2022 Friday, Sept. 16

Azambuja to Santarem

Today is a long hike so we left town early. We also knew that the route was isolated with no services for roughly the first 8 miles and last 10 miles of day. It was a 20.76 mile hike and 21.7 miles for the day—no extra walking beyond the required!

2022  Portugal, Camino Portuguese

Click here for the video of the day: https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vjkQDXzYO. Click out of the window to return to other pictures.

Mantas and Renata from Lithuania
New friends Mantas and Renata were at our first stop. They are from Lithuania and didn’t get an overnight bed last night so they ended up walking all night!
trail out of Azambuja painted red for bikers and green for walkers
Leaving Azambuja we had a stretch of new walkways divided with red for bikes and green for walkers. The crawfish were thick—sometimes wanting to follow us and sometimes in a defensive position.
crawfish on the trail
The path changed but we still found crayfish.
elevated pathway next to farm fields
As we got closer to Rio Teju, it is evident that flooding is a constant danger. Dikes protect the towns and usually made for easy walking. In Valada, there was a marker for the 1979 flood level where the dike was almost breached.
more dikes -- this one is cobblestones
tomatoes -- near the end of the harvest
Tomatoes were the crop to be found today.
Santarem hotel swimming pool from the bar balcony

As we made it to the hotel at dusk and had our celebratory beer while overlooking the valley and hotel swimming pool, we couldn’t help thinking of our new Camino friends and wishing them good services, safe passage, and Bom Caminho.

Comments: 

Wanda Penner: Fields of tomatos-how exciting to see field that is natural, not in a hothouse. You certainly got your view of fine food to plate your dinner meal. Yes, steps do seem daunting after 20 miles. Was this the longest day? 2022/09/18

Reply: We have about 4 days of 20+ miles. We broke up one long day by walking part on our “rest” day but it still felt quite draining. Today is listed as 19.9 miles but the weather will hopefully be cooler.
Tomatoes looked good but the red peppers look fantastic! More pictures coming in the next postings. 2022/09/19

Ann Prazza: Oh my, what’s with the crawfish?? Are they pilgrims too? You both look so adventurous and strong! The veggies are making me hungry. 2022/09/19

Reply: We had about two days when we were alongside the Rio Tejo, and that’s when we saw the crawfish. I don’t know if they came out because of rain or if that was normal, but they certainly seemed to show personality.