LIVE from the Camino Caminho do Mar Lisbon-Fátima — May 2023

[jungleboy]

Day 1 — Lisbon to Cascais: ~26km

To celebrate our newly-minted citizen status, today @Wendy Werneth and I embarked on a Portuguese rite of passage by starting our pilgrimage to Fátima.

The route we chose, the Caminho do Mar, officially starts in Estoril but we decided to add an extra day by walking straight out of our front door in Lisbon this morning. The walk took us through the city’s western-most historical neighbourhoods, past the monuments of Belém, along the river until it becomes an ocean, through all the Estorils (symbolically waving to @estorildon as we walked by), and even a little further to Cascais.

The stage was completely flat but almost all of it took place on hard surfaces (either asphalt or calçada portuguesa), so it was tough and slow going at times and felt longer than 26km. Other than that, it was pleasant and scenic walking, mostly by the water, past several forts and a lot of cool sea-themed street art in the underpass tunnels. We had done this stage before as a training walk, but that was 2.5 years ago so it was nice to rediscover it today as the beginning of a longer journey into the heart of Portugal.

With our first day done and dusted, we’re exhausted but content. Uphill to Sintra tomorrow!

Some practicalities:

• It’s a shadeless walk in the heat but there are water fountains at most of the many public beaches, so it’s easy to fill up. We must have drunk 4-5 litres of water today!
• Signage for both Fátima and Santiago begins at Estoril.

Some photos:

1. Walking out our front door to begin a camino for the 2nd time after our 2020 CP.



2. The most colourful of today’s many forts was Forte de São João de Maias, near Paço de Arcos.



3. Street art at the end of the tunnel.



4. The church of St. Anthony in Estoril, where we received our first stamp.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

You bewdy! ...another @jungleboy journey to delight in through your wonderful writing (& photos) Nick.
Congratulations to both you & Wendy on obtaining citizenship.
Happy trails.

 

[Denniswalkcamino]

Looks amazing. Where can I get some info about Camino do Mar please? Thanks.

 

[Former member 104756]

Bom Caminho Nick and Wendy always a delight to read your updates and see your fab photos

Aah … Sintra

 

[Kirkie]

I echo the congratulations on achieving citizenship. No idea how long the journey has been, but now it can all be calmly filed, and ultreia!
Looking forward to your reports.

 

[K_Lynn]

Looks amazing. Where can I get some info about Camino do Mar please? Thanks.

https://www.outdooractive.com/en/list/caminho-do-mar/244428429/ and https://www.alltrails.com/trail/portugal/lisboa--6/caminho-do-mar-estoril-fatima lists proposed stages and routes.

 

[K_Lynn]

@jungleboy
Congratulations on your citizenship!

I'm debating whether to go to Fatima or not, when I walk in the autumn so I'll be following your posts for information. The colour of Forte de São João de Maias is seriously tempting me, it looks delicious!

 

[jungleboy]

Thank you all for your support!

Looks amazing. Where can I get some info about Camino do Mar please? Thanks.

There is not much info around but maybe @K_Lynn’s links will help and hopefully we can provide some info here.

 

[jungleboy]

Day 2 — Cascais to Sintra: ~29km

Only one word seems appropriate to describe today’s stage on the Caminho do Mar: epic!

We started by walking through the old town of Cascais just after sunrise and finished 29km later gazing at the palaces of Sintra in the late afternoon. In between, we saw the mouth of hell, spent two hours alongside beautiful and rugged coastline, walked on boardwalks through sand dunes, survived a midday downpour that came out of nowhere and disappeared as quickly as it arrived, steadily climbed through pine forests, and finally reached the foggiest town in Portugal (Sintra) that somehow didn’t have a cloud in the sky.

It took us 11 hours door-to-door as we’re still searching for our camino legs, and by the end we were completely wrecked. But what a day!

Some practicalities:

• There were not nearly as many water fountains today as yesterday. There is one just before the boardwalk at Praia do Guincho, which is a good place to fill up.
• The interpretation centre at the Quinta do Pisão (about 17km in) is a good place to use the bathroom, fill up water, buy a drink or use the picnic tables for lunch.
• There are restaurants at Praia do Guincho 10km from Cascais but you’ll arrive too early for lunch, and there are no other restaurants until Sintra, so it’s best to pack your own.

