“And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, and your eyes sparkling.” – Internet Meme
Today was an absolutely beautiful walk through nature…but with a ton of very steep, butt-kicker hills.
But first, breakfast. I ate breakfast with Marky Mark (the two Marks – Australia and Wales) at the hostel with the cool wax stamp. Two other Pilgrims from Portugal joined us. It was basic but perfect to get us started for the day.
I let Wales Mark know that he is internet famous (he doesn’t have social media). I had a follower recognize him from the photo of us in the taxi! The reader said he and his wife met Mark last September on the Camino Frances. I showed Mark a photo of the man and his wife, and in fact, he did know them. Ha! Small world. The Camino is a pretty special bunch of people. ❤️
We all left at the same time but my foot was feeling good and I had a ton of energy so I took off a little faster than the guys. It was great. The weather was a perfect temperature for hiking, the path took a bunch of twists and turns through forests and fields full of wildflowers. It was stunning. Probably my favorite of hiking so far. Take a look.
Portugal had some terrible wildfires in 2022 destroying quite a bit of land. Very sad but the new plant growth is gorgeous. Mother Nature is amazing.
Today’s hills were really a bugger. Wales Mark and I climbed this huge hill (see photo) and thought we were at our final destination once we hit the town at the top. Sadly, we had FOUR more kilometers (2.4 miles) to go. Just when you think you’ve arrived, you haven’t. Frustration and defeat set in quickly and the final stage became a challenge of mental toughness. But….
We made it! 🥾
Tonight we are in a fantastic Albergue, O Lagareiro, in Alvorge. This place has a beautiful dormitory for 10 guests, with clean showers and a restaurant onsite. Victor, the owner, showed me a photo of the original building that was pretty much collapsed and looked in disrepair but he brought it back to life. ❤️
Here is a photo montage of what it’s like to make your bed on the Camino. 1. Pick a bunk. The mattresses are in a blue-like plastic to prevent bed bugs. 2. They give you a little plastic bag with a mattress & pillowcase cover for sanitation. They feel like giant hairnets. 3. I use my sleep sheet but they do offer blankets. It’s warm enough this time of year that I only need the sheet and not a sleeping bag.
Finally, I’ve been getting a lot of questions, specifically from women, about safety on the Camino as a solo female hiker. Here are my thoughts. Men can benefit from some of these tips as well.
Goodnight and much love from Portugal! 🇵🇹
Scenes from Day 12
I woke somebody up from a nap!
I don’t think Google Translate translated the menu correctly on our waitress’ phone.
The mystery meat turned out to be pork.
Today’s traffic mirror selfie comes from my Norte Camino buddy Graham, from England, who is currently hiking the Primativo in Spain. Yes, we are all Camino addicts.
