game of charades told me she needed to eat something. I wasn’t really hungry but I, again through charades, said I’d try to find a place to stop. I was getting the feeling she was looking to me for guidance.
I found a little café/bar/sandwich shop and the man behind the counter was kind, but again, through a series of hand gestures said in Portuguese he only had ham and cheese sandwiches at the moment. We ordered two and some juice.
Gisella walks much slower than me and really struggles with the hills. At this little pit stop, I discovered why. She pulled out some medication and pointed to her heart. Not a fun part of your body to have an issue with but her determination and courage for hiking this Camino is inspiring.
I made sure to stick with Gisella until we were out of the city and on a clear path but it was still difficult to say goodbye. I’ve always had these heartstrings that are easily pulled when someone is in need. I’ve learned the hard way that you (I) can’t rescue or save someone, no matter how hard I try. Deep down, I know that Gisella can do this. She has done one before so she knows what lies ahead. But the double kiss on the cheeks, and the big she gave me was difficult. It’s like they say on the airplane, you have to put your own oxygen mask on first or you’ll both die. I needed to keep going for myself.
I said “Buen Camino!” and waved goodbye. I didn’t look back until I knew I was far enough down the road to not see her again, otherwise it would make it harder for both of us. Funny how a person who you’ve only known for a hour and 45 minutes can have such an impact. Keep Gisella in your thoughts if you feel so inclined. I know she could use the encouragement.
After we parted ways, I walked up behind an Italian man. I knew he was Italian before he even turned around or ever spoke. His shoes gave him away. They were bright blue and said “scarpa.” Scarpa means “shoe” in Italian. Ha!
Folks, meet the ever so flavorful Italian, Roberto! This guy will have you laughing from the get go. I asked him to stand next to this sign of the arrows because we walked for an hour before we saw it…we definitely were not on the Camino route for a while.
Well, when I showed him the photo, he said, “Oh! I look fat! But don’t worry, I’ll look like a model at the end of the Camino.” 😂 I just can’t with this dude. He is so funny.
We walk at the same pace so we ended up walking the rest of the day together. It was so much fun because I had a chance to finally practice my Italian with someone. His English and my Italian are about at the same level so we are learning together and it’s quite comical at times.
A little later in the day we ran into Alfonse (English version: Alfonzo) from Germany. He was a little panicked about where he was going to spend the night. We told him where we were staying but he would need to call to make a reservation since they don’t have an online platform. This caused more panic because his English is also limited (and he knows zero Portuguese). So I offered to make the call on his behalf…which paid off in the long run because he paid for part of my stay! His mama raised him right.
Alfonse is now part of the Day 1 Portuguese Camino Wolfpack.
We’ve met a ton of other lovely people as well. Rita and Simona from Belgium, Paul from Ireland, Kate from Austin, TX, Russ from Louisiana, and plenty of locals who have been so kind and welcoming us to their country.
The funniest moment of the day: Gisella sat down on a low concrete wall near the beach to take a quick rest. I walked over into the weeds to show her the map and I immediately felt something(s) crawling all over my legs and BITING me. I looked down and it was hundreds of ants. I started jumping around and flicking them off but a few literally crawled up my shorts and for the first time ever, I had ants in my pants. Gisella was wearing long pants and was barely phased by the moment. I, on the other hand, looked like a crazy woman dancing around and screaming.
Most thought provoking moment of the day: I watched a guy with a little hammer perfectly arrange these small square stones in the sand to repair the sidewalk. I can’t imagine how tiring that job would be.
Tonight’s hostel is definitely different from last night. I grabbed the right side bed, Alfonse, the left, and poor Roberto who entered the room last was stuck in the middle.He didn’t seem to mind. Plus, we did the washing by hand (no washer or dryer) and it’s still soaking wet on the line due to our late arrival. I hope it dries by morning! 🤞
I met Dustin Hoffman … or the Portuguese version of him anyway. Our hostel owner was pleasantly surprised by the compliment I gave him and said he is a huge fan of Dustin’s…then he gave me a discount. Kidding about the discount part.
HIGHEST OF HIGH PART OF THE DAY: Gisella is staying at our hostel! She grabbed a cab for part of the way and made it! ❤️ Our reunion was full of smiles and a huge hug.
Goodnight and much love from Portugal! 🇵🇹
Scenes from Day 1. Check out the video at the end to see the biggest mistake I made today on the Camino. Lesson learned.
Notice a typo?
I asked Roberto to be a “model” so I could show the comparison between him and this huge Agave plant!