Some photos:

1. The Fort of São Jorge de Oitavos with waves crashing into the nearby cliffs.



2. Waves breaking near Praia do Guincho.



3. The 8th-9th century Castle of the Moors in Sintra.

 

[Wendy Werneth]

Looks amazing. Where can I get some info about Camino do Mar please? Thanks.

We will be podcasting about it on the Spirit of the Camino podcast, and I imagine Nick will also post an article or two on the Spirit of the Camino website, but in the meantime there is a Brazilian pilgrim who has written daily route descriptions in Portuguese of the Caminho do Mar, along with many other routes. You can find his blog at this link. Navigation of his site can be a bit tricky on a mobile phone, or maybe I'm just technologically challenged. In any case, navigate to the blog posts for each day via the hamburger in the top left corner.

 

[jungleboy]

Day 3 — Sintra to Mafra: ~25km

The ‘mar’ part of this adventure is already over; the ‘caminho’ part marches on (or limps on, as the case may be!).

For our third day on the Caminho do Mar, we walked 25km from Sintra to Mafra today — a palace-to-palace walk with the Pena Palace in Sintra or the National Palace in Mafra visible for much of the stage. We had walked most of the first two stages of this camino previously but today was uncharted territory for us.

The first half of the stage didn’t offer much except views back to Sintra; otherwise, the landscape was unremarkable and there was (again) quite a bit of asphalt to negotiate, with nothing like the epic sea-to-summit sweep of yesterday’s stage. But two surprising highlights in the middle of the day made it a worthwhile stage in the end.

The first was the excellent archeological museum in São Miguel de Odrinhas, containing Roman funerary monuments, Visigothic lintels, medieval necropolis finds and more. The presentation and lighting of the pieces on display was exceptional, even more so for a rural museum.

The second highlight was seeing four dilapidated but picturesque windmills after Odrinhas. The trail past the windmills — the rhythmically-sounding Caminho dos Moinhos — was the nicest actual path of this camino so far, a single-file dirt track with sweeping views of the countryside and, in the distance, the towers of Mafra.

Our snail’s pace camino continued today and it was late afternoon by the time we arrived in Mafra. I am walking with new shoes which might be a bit small, so that is affecting me and giving me blisters, while Wendy walks with plantar fasciitis which, while better than it used to be, still gives her problems when there is a lot of walking on hard surfaces. Tomorrow is the longest day of this camino (30-31km) so hopefully our sore feet are up to the challenge!

Some practicalities:

• It was about 50/50 asphalt/dirt today, but despite having the least asphalt of our three days so far, it still felt like a bit too much.
• There were not many opportunities for water today. The first and only fountain I remember seeing was at Odrinhas, about halfway through the stage.
• Waymarking signage was perhaps not as good today as yesterday, as lot of the arrows were very faded and hardly visible. But we have tracks from Wikiloc and overall the waymarking is pretty good for a relatively unknown camino.

Some photos:

1. Roman altars at the archeological museum in Odrinhas.



2. One of the windmills on the Caminho dos Moinhos.



3. The 18th-century National Palace in Mafra.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Nick, I always love your writing style and colorful photos. I wish I had your flair and gifting as I continue my adventure on the Norte.
Best wishes for healthy feet for you and Wendy as you continue!

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Day 3 — Sintra to Mafra: ~25km

What great photos and journalism! And I sympathize about the foot problems. My life is all about addressing plantar fascitis and I’m amazed Wendy can walk with a backpack.

Was this the route we talked about when I saw you in Lisbon? I seem to remember us talking about more beach walking. A different route that’s more coastal and staying in surfer huts?

 

[jungleboy]

What great photos and journalism!

Thank you!

Was this the route we talked about when I saw you in Lisbon? I seem to remember us talking about more beach walking. A different route that’s more coastal and staying in surfer huts?

That was the Rota Vicentina, further south in the Alentejo/Algarve — not a camino exactly but a beautiful walk nonetheless!

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for the info on that museum. It looks very interesting. I did a little googling and decided it was something to add to the list. But I bet it’s hard to get to from Lisbon if one isn’t walking and doesn’t have a car!

Congrats to you and Wendy on your perseverance jumping through bureaucratic hurdles! You’ve got the golden ticket now!

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Thanks for the info on that museum. It looks very interesting. I did a little googling and decided it was something to add to the list. But I bet it’s hard to get to from Lisbon if one isn’t walking and doesn’t have a car!

I looked up the museum as well, because it sounded so interesting. It looks as if you can take the train out to Sintra and then catch a Sintra-area bus to the town, Odrinhas--not such a big expedition!

