Toward Xira
Today started much the same way as yesterday ended. There I was trying to get back on the Camino from my inconvenient hotel. That involved walking along the N10 again. Luckily there was more sidewalk than road shoulder for the 40 minutes it took to get off the main drag.
The turn to the east took me into a heavily industrialized area with as many buildings vacant and in decay as operational and in good repair. This is the first time that the Buen Camino app let me down and took me to a dead end. That probably added another 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile to my day. Not a big deal. I should have trusted the yellow arrow painted on the concrete of what remained of a building. That took me further east.
To my surprise there were lots of people (not Pilgrims) out walking, running, and riding bikes. The reason became clear as I left some of the blight behind me. There was an entrance to a park and then a very long boardwalk ran through some wetlands. It was a very welcome change from the noise and danger of traffic.
A quick shout out to Fred, who I met on the last Camino, for turning me on to the Merlin bird identification app. It identifies birds based on the sounds they make. The ducks weren't quacking, although they were in abundance. The app did identify a European Stonechat, a Corn Bunting, and a Sardinian Warbler. An abundance of reeds towered over my head and must have reached over 14 feet high. It was a healthy ecosystem punctuated with some really colorful flowers that grew as weeds or on shrubs.
It was a very pleasant and quiet time. Then the boardwalk ended and I was back in the industrial zone. Some places, although lightly traveled, were covered with litter. Here I was again on the roadway facing trucks as they squeezed between parked cars. There were several times I had to step off the road to give them space.
The trail now paralleled a rail line. Several trains passed as I walked along. Some were sleek and some appeared to be commuter trains. As I approached the station I saw aircraft in a parking lot. It was a Portuguese Air Force Base and this was their museum. The aircraft behind me is the Northrop T38. I flew it for three years as an instructor in Mississippi. That might have been the most fun flying I ever did in my career. The other two aircraft were a MIG 21 (I think) and an A6.
It turned out to be a lucky break that I stopped to take a selfie in front of the airplane. It was only then I saw the arrow for the Camino that actually took me through the train station. That allowed me to cross over the tracks and get back on the path. Then I was back on the N10 again. For the next 30 minutes it was on and off sidewalks and onto the shoulder.
I travel the Camino to have time for introspection and reflection. The parabolic mirror, along the way, covered some of the reflection part.
While still walking on the shoulder, I caught up to a fellow pilgrim. Her name is Yeji and she is from Seoul, South Korea. At the age of 20, eight years ago, she decided this was something she just wanted to do. So she quit her job in IT and made the journey to Portugal. We walked along together for a bit and then, happily, made a turn off the highway and everything changed.
In less than a quarter of a mile we were along the river in the town of Alhandra, and it was wonderfully quiet. I offered to buy her a beverage at one of the cafes and we took the opportunity to untie our shoes and cool our heels, literally, for about 30 minutes. There was no rush to get anywhere and the final destination for the day was less than an hour away.
While we rested, another pilgrim from Hungary walked by, and then two women from the Netherlands arrived as we were preparing to get back on the trail. That brings the grand total of pilgrims I've seen in two days up to nine.
Taking the trail out of the café was like walking through a well-maintained park. It was the total opposite of what I'd experienced earlier in the day. There were benches and tables and potable water all available for the traveler. There were flocks of birds filling the skies in huge shifting formations. The only disruption to the quiet was the occasional train passing on the line that once again ran parallel to the Camino.
The first building that came into sight as I approached Xira was the bullfighting arena. Unlike in Spain, the bulls are not killed here, they are simply annoyed. It is more a display of horsemanship than theater of death.
The central square featured a statue acknowledging the history of the bullfights in town. The architecture and layout of the streets, along with the tile design of the sidewalk, gave the city a great, warm feeling. This is what I had come to Portugal to see.
My hotel was also a hostel. My private room was small but adequate and clean. The shower was the size of a phone booth and in order to flush the toilet I had to take the lid off the tank and manipulate the valve. This is not a complaint. It’s simply an observation that entertained me.
The hostel portion occupied the floor below me. The doors were clearly marked with the capacity and what gender was allowed to occupy each of the rooms.
At about 7:30 p.m. I went out to get some dinner. Surprisingly, much of the city was already closed down. I wound up at an Indian restaurant and ordered some takeaway. As the owner packed my bag I asked if he had a plastic fork for me to use. He did not. He explained that he used them all for the festival that had occurred on their holiday yesterday. So he reached into a drawer, pulled out a metal fork, wiped it with his bare hand and offered it to me. I thought it was an interesting way to make sure the utensil was clean. I promised him I would return it on my way out of town in the morning.
The clothes I washed are drying, most of my stuff is already packed, and I actually have some English-language TV to relax with for a bit. There are Portuguese subtitles on the screen, so bit by bit, I am picking up some of the language. At this rate I should be semi-fluent in about 8 to 10 years.