Blogs from Tomar, Central, Portugal, Europe

Saturday, October 28th, Tomar, 2nd day, Hostel 2300 Thomar, 15 kms. Two weeks ago we got on a plane for Lisbon. I have to say that so far the Portuguese Camino has been an entirely different experience than the Camino Frances last year. There are much fewer fellow pilgrims, much less support along the path (places to eat and stay), less knowledge even of the Camino by the Portuguese people. Today it began to feel more “Camino-ish.” It got hillier (downright steep at times), with more off-road hiking through forests and olive groves and along rivers. We were walking towards our half-way point, and the heat and hills were getting to me. We had 2 alternate routes to choose from ahead of us, and we took the one with the café where we could wait for ... read more

31 August 2016, Wednesday A wonderful day to sleep in. August 31 Wednesday. Exploring Tomar--synagogue and Knights Templar If one is a romantic and grows up, as a child, in a little ranching town in eastern Oregon, you are prone to dreams of far-away, exotic places. Tomar is the answer with its knights and castle. However, hopefully the first picture up will be that of 'Our Lady of Fatima.' I reread the last blog and realized we had not even put in a picture of her! But first we have breakfast and meet a gentleman from Washington state who is traveling with his wife and 91 year old mother-in-law. Pretty soon the mother-in-law comes in, all ready to walk. They had planned to have a walking vacation but, since the Camino is not well marked and ... read more

It's always the case that the camino will re-teach you what you should already know. Sunday's on the Iberian Peninsula are quiet. Very, very quiet. Kel and I left Tomar this morning and walked on quiet roads passing through quiet hamlets. These would have been quiet in the middle of the week, but on Sunday they were positively funereal. We passed the last cafe on the route at 10 and to survive until we arrived at Alvaiazere this afternoon at 3.00 on a bag of crisps, a can of lemon ice tea and some hideous chocolate in bread thing we bought at a service station. Every cafe in town is closed. The only restaurant opening nearby tonight we thought opened at 6.30. It opens at 7.30. We are re-learning patience - and living with hunger. Cheers ... read more

Having had some terrible problems with the free internet on the siteI feel that I didnt do justice to Tolmar so here I intend to let the pictures tell the story .... read more

Yes, this campismo is aberto (open). And this is Gerri back again, taking the blog writing from Lady who seems to think that she's doing all the work on this tour. Not so. In fact, as John Howard once said, "The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine." I do, however, appreciate Lady's being so cooperative as I change gears hundreds of times a day. We began the day climbing (no surprise there) out of Alcobaca in moderate traffic. We spent most of the morning riding through light industrial areas (a lot of brick factories, "ceramicas") and farmland. At a stop in a small town Bill bought a Coke and we munched on our stash of goat cheese, pao (bread), and apples. Many kilometers later we treated ourselves to the ubiquitous ice ... read more