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Sintra/Odrinhas#r/Line-1633-bus/s/0

Looking at the local 1633 schedule, it looks as if the bus stops right outside the museum.

Horários

Consulte os horários atualizados da sua linha e descubra quais são as paragens e percursos servidos, assim como informações úteis para a sua viagem.

www.carrismetropolitana.pt

Thanks to Rome2Rio, as always.

 

[edandjoan]

Looking at the local 1633 schedule, it looks as if the bus stops right outside the museum.



Thanks to Rome2Rio, as always.

We were in Sintra a couple of weeks ago and the local bus info on line is uncertain. Our hotel receptionist said it is a new company in Sintra (we saw the same line in Lisbon). We got the bus to where we wanted to be...but they definitely did not come as scheduled. We waited over an hour one day...went to catch the 9am, didn't come, waited for the 9:30--didn't come and finally the 10 came. Another day wasn't as bad..just be prepared until they figure it out. I felt so badly for the locals, the frustration they showed. As for us, it was inconvenient, but we didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time.

 

[jungleboy]

Day 4 — Mafra to Torres Vedras: ~25km

Thanks to some timely shortcuts, what was supposed to be our longest day on the Caminho do Mar today turned into our equal-shortest so far at 25km, and we were grateful not to have to walk the extra 5km.

It was a mostly rural stage, highlighted by vineyards so picturesque that Wendy declared them the second prettiest ones we’ve seen on any camino after those in the Douro Valley (Torres/CPI). We walked alongside and above them for long stretches and enjoyed great views.

Our end-of-stage town, Torres Vedras, is nicer than we had remembered from our one previous trip here for its famous Carnaval. There’s a castle and a historic centre to go along with the more modern parts of town, and it has everything we need — including, most importantly, chocolate.

Some practicalities:

• It was another day with quite a lot of asphalt but leaving earlier in cooler weather (about 12 degrees Celsius at 6:30am) seemed to be good for our feet.
• Early on we had to skirt a walled-off military zone and walking on the road with no shoulder and several blind turns was a bit dicey.
• The biggest shortcut we took was near the end of the stage at Turcifal, where the arrows and tracks turn to the east before eventually swinging back north. We took a much more direct northern path through Serra de Villa, following some of the paths shown on Maps.me.

Some photos:

1. A lovely path in the early morning light that we could unfortunately only admire from a distance, as it was part of the military zone and inaccessible.



2. Some of the vineyards that dominated today’s landscape.



3. Street art in Torres Vedras.

 

[jungleboy]

Thanks for the info on that museum. It looks very interesting.

I don’t want to oversell it but it really was a little gem for a place we’d never heard of before.

Congrats to you and Wendy on your perseverance jumping through bureaucratic hurdles! You’ve got the golden ticket now!

Thank you, it’s very exciting!

 

[Tassie Kaz]

....and it has everything we need — including, most importantly, chocolate.

@jungleboy & @Wendy Werneth, great to see your priorities are in order!

Nick, wonderful pics (& words) as always; your photo of the path out of reach is beautiful...very atmospheric with light that would have Monet scrambling for his paint brushes!

 

[jungleboy]

Day 5 — Torres Vedras to Granja MG farmhouse: ~21km

Not every day on camino can be amazing, and today was one of those nondescript stages without much to recommend it.

But on days like this with no big highlights, you can appreciate other things, and there were two of those in particular today:

1. We eliminated much of the road walking and shortened the stage by taking alternative dirt paths instead of blindly following the arrows (a topic to expand upon another day).

2. The foot pain I’ve been experiencing lessened noticeably after I switched socks at lunch. I should have thought of that two days ago!

When we looked at the standard stages for this camino during planning, there were too many 30km+ days for our liking. So instead of going all the way to Bombarral today, we walked 21km and are staying at a lovely farmhouse in a tiny village. The cherry on top (which reminds me, it’s almost cherry season here!) is that our stages are lined up so that tomorrow we can stay in Óbidos!

Some practicalities:

• The arrows from Abrunheira to Outeiro da Cabeça follow a roundabout way on a paved road. There are much more direct paths on dirt trails through the eucalyptus plantations, so we took those instead.
• There aren’t many places to stay before Bombarral to shorten the stage but Granja MG is a great option run by a lovely (and talkative) Portuguese/Venezuelan couple.

A photo — there weren’t many to take today but here are some nice cows, one munching and the other licking!

