I must be nuts

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Trip start
August 24, 2023
I must be nuts Traveler
Getting there
August 23, 2023 in Isle of Man ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Well it’s been a long time getting here.. Boats, trains, planes and lots of delays, but here I am crazily attempting my second Camino, this time from Lisbon… I eventually arrived at my accommodation at 10.15 pm, having left the IOM at 3pm yesterday!!
It’s 29 degrees at the moment, so tomorrow may prove rather challenging as it’s supposed to be 34 degrees!!! And I have 43 km’s to walk with what now seems like a very heavy pack on my back!!!! …Read more
TravelerHave an amazing time Cal. I’m sure you will love it as much as ur last walk. Looking forward to all your photos 😘
8/24/23Reply
TravelerYou’ve got this. Looking forward to hearing about your walk and seeing your daily posts.
8/25/23Reply
Good girl , Cal - looking forward to hearing your adventures [Sue]
8/25/23Reply
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I must be nuts Traveler
Day one….
August 25, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Well!!!! Today certainly lived up to expectations in being ridiculously hard… l’m not actually sure how long I was going, but it was over 7 hours.. my watch ran out of power at 43 km so the distance was more than I anticipated… I had a late start as I had to check in at the Cathedral Se to get my pilgrim passport stamped to start.
It’s fair to say I’ve never ever sweated so much or had so many blisters, my feet are a mess, but on the plus side my rucksack didn’t rub me!! It’s the small things…
Today’s walk wasn’t particularly scenic, an awful lot of cobbles and very rutted tracks ( hopefully the cause of the blisters ) the main problem today was the heat, it was 34 degrees and there was absolutely no shade at all… moaning over!!
I had a fabulous breakfast in Lisbon before setting off. The signage out of Lisbon was pretty poor to say the least, but did actually improve further on. I only saw 2 other people that were on the Camino, unbelievable when I probably saw close to 100 on my first day last year… this one is definitely the route less travelled!!
I think I drank 5 litres of water today and still struggled to produce a tiny wee when I’d reached my accommodation 😳
Due to today’s distance and the fact I was feeling pretty rubbish at 30 km I stopped for some food and had the most amazing apple and spinach ice lolly!!
All went pretty ok u til near the end when I went a bit wrong, all sorted but another kilometre added on…
My accommodation is nice and I found somewhere nice to eat, though I didn’t really feel like eating.. though I did still manage a 🍺!!
Anyway, I’m absolutely shattered and off to bed.. dreaming that tomorrow will be kinder…Read more
TravelerYou’ve got this Cal. First few days before you get into the zone will be hard but before long you’ll be doing 45 k’s before snack time.
8/26/23Reply
TravelerI hanging on to your faith in me Trace
8/26/23Reply
TravelerI have 110% faith in you!
8/26/23Reply
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I must be nuts Traveler
Day Two
August 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
Having done my whole walk in the sun yesterday I decided to start earlier today in the hopes of getting a bit done before it got too hot. Also due to the condition of my feet I anticipated it would take me longer than it should.
It wasn’t very scenic at all really, a great deal was along the rail line and had to cross over it four times!!! No mean fest when You’re scared of heights and edge’s!
Due to the earlier start nowhere was open for breakfast, so I decided to hopefully find somewhere an hour or two in.
I was obviously more aware of the conditions underfoot today.. cobbles, gravel and rutted dirt tracks… mmmm..
I reached Azambuja in good time, popped into a pharmacy for some plasters and then went for some lunch and a beer to investigate the state of my feet.. they had been pretty sore, so I wasn’t holding out too much hope… three more blisters, two pretty large and one average, plus my big toenail turning black!! Not sure what’s going on as I’ve never really had blisters before and don’t know how or why I am now.. the only thing out of the ordinary is my rather heavy rucksack. Maybe it’s making me walk differently,
Hobbled to my accommodation and have pretty much stayed put as it was too uncomfortable to bother going out in search of food..
Apologies for too much blister info.. I’m off to bed now in the hope that something miraculous happens overnight…Read more
TravelerI hope you’ve had an overnight miracle for your feet. The sardines, salad and potatoes look amazing.
8/27/23Reply
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I must be nuts Traveler
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Day Three
August 27, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 24 °C
Well it looks as though my little adventure is going to have to adapt and become a different adventure that involves the bus and the train 😳
Getting up this morning I had to accept that there wasn’t a chance of being able to get my trainers on, let alone walk the intended 33km’s..
My two biggest blisters were so sore I couldn’t put weight on my heels .. I realise that to any Parish walker i must sound like a right wuss !
Well off to the train station I hobbled and a train it was to Santarem .. I did walk, sort of in my flip flops the 40 odd minutes to my accommodation.. actually quite an achievement 🙄.. on the way I passed ( only because he stopped for water ) a guy who was also doing the journey, only he wasn’t walking it all, he was combining it with the bus and train… long story short, I met up with him again outside the hotel as he was staying at the same place. As it was too early to check in, he asked ( he speaks Portuguese ) if we could leave our bags there and suggested going for something to eat/drink .. only it turned out he didn’t drink and we had alcohol free beer 😂 I also needed something to eat as I hadn’t eaten since lunchtime the day before as my desire to eat was way lower than my desire not to walk anywhere last night.
Anyway.. he seriously didn’t stop talking for 2 hours!!! I was exhausted and desperate to be in my room.. he suggested having a coffee /food later and it seemed rude to say no, so I agreed ( he was a considerably older retired gentleman I might add ) well we duly met and basically had a hobble, in my case, round the town resulting in no coffee or food. He was very useful in the pharmacy though with his Portugués.. even though it turned out the assistant’s English was pretty good. After getting another assistant to look ( I kept apologising for how they looked 😳) she thought one of my blisters was infected.. possibly the goo that was at the time surrounding it!!!
She gave me something to put on it and some more plaster’s.. I’m going leave them overnight and once again hope for a miracle!!! I’m imagining it’s probably going to end up being a bus day….
Off to bed now hoping all will be good tomorrow.. 🙄Read more
TravelerWhat a shame Cal. I know u must b gutted but know how painful blisters r. Was it the shoes or the terrain? Alcohol free beer 😳
8/28/23Reply
You are adaptable Cal , and on any journey however long or short, decisions have to be made sometimes werhen things go wrong. Hang in there xxxxx [Sue]
8/28/23Reply
TravelerA different adventure. Perhaps try to ditch Mr Verbal Diarrhoea
8/28/23Reply
TravelerHe knocked on my door for breakfast this morning.. another hour and a half of exhaustion.. I then couldn’t believe it when I met him again 2 hours later at the train station!!! I’m seriously jinxed on this trip, my flights will probably be cancelled now too 😳
8/28/23Reply
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Trip end
September 16, 2023

Getting there

Day one….

Day Two

Day Three