Happy Trails
Since my hotel was located at the top of the hill, all I had to do this morning was follow a road down and it would take me back to the center of the city, and then back onto the Camino. I saw some parts of the city that otherwise I would have missed. All I had to do was cross over to the river and follow the Camino out of town. It was a perfect plan until somebody decided to put a railroad between me and the river. It wasn't a big deal. I doubled back and within 10 minutes I crossed the rail line and was headed north out of town.
It wasn't long before the riverside trail ended and I was back on surface streets. There were plastic barriers constructed to separate the pedestrian lane from traffic. There were several sections where those barriers had been knocked down by said traffic. This was probably the least busy portion of road I walked during the day. Of the 14 miles that I traveled today, only about two to three were on trails.
The day was not so much about scenery as it was about people. Occasionally as I walk I look back over my shoulder to see if there is anyone in sight. Like a scene out of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," I saw someone trailing me and slowly catching up. Every time I looked back he was a little bit closer. It probably took the better part of an hour before he finally pulled up alongside.
I tried to step into his pace and we walked along together for 30 minutes or so. His name is Dagfinn and he is an oncologist from Norway. His average day was 50 km. (about 31 miles). He was traveling light and fast, and actually began the Camino the day after completing the Lisbon Marathon in a little over four hours.
We stopped for a break and he bought me coffee. This was his first Camino and he plans to start his next one from Paris. Dagfinn was great to spend time with and our conversation covered several topics. Then he took off and was on his way toward his goal for the day. At that point I was just a little less than halfway to my destination.
I learned my lesson the other day about checking the location of my hotel before walking too far down the Camino. That paid off today as my hotel was located off the trail and before the listed destination city. Sara, the woman working at the hotel, told me it was a frequent complaint that people reached Mealhada and then discovered they needed to backtrack.
Sara was great. She spoke excellent English, having spent some of her youth in Canada. She helped me order a pizza for dinner so I did not have to go back to the same restaurant where I had eaten lunch. Sara also taught me an important lesson about dining in Portugal. When they bring out appetizers that you haven't ordered, you only get charged for them if you eat them. The olives, bread, and assortment of meat and cheese, was all added to my bill unexpectedly. It was still manageable and all of it was delicious. Apparently, if you don't partake of any of those items, they simply return them to the kitchen and serve them to the next customer.
The only remaining challenge before heading to sleep tonight is trying to figure out the best place to put my wet clothes. The humidity in the area is approximately 95 percent, and there's no hair dryer at this hotel. I have jury-rigged a line in front of the air conditioner. Hopefully the flow of air will dry them out overnight. If not, I will once again be the walking clothesline tomorrow.