“I’ve decided to live my life under the assumption that every day is like an episode of MacGyver, where all my problems can be solve by some absurd, creative amalgamation of the resources available to me at any given moment.” – Internet Meme
Today went much better and faster than yesterday. Only 8 miles instead of 24. And it felt so good to have an easier and more enjoyable day.
The weather was better yesterday but a little rain never hurt anyone. Here’s a comparison of how the day started, then to mid-morning rain, and into the afternoon when the sun came out. I love a good solid nap on the Camino. Rest is best.
Once we arrived in Villa França de Xira, I needed to buy a sewing needle ASAP to relieve the blisters growing on the bottom of my right foot. I forgot to bring a little sewing kit with me and I was only able to open one of them with the nail clippers.
We looked around the village and noticed a store that resembled a hardware store (my home away from home – for those of you who don’t know, I grew up in a family who owned one and I worked in it when I was younger) so I figured if they didn’t have something, they would point me in the right direction.
That’s when Antonio walked into my world. This guy is super happy and ready to help the next customer solve their problem. Bonus he spoke English really well so he immediately knew what I was looking for. Sadly, he didn’t have any needles in the shop but he did have fishing lures and some little tool that they use to clean the fireplace. Not my country so I have know idea how that device works in the home but we decided it would be the best tool for my foot. He also sold me a lighter to use as a sanitizer…I’m not going to carry around a bottle of vodka as nice as that sounds…it’s just too darn heavy. So, fire it is.
I felt very MacGyver-ish using it. Ha! Sadly, I’m not as good as MacGyver and MacGyvering things and it didn’t work very well so I still need to find a needle and thread to drain the blisters.
After I bought the mystery tool, Roberto (AKA: Bob) and I sat in a street cafe and had drinks and a sandwich while we waited for our hostel to open. Yes, praise the Lordy, we arrived so early, the hostel wasn’t even open and we had some downtime!
After check-in, showers, laundry, etc. we walked around the town because Antonio and another local patron told us that tonight, they let the locals play with the bulls before the upcoming bullfights. “Um, excuse me? What did you say?” was my response. I had to see this with my own two eyes. And yes, we discovered that a bunch of inexperienced wanna-be Matadors get in the ring (not the professional arena) with some bulls and then try to avoid getting killed. It was wild!
Disclaimer: I’ve previously written about the running of the bulls that I was randomly in Pamplona for on my first Camino and visiting the arena last year. I’m not a fan of fighting, period, animals or people and the running of the bulls makes me sad for the bulls…but it is part of the culture over here so in an effort to understand, I watch and ask a lot of questions.
Next, Roberto and I walked over to the arena to take a look inside. It reminded me of the one in Pamplona but just a little smaller. Kids were running around pretending to be Matadors with imaginary capes…it was pretty cute. One really adorable kid had all the moves down, even how to jump on the wall as an escape from an angry bull…his shirt said, “Really…it wasn’t me.” Ha!
After working at so many arenas and stadiums, I found the simplicity of their Box Office quite refreshing.
We walked around the festival and grabbed a beer while practicing our English and Italian language. It’s fun to learn about someone from an entirely different culture…while using Google Translate, ha!
With permission: Roberto is 64, he has been married for 36 years. His wife is not a hiker and has no interest in the Camino but she supports his adventure (he has also hiked part of the Francigena Camino in Italy) and he calls her every evening. It is sweet. He has two sons. Matteo is 32, living in Melbourne, Australia with his girlfriend while getting his PHD in chemistry. Matteo FaceTimed while I was with Roberto, so I got to meet him over the phone. Nice guy. And his other son, Fabio is 30, and a teacher of mechanics. They sound like a lovely family and he is very proud of them.
Later we grabbed a traditional Portuguese dinner. Roberto had squid and I had a fish I had never heard of (maybe there was a translation error) but it was delicious! I’m sure someone reading this can identify it.
Goodnight and much love from Portugal! 🇵🇹
Scenes from Day 2.