 

[jungleboy]

Day 6 — Granja MG to Óbidos: ~19km

After our first four long and tiring days and yesterday’s constant shortcut-hunting, our sixth day on the Caminho do Mar today was our easiest and most relaxing stage so far.

The distance was short and the path consisted mostly of dirt trails, taking us past vineyards, orchards and wildflowers. Best of all, we knew that a fabulous destination awaited us at the end of the stage: the walled medieval town of Óbidos.

We had been to Óbidos several times since first visiting it in 2015, but it was still with great excitement this morning that we caught our first glimpse of the fortifications in the distance and began to approach the castle-town. We arrived by lunchtime and, after eating and resting, we explored the town and its ramparts and drank some obligatory ginjinha (a sour cherry liqueur famous in Óbidos) from chocolate cups.

Revitalised and with no more long stages left, we are now on the home stretch of this camino with Fátima just four days away!

Some practicalities:

• The church of São Pedro in Óbidos is the place to get a stamp.
• Some stage guides don’t include an overnight stay in Óbidos but I think it’s well worth it. If you just pass through in the middle of the day the place will be thronging with tourists, but staying overnight allows you to enjoy Óbidos at quieter times.

Some photos:

1. The medieval walls of Óbidos:



2. The Sanctuary of the Lord of the Stone, a church outside Óbidos, next to where we’re staying.



3. Candles in the church of São Pedro in Óbidos:

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Some stage guides don’t include an overnight stay in Óbidos but I think it’s well worth it. If you just pass through in the middle of the day the place will be thronging with tourists, but staying overnight allows you to enjoy Óbidos at quieter times.

That's a great idea, Nick! Obidos, mid-day, can be incredibly full and touristy with daytrips galore from Lisbon, but it is a lovely spot. Staying there overnight on this caminho sounds like a good move.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Interesting write-up and as always, lovely photos, Nick. I love walking ramparts!

 

[Camembert]

I love your pictures. Are you a professional photographer?
and love your reports about this special caminho
well done . Keep on going

 

[jungleboy]

I love your pictures. Are you a professional photographer?

Thank you! But no, I’m just an amateur.

 

[jungleboy]

Interesting write-up and as always, lovely photos, Nick. I love walking ramparts!

Thank you! And re: ramparts, me too. But the Óbidos ones are not for the faint-hearted as there are no railings on the non-crenellation side.

 

[jungleboy]

Day 7 — Óbidos to Casal do Pardo: ~22km

Our seventh day on the Caminho do Mar today was fairly uneventful. We walked 22km on roads and trails that didn’t offer many new landscape features, and we had to detour off the camino for quite a while towards the end of the stage to reach our (lovely) accommodation.

The highlight of the day was walking through Caldas da Rainha, a town I hadn’t been to before, in the early morning. After stocking up at Lidl, we ate breakfast in the excellent municipal park and admired different pieces of street art as we wandered through the centre of town.

If there wasn’t much to today’s stage, the next three should be more interesting — for the end-of-stage destinations if nothing else!

Some practicalities:

• There are supermarkets galore on this camino; we have been to three different Lidls in the last three days, so stocking up is no problem.
• We have noticed that most village churches are open when we pass them, a nice change from some Spanish caminos. Sometimes you can get stamps at these churches but not always.

Some photos:

1. Colourful boats on the pond at the park in Caldas da Rainha.



2. Jewellery-adorned peacocks on the shutter of a shop in Caldas da Rainha.



3. A portion of a fantastic piece of artwork reminiscent of Soviet realism mosaics outside the fire station in Caldas da Rainha, depicting firefighters battling a blaze.

 

[jungleboy]

Day 8 — Casal do Pardo to Alcobaça: 19km

If the Camino de Santiago is about the journey more than the destination, then the Caminho de Fátima might be the opposite.

Today was a microcosm of that idea, as the journey — mostly on asphalt and under overcast and drizzly skies — was not particularly noteworthy. But the stage was short and we walked in anticipation at reaching our destination of Alcobaça, our first visit here in eight years.

Alcobaça is dominated by its spectacular 12th-century Cistercian monastery, whose white marble makes it reminiscent of Tolkien’s Minas Tirith. We enjoyed exploring it for the second time this afternoon, and after the bad weather in the morning, the sun even came out!

Some practicalities:

• Maps.me is usually quite good at distinguishing between roads and paths but not so today, as trails we thought would be dirt were asphalt instead.
• As with Óbidos, some typical stage lists skip Alcobaça as an overnight destination but I recommend staying here to be able to rest up after arriving before visiting the monastery at a more leisurely pace.

