Walk at Night From Lisbon?

[jimb01930]

We are one week away from starting Camino Portugues in Lisbon (August 22, 2013) . We did Frances last year. I am already eying the weather forecast for Lisbon and it looks like another huge heat wave is about to hit with temperatures over 100 f predicted.

Has anyone walked this route at night? How feasible is it ?

 

[mikevasey]

Hi Jim, my immediate reaction was not a chance but then thought about it and now its a maybe. The 1st day(night) out of Lisbon would start you off going through the Alfama district which is not a bad night time place to start, then you start eventually to go down to the river front and that is straight forward to the Parcoes Nacional after that it might get tricky because you have to head into the Moscavide area and find a way out taking you North West and being able to see the arrows which point off to alpriarte, this section might be easiest which eventually leads to Alventejo. Its the next section which you would start in the next evening that would test your patience there is a lot off National Highway Walking, its bad enough in the day, at night I feel it would be more dangerous. I will pm you and suggest an alternative for the 30km section before Azambuja, which is trail but on private land and with its own potential pitfalls, I started on a alternative route than the one from Lisbon and the Fatima pilgrims I met alerted me of this possible alternative way out of Lisbon. The next day out of Azambuja is straight forward if you are vigilant and have a good torch and know from studying the various maps the twists and turns that will eventually lead you to Santerem, the same goes for the section to Golega. After Golega it gets very tricky, from reading various posts on here and meeting a pilgrim who it happened to it is quite easy to get lost in the day in a large forested area on a section before Tomar, the same goes again for the section after Tomar to Alviazere and from there to Ansiao. Another thing to take into consideration is the complete lack of facilities on some stretches, and the ones that are there are unlikely to be open during the night.

Good Luck

Mike

 

[Camembert]

We walked from Lisbon to Santiago in may 2013 and skipped some parts f.ex from Alverca to Azambuja. We took the train for that distance.
We would not recommend to walk by night. You will miss the arrows and get lost

Anyway bom caminho and good luck to you

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Jim,
I think that you would need to exercise extreme care to find the arrows. There are a couple of eucalyptus forests in that first week and though the Via Lusitana has had several arrow painting sessions in those places recently, if by "walking at night" you mean pitch black night, I think it would be a challenge. (Is a full moon on the way? That would help a bit.) But for me the real disadvantage would be that you'd miss all the beautiful scenery and towns and the chance to interact with the Portuguese people who live in these towns. How about walking from 6-1, before the brunt of the heat hits? What kind of distances are you planning to walk each day? The terrain is almost absolutely flat between Lisbon and Porto, with one hilly part near Rabacal and Coimbra, so there won't be much in the way of real walking challenges.

So if Lisbon is in the 100s, I hate to think of the temps our friends on the Vdlp will be suffering! Bom caminho to you, my hat goes off to all the strong peregrinos who manage to walk in such heat. I would wilt. Laurie

 

[jimb01930]

We are looking at doing between 18 and 20 miles a day for the first week as per the Brierley guide but I do not think that is going to happen even if we get up at 5 AM. Temperatures are predicted to be hot as far as the predictions go out. This will be a challenge.

 

[Camembert]

Looking to the weather radar for Lisbon it stays very warm for the upcoming forthnight
Keep in mind that following the river Tejo in the beginning there will be hardly any shadow.
And as suggested before skip the 2nd day Alverca to Azambuja. There is a regulairy and comfortable trainconnection between the 2 places and avoid walking alongside the busy N1 and horribly industrial estates. do not forget to take a yellow or orange safety vest with you. You will need it also further on,walking alongside busy roads !

If you have time take a brake at Coimbra, Porto and specially Barcelos ,visiting without backpack, the beautiful town of Braga about 15 miles further on by bus. Beatifull church Bom Jesus on a hill with splendid views.

Bom caminho

 

[Diogo92]

I agree with Albertinho. I live near the route that goes from Lisbon to SdC on a place called Castanheira do Ribatejo. After Vila Franca de Xira (which has a good boardwalk connection near the river Tejo), the road will be a heck of a problem (almost only tarmac). I've already done the route untill Vila Nova da Rainha has a training for the Caminho (I've done Alhandra > Vila Nova da Rainha) and it's very complicated to do it with the heat that we are going to have in the next few days. Take the yellow or Orange vest has a precaution.

About night walking, I would not recommend for you to do it, unless you go in a 4 or plus people group.

Best Regards
Diogo