Page 4 of Luv2Walk Travel Blog Posts


Europe » Portugal September 10th 2016

Day 12 – September 4, 2016 - Condeixa a Nova, Portugal to Coimbra, Portugal - 12.39 Miles When I looked out my bedroom window this morning, I could hardly see the hotel’s outdoor swimming pool due to all the dense fog. Upon leaving the hotel there was this cute little car parked outside that had a pink crown on the roof along with a red heart tied to the front grill. We wondered if it might belong to a young gal who may have just turned sweet 16 but have no idea. Martha and Gabrielle who are from California and who we met a couple of days prior, joined us as we started walking this morning to Coimbra. As we walked up the asphalt road we passed by a field of squash and a little further ... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 8th 2016

Day 11 – September 3, 2016 - Ansiao, Portugal to Condeixa a Nova, Portugal - 21.72 Miles As this is again going to be another long hot day we are up early and out on the trail before the sun has risen. While we are leaving town walking uphill on an asphalt road, I was able to snap a good picture of the sun coming up. The road takes us past a new sports ground. As we approached Bate Aqua/Alem da Ponte we are greeted by a little white dog who we name the “Town Crier” as he leads us around the town barking all the way to be sure we do not take the wrong turn. The path now proceeds steeply through a forest of pine and eucalyptus trees before coming to an asphalt road ... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 7th 2016

Day 10 – September 2, 2016 - Alvaiazere, Portugal to Ansiao, Portugal - 10.02 Miles As today is going to be another hot day, we decided we would try to be ready to leave the hotel no later than 8 am even though today’s mileage is considerably shorter than previous days. Just a little before 8 am we are on the Camino trail which has us walking once again on an asphalt road with an uphill climb taking us out of town. We walk past several nice homes which at one of them I spotted a gentleman washing his clothes in what I would call an oversized horse watering trough. He spoked very good English and I found out he was originally from England. As we continued on we passed by a lady working very hard ... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 6th 2016

Day 9 – September 1, 2016 - Tomar, Portugal to Alvaiazere, Portugal - 21.5 Miles After picking up the sack breakfast (actually sack lunch) the owner of the hotel had left for us at the reception area we headed out before the sun had risen to locate the trail. Karen who is going to take the bus to Alvaiazere walked with us to the bridge where according to John Brierley’s book we should find the trail. Got a great picture of Karen and Harlan standing on the bridge rechecking the book to be sure we were headed in the right direction. After saying goodbye to Karen we continued across the bridge and made a sharp left turn that took us to an asphalt road that eventually turned into a gravel road which had us walking alongside ... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 5th 2016

Day 8 – August 31, 2016 – Tomar, Portugal - Rest Day – 0.00 Miles Another wonderful morning of sleeping in and not having to put on my hiking boots or backpack. At breakfast we met Tony and Tonya from Washington state along with Tonya’s mother, Dorthea who is 91 years old, still hikes and who had a hip replacement just a little over a year ago. We started the day out by visiting the Synagogue which was very interesting. Next we ventured up the steep hill to the Templar Castle where we once again came across our Japanese friend, Ayako. After viewing a lot of the castle we stopped to have lunch at the little café located in the castle. After lunch I decided to head back to the hotel with big plans to work ... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 5th 2016

As I have had a request to see some of the various arrows we see on the trail that directs us as to which way to go, I have attached a few of them for you to enjoy. There even was one made out of spaghetti!... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 5th 2016

Day 7 - August 30, 2016 – Tomar, Portugal - Rest Day – 0.00 Miles Boy did it feel good to sleep in today. After having a fantastic breakfast at our hotel we made our way to the bus station to catch a bus to Fatima to view the sanctuary that included Our Lady of Fatima, the old basilica, the new religious center and a piece of the Berlin Wall. Upon arrival at the sanctuary we made our way over to the new religious center where we viewed a mass going on which was standing room only. After leaving the new religious center we walked over to an area where we saw people throwing candles into the flames of what appeared to be a furnace. We also saw pilgrims after a special indulgence proceeding on their ... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 5th 2016

Day 6 - August 29, 2016 – Golega, Portugal to Tomar, Portugal – 19.54 Miles My wakeup call this morning was provided by the wonderful sound of roosters crowing. As I opened my door to check on the weather, I was greeted by a very beautiful sunrise. After bidding farewell to the beautiful horses we made our way out the gate and past the outdoor horse arena to the trail for the start of another long hot day of walking. The trail has us headed due east with the sun in our eyes as we wind through the streets of Golega bringing us to an asphalt road where we eventually make a turn onto an old dirt farm road passing by several fields of olive trees and grape vines. It’s not long before we once again ... read more
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Europe » Portugal September 2nd 2016

Day 5 - August 28, 2016 – Santarem, Portugal to Golega, Portugal – 25..01 Miles We left the hotel this morning before the sun was up and even before breakfast, so the night clerk had a sack breakfast (ham/cheese sandwich, apple and yogurt) ready for us to take to eat later on the trail. After leaving the hotel we walked back up the hill and headed towards the train station (Ribeira de Santarem) where we dropped off Karen so she could catch the train to Golega. We leave the train station on an asphalt paving walking to a medieval bridge where we turn right over Rio Alcorce onto a quiet country road. Once we have reached the farmhouse, we make a turn onto a farm track that takes us through crop fields running alongside the road ... read more
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Europe » Portugal August 31st 2016

Day 4 - August 27, 2016 – Azambuja, Portugal to Santarem, Portugal – 23.23 Miles The day started out warm and got a whole lot warmer – 97 degrees. On our way to the railway station we were lucky to see a stork sitting in its nest. Upon reaching the railway station we once again had to cross over the train tracks to join the trail that followed along a tree-lined path to a bridge. After crossing over the bridge, we made a turn onto a farm road that took us through fields of tomatoes and corn. Of course there was no way we could walk by all these tomatoes and not pick one or maybe two which we did and ate immediately. Boy were they delicious. Continuing on the road we eventually passed by a ... read more
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