Some photos:

1. The façade of the church at the Alcobaça monastery.



2. Part of the famous Gothic tomb of King Pedro 1 inside the church.



3. The 13th-century ‘Cloister of Silence’.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

Day 8 — Casal do Pardo to Alcobaça: 19km

3. The 13th-century ‘Cloister of Silence’.

View attachment 146660

Wonderful as always Nick but today you threw me! This pic of the Cloister looks like a model ...it was only on closer inspection of the plants I realised it is actually 'real' & life-size. Not sure how you pulled that off but very effective!
Happy trails

 

[jungleboy]

Not sure how you pulled that off but very effective!

Thank you, I have no idea either!

 

[Camembert]

Thank you! But no, I’m just an amateur.

You have a good eye for photography
I love the compositions and the choices of your objects

 

[jungleboy]

Day 9 — Alcobaça to Porto de Mós: ~20km

Our ninth stage on the Caminho do Mar was my favourite day on the trail since day four. It was windy but sunny, and we walked on dirt paths more often than usual on this camino. We walked past olive trees, orchards and the occasional small vineyard, a greener and more picturesque landscape than in recent days.

The one major destination mid-stage was Aljubarrota, a famous name in Portugal owing to a battle that took place nearby in 1385, one that gave birth to a new Portuguese royal dynasty, which in turn led directly to the Age of Discovery. The main remembrance from that era in the town today surrounds the story of a woman baker who burned seven Castilians in her bread oven; there is a statue of her and azulejo artwork commemorating her act.

After Aljubarrota, we merged with the Caminho de Nazaré, a 50km Caminho de Fátima that is newly waymarked and is one of the five official Caminhos de Fátima. The signage is much better than what we have followed from Estoril, and this improvement also served to remind us — literally, with kilometre markings — how close we are to Fátima: which is to say, one day’s walk away.

Some practicalities:

• After the two caminos merge, they fork briefly before Pedreiras and then again for a longer period after Pedreiras. We took the ‘new’ (Nazaré) route after Pedreiras because it goes through Porto de Mós, where we’re staying, and the ‘old’ (Mar) route does not.
• We’re staying at Quinta Rio de Alcaide about 20 minutes’ walk south of Mós. It’s a beautiful property but a bit isolated (although there’s a supermarket seven minutes’ walk away).

Some photos:

1. The trail early this morning.



2. Wendy among olive trees on the trail.



3. Our fancy new signs.

 

[jungleboy]

Day 10 — Porto de Mós to Fátima: ~20km

Our last day on the Caminho do Mar today was one of the best.

It was sunny and less windy than it has been over the last few days, and we finally walked through the kind of countryside we’ve been dreaming about: rugged, wild, peaceful and mountainous — all of which came as a pleasant surprise.

With this beautiful landscape as a backdrop, almost no asphalt walking, and Fátima looming, it was probably our most enjoyable day of this camino.

We thought we might see other pilgrims as we approached Fátima, but we didn’t, and today was the furthest from civilisation we’ve been all camino — until we reached our destination in the early afternoon, when we suddenly found ourselves among thousands of pilgrims at the holiest shrine in Portugal two days before its biggest day of the year.

As for the continuation of that story and thoughts on Fátima, that’ll have to wait until tomorrow!

Some practicalities:

• The signs and tracks for the Caminho Nazaré were out of sync several times today. We followed the tracks but not the signs for the most beautiful part of the day after Livramento, so that worked out OK!
• Apart from a bit early on out of Mós and the last 2km or so into Fátima, most of the stage unfolded on dirt paths today, a nice change from the CdM norm!

Some photos:

1. Moon and mountains early this morning.



2. A white donkey among all the greenery.



3. An adventurous detour away from the tracks led us to this cross in the mountains.

 

[jungleboy]

We arrived in Fátima yesterday after walking for 10 days and about 230km from our home in Lisbon. We didn’t see a single pilgrim along the way on the Caminho do Mar, but there are thousands of pilgrims in Fàtima for tomorrow’s anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to the three shepherd children in 1917.

I had been to Fátima twice before and felt that I didn’t really understand it (which is a polite way of saying I shared @peregrina2000 ’s view). On this camino I wasn’t even thinking about it much as our end goal: with my Camino de Santiago mindset, I was focusing more on the journey than the destination.

