2022 Monday, Sept. 19

Golega to Tomar

Today was a very hard day with long mileage and undulating paths. All was not discouraging, however, as we had unexpected joys.

Golega to Tomar: 2039 mile hike 8:45 am – 8:02 pm; total 21.7 miles for the day. 1084 foot elevation gain.

2022  Portugal    Camino Portuguese

Click to view today’s video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vXOnKB3L556. You can close the page to view the rest of the pictures.

Cloudy skies leaving Golega in the morning. The church is Igresa Matriz di Golega.
stork nests in the transmission towers
While walking on the road, we could see stork nests but no storks. it seems that every chimney and power tower had at least one nest.

We’ve now entered Knights Templar territory. The next stop would be Quinta da Cardiga, a manor house donated to the Knights Templar. Sadly, the grounds have not been maintained.

Quinta da Cardiga, a manor house donated to the Knights Templar
The Camino trail goes through the Quinta da Cardiga.
Lloyd and his wife, Cindy (not pictured) from Denver, Colorado, and Veronica from Houston, Texas, WHC volunteers
As we walked through, we were greeted by Lloyd and his wife, Cindy (not pictured) from Denver, Colorado, and Veronica from Houston, Texas. They were driving through with their Portuguese Knights Templar hosts they met while working as volunteers with the World Central Kitchen in Przemysl, Poland in March 2022. They recognized the Camino shell after seeing markers in Poland from the many Polish pilgrims.
Angelo and Paul from Newcastle, Australia
Shortly afterwards, we met fellow pilgrims Angelo and Paul from Newcastle, Australia.
Igreja Matriz de Atalaia
The Igreja Matriz de Atalaia is a national monument due to its 16th century Renaissance arch. Sadly, it was closed when we passed.

Next the trails passed through woodlands and very few hamlets. It was a hard day with undulating trails.

pathway leading to the suburbs of Tomar

It seemed to take forever to navigate the suburbs of Tomar, traveling along many roads dodging rush hour traffic. It was dark when we finally reached our hotel.

Comments:

Wendy Hendry: Sounded like a hard day. How are you holding up physically? Nice you are meeting more people. 2022/09/23

Reply: We’re doing our best to keep up but some days are harder than others. My most recent blister is healing but still requires time to prepare each morning. 2022/09/23

Ann Prazza: Those storks are brave! So many nests! they prefer power lines because they are tall? The Aussies look fun to hang with! 2022/09/23

Reply: I think the storks look for height to avoid predators because their nests are so big! The towers and chimneys seem to be usual spots. We’ve seen Paul and Angelo and Duncan a few times but have not had extensive conversations —yet! It’s nice to see more pilgrims. 2022/09/23

Wanda Prenna: When something is unmaintained, it adds to the mystery. I like that you are photographing the architecture as well as nature. 2022/09/23

Reply: Thanks, Wanda. I wish we could have seen more than just from the road, but perhaps we would need a personal tour as our new acquaintances may have gotten. 2022/09/23