Walking the Camino de Santiago

August 21-

I know my destination
It's a waiting for me
I got no hesitation
That's where I want to be
And by the time that the sun comes up
I'll be drinkin' from a lovin' cup
I know where I'm goin'
Don't you want to come too? - The Judds

The weather forecast today is expected to be 103 at my destination in the city of Azinhaga (pronounced Oz-in-Yaga) with 106 and 107 the next two days, so that meant setting my alarm clock super early and hitting the trail at 5:30 am today. The advantage of an early morning (other than avoiding the heat) is the blessing to see amazing sunrises and the quiet that comes with everyone else being asleep.

Today’s journey took me back down the hillside of Santarem and directly into the heart of the wine region. Most of the day was spent walking a trail that wound through vineyards. What a beautiful site! Reminded me a bit of Napa.

And now for your lesson on grapes: The principal grapes of the this region include Arinto, Castelão Nacional, Fernão Pires, Periquita, Preto Martinho, Rabo de Ovelha, Tinta Amarela, Trincadeira das Pratas, Ugni blanc and Vital. This is the Ribatejo wine region of Portugal. As I had zero time to plan for breakfast today, nor was anything even open when I left, grapes became my breakfast along this trail. And they sure were they delicious!!! Shhhh don’t tell! 😉 🍇

Luckily, the air was still cool this morning with a nice breeze. Today I’m walking approximately 16.5 miles so I definitely need to beat the sun.

As the trail journeyed on, it emptied out into the town of Vale de Figueira. It was around 8:30 am and I hoped I’d find me an open cafe for a morning coffee. The town did not disappoint, and I decided to spend some time eating a nice breakfast with coffee. I needed the nourishment for the journey ahead. The very nice woman running the cafe suggest an omelette, coffee, and ice cold water. This was the perfect combination for me to march onward. Just to inform you, I travel with a 3L pack of water that is fortified with electrolytes always. At its fullest it adds an additional 6 pounds to my pack, but so worth it on these trails. I make sure it’s full every morning before I head out. If it gets low, I fill it along my way. I’m pretty serious about hydration and making sure I don’t overheat.

Once I finished off that awesome breakfast, and given that the trail out of Vale de Figueira was in full sun, this meant spending the rest of my journey today walking and finding shady spots along the way to keep cool. I’d walk a mile, see a tree and take a cool-off rest for 20 minutes and then back on the trail and repeat that process numerous times. It was definitely starting to get very hot as the morning went on, and I couldn’t wait to finally reach Azinhaga today.

Finally I could see Azinhaga in the distance on the trail. This gave me a boost to push on quickly. Upon reaching the edge of town, I came across a beautiful park, right along the river, with a shady patch of lawn with my name on it. In the shade, with the breeze, it felt 20 degrees cooler. So I spent a good 30 minutes enjoying this park before I pushed on into town.

Tonight, I’m the only one who reached the Albergue before it got too hot. So I have the whole place to myself. Time to get some rest as tomorrow is predicted to be 107! That means, up and Adam at 4:30!! By the way, this heat wave is supposed to subside by Saturday. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

My thoughts: It’s hot. So I’ve had to get creative. My Dad once told me if I can’t see a solution to a problem one way, trying looking at it from another perspective. This is what I’ve done here. I could stay put in one town and ride out this heat wave and miss several days on the trail, or I can find a way to push on. I know it’s in the 70’s in Porto, so I need to get there! What’s working for me is walking in the dark in the early morning. I typically walk 6 -7 hours, so I need the bulk of that to be cool. That’s either at night or in the early morning. It also gives me ample time to see the town once I reach my destination. I’ve decided to take a rest day in Tomar. I should reach it in two days. I’ve heard amazing things about the city and it sounds like a good spot for my first rest day. I’m looking forward to it. As usual I’m super appreciative to be on this journey and grateful to be able to share it with whomever has read this far. I definitely know where I’m going…don’t you wanna come too?