But Fátima turned out to be a fascinating and meaningful place to end our camino, which has been a pleasant surprise. It has a completely different atmosphere from Santiago — more devout and solemn — and we can feel the palpable energy of the place ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary as pilgrims pour in from all corners of Portugal and beyond (we have seen groups from Brazil, Croatia, Korea and elsewhere). We have tried to find our place in it all — burning a candle for a Catholic friend who requested it, walking the Via Crucis this morning — while learning more about how and why Fátima forms part of the Portuguese soul.

As for the purpose of this pilgrimage, then, which was as an ‘initiation ritual’ to being new Portuguese citizens, I think it’s safe to say we passed.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

Glad for your safe arrival in Fatima @jungleboy & @Wendy Werneth. It's been lovely to accompany you along the way...& I'm not even tired nor had any feet issues! .
Nick, your astute observations, & the ability to write about them, coupled with stunning photos (can't get over the blue of the sky) is a real treat for your readers & helpful to those who may tread the same path.
Particularly enjoyed your 'epiphany' re Fatima...perhaps sometimes it's the journey & the destination.
Consider your brand new citizenship papers duly sello-ed...or carimbo-ed!?!

 

[dougfitz]

@jungleboy, thanks for sharing this trip. I have enjoyed following along vicariously.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Particularly enjoyed your 'epiphany' re Fatima...perhaps sometimes it's the journey & the destination.

Well said, Kaz!

@jungleboy, thanks for sharing this trip. I have enjoyed following along vicariously.

Me, too, Doug. I think vicariously traveling by armchair can be very entertaining.

We arrived in Fátima yesterday after walking for 10 days and about 230km from our home in Lisbon.

Nick, it is always a pleasure to read your daily writings while you are on Camino, and this one was no exception.
I have been to Fatima as a tourist and the cathedral there is certainly different from all others I normally see in Europe. Although it was quite busy, I can honestly say I am glad it was not in the thousands.
What was the most touching for me was seeing a few of the faithful pilgrims walking on their knees as they waited their turn in line for prayer for healing in their bodies. It reminded me of Jost in "The Way" when he arrived at the cathedral in Santiago; I confess to shedding a few tears.

 

[Kirkie]

We arrived in Fátima yesterday after walking for 10 days and about 230km from our home in Lisbon. We didn’t see a single pilgrim along the way on the Caminho do Mar, but there are thousands of pilgrims in Fàtima for tomorrow’s anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to the three shepherd children in 1917.

I had been to Fátima twice before and felt that I didn’t really understand it (which is a polite way of saying I shared @peregrina2000 ’s view). On this camino I wasn’t even thinking about it much as our end goal: with my Camino de Santiago mindset, I was focusing more on the journey than the destination.

But Fátima turned out to be a fascinating and meaningful place to end our camino, which has been a pleasant surprise. It has a completely different atmosphere from Santiago — more devout and solemn — and we can feel the palpable energy of the place ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary as pilgrims pour in from all corners of Portugal and beyond (we have seen groups from Brazil, Croatia, Korea and elsewhere). We have tried to find our place in it all — burning a candle for a Catholic friend who requested it, walking the Via Crucis this morning — while learning more about how and why Fátima forms part of the Portuguese soul.

As for the purpose of this pilgrimage, then, which was as an ‘initiation ritual’ to being new Portuguese citizens, I think it’s safe to say we passed.

View attachment 146868

I missed some days.
I see you arrived.
I think you did!
Whatever the arrival has given you both, may it nourish you and impel you onwards in your life's camino. Should be plural, really, but you understand, I am sure.
Thanks, I will read what I missed, as I appreciate your posts immensely.

 

[jungleboy]

Thanks Chris and Kirkie! It’s only been a week but Fátima and its Christian piety already seem like a long time ago, as we spent a couple of days this week in Mértola for the Islamic Festival, a reminder of our fabulous Caminho Nascente two years ago.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Hi Nick, I will look forward to whatever your next Camino experience will be, and I need to finish the podcast "Spirit of the Camino" in the mean time.
i arrive back in Santiago tomorrow and have enjoyed walking from Muxia in perfect Galician weather; a near miracle from most of what I hear.

 

[jungleboy]

I arrive back in Santiago tomorrow and have enjoyed walking from Muxia in perfect Galician weather; a near miracle from most of what I hear.

Lucky you and I hope the weather will still be perfect in Galicia three weeks from now!

Thanks again for all your kind words and well done on completing another camino!