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“Slowness is also about balance, so if you must hurry, then hurry slowly.” – Geir Berthelsen
It was a beautiful morning so I soaked it in by going just about as slow as this snail I saw about 5 minutes into my walk. Magical.
I woke up thrilled that my foot was in a manageable condition to walk. It’s still a little painful but it’s tolerable. And really, what’s a Camino without a few aches and pains?
I didn’t make it very far along the map but I had a great day! So many things happened but I’ll try to keep this short and sweet…it is the start of the weekend after all.
I walked alone today…by choice. All of my other Caminos I have met people on the first or second day and then I’m with them the entire Camino. I love people but for this one, I wanted to do it a little differently. I wanted to experience what it would be like to be by myself for the majority of the time. Of course, I’ve met other pilgrims but I’m creating a little space for myself and detaching from the need to be in a group. Something I’ve never done before. It’s nice. I’m not sure that it was fear in the past (maybe it was) or just anxiety but when I’ve traveled, I’m always looking for someone to be tethered to…like a safety net. So this is a big challenge for me and I’m excited about it. I want to see how well I can survive on my own.
By 9:30 am I arrived in the town of Golegã, known as the capital of horses. And holy smokes, there were horses everywhere! It was my lucky day as it happened to be the festival of the horses. Every year the horse owners dress in traditional outfits and bring their horses in front of the church for a blessing from the priest. Today was that special day so I spent TWO hours in this town! That’s a long break on the Camino. But I ran into Shirley & Mariette from South Africa here as well. We had breakfast together and watched the celebration.
This is John. He brought his horse from Lisbon. He told me about the history of the festivities and clothing and shared about his love for Portugal and horses. He was a very kind soul. And he must have been someone important…EVERYONE came by to shake his hand or kiss him on the cheek and he was one of the presenters.
Before leaving town to walk some more, I stopped in a tiny cafe to grab an empanada and sparkling water for lunch. The woman working was adorable. She asked me to hang a pink ribbon and to take my photo. She asks every pilgrim to tie a ribbon to the canopy to bring good luck and she gave me a green ribbon to tie to my bag for protection. The empanada was amazing!
When I walked out of Golegã, I had no bed booked for the night, nor did I know how far I would walk. My foot was starting to hurt again so I figured I should take it easy and stop in one of the next towns. I told myself, not to fear, I will find exactly what I need (a bed) because the Camino always provides. So as I was walking to the next town, a car driving towards me stopped. A woman (Rita) rolled down the window and asked if I was a pilgrim going to Santiago. She said she owned an Albergue (hostel) in the next town and had a bed if I would like to stay. She wanted to let me know because she was going to the supermarket and wouldn’t be there to answer the door. She didn’t want me to pass by if I needed a place. 😊 “Perfect timing, I’d love to stay,” I said.
By the time I walked to her place, she pulled up with the groceries for dinner. Duck and rice. It was exactly what I needed.
I’m the only pilgrim staying here tonight which I also find interesting. It’s been so hard to find a bed each day and this place holds four people but there is not another soul around.
The Camino always provides.
Goodnight and much love from Portugal! 🇵🇹
Scenes from Day 8
Azinhaga (a town I walked through) is home of 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature-winning author José Saramago. This is the statue dedicated to him.
If you want to see how pilgrims have to do laundry when there is no washing machine…click the link to check out this video I made this afternoon. Ha!