A Captain’s Camino

After a few days relaxing at home (i.e., not much walking), I miss it! Not the different communal room and shower every day, or the lack of privacy – being completely comfortable is a blessing I can certainly live with! But the daily physical challenge, the beautiful sites, the sunrises, the periodic solitude, the “getting to someplace” goal — all of those things I’ll miss.

I have been blessed with a life of so many incredible experiences. And a supportive wife and family that joined in my wanderlust, or when too extreme (like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane), they cheered me on from a distance. Who knows what the next adventure will be? But I do know that there will be another, and another, and one after that. Part of the elixir of my life, I guess.

So here is a final thought to close out this incredible adventure: Travel if you can, when you can, and dream endlessly.

Forty-six days after departure, I’m happily home and looking forward to my first really comfortable (and guaranteed bed-bug free) bed in the past 6 1/2 weeks!

Extra thought: Organized people are simply too lazy to search for stuff.

A second day of sightseeing in beautiful Portugal. Wonderful weather and tons of tourists at every turn. Seemed a bit unexpected to have so many tourists, but it is a big city and tourism is probably year round like other large cities.

I got some excellent touring advice from a staff member at the hostel where I’m staying (quaintly named the “Inn Possible Lisbon Hostel”). After acquiring my day pass, I jumped onto an electric trolley (as has been the case, I actually squished on) for a 20 minute ride to the Belem neighborhood of Lisbon.

Along the way we passed under a smaller sister of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I think this on was designed by the same architect, but is about a kilometer shorter.

Another stop along the way was at the LX Factory, a collection of old factory buildings converted into rustic shops, restaurants, bars, and spas. I had the best fish tacos ever at an eclectic Mexican restaurant, along with the obligatory beer, chips, and salsa.

So here are more pictures from today.

Extra thought: I’ll be back in the U.S. in less than 24 hours!

Lisbon is pretty amazing. This morning it was kind of like being dropped into Union Station in New York for a first visit, with no map, not speaking English, etc! Fortunately, I’ve been through that drill so many times, and long before Google Translate was around! So once I got my bearings, it was off to the metro.

So I’ve been on crowded subway trains before…but nothing like Lisbon at mid-morning! Holy squished! It was actually pretty comfortable since you needn’t hold on – you could not fall over since we were wedged in so tightly. And pickpockets were not a problem since everyone was absolutely pinned in place! Hard to lift a wallet when you can’t move your arms…

I’m staying in a small hostal in a four-person room. Clean, comfortable, and cheap. A lot of the rooms were $150 a night and up in the area so I’m happy to be paying $20 a night.

Lisbon is undoubtedly the hilliest city on this planet. Wow! I think I’ll take a riding tour tomorrow rather than walking endlessly uphill and down. Interesting place and nice weather, but I’ve done enough walking and hills for awhile.

The city also has an incredible number of restaurants and bars per block – so many that the restaurants have staff in the streets and sidewalks hawking their menus (lots of picture menu, like Chinese restaurants). And yes, they invariably pick the correct language for most of the folks walking by.

Here are some of the scenes from today:

A few flowers from today:

Extra thought: Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice.

I arrived in Fatima on an auspicious day! It was the “Memorial Mariano no Carrilhao do Santuario,” (Mary Memorial in the Sanctuary Carillon) a three hour service outside with thousands of people attending from around the world!

The event celebrated the 102nd anniversary of the sixth apparition of Our Lady in Fatima. More about the apparitions online at:

https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/sixth-apparition-of-our-lady.asp

Although it was a Catholic service, anyone who attended would have felt the power and emotion of the day. The scene was incredible with the literal sea of people in the open air setting. Most of the servicemen’s in Portogeuse or Latin, but a few sections were in English.

The pictures cannot possibly portray the power of the day, but here are a few scenes and videos.

Following the service, I visited the shrine cathedral and the basilica.

Extra thought: Peace and grace unto you.

In the pouring rain, I made it to the station in time for the last seat on the 8:00 am express bus to Fatima. Now a short two hour ride (have I said that riding is better than walking?).

And I found a beautiful hotel right next to the bus station (go figure!). That makes my transition tomorrow to catch the Lisbon bus very easy.

Since it was just after 10 am, the room was not ready, but the staff kept my backpack as I headed out to the Fatima shrine on what turned out to be an amazing day.

Much more on the next post…

Extra thought: Miracles do occur!

Ever wondered whether a smartphone was good enough for vacation pictures? Well, all the photos on my trip were taken with my iPhone 8.

A few were cropped for size before posting, but I did almost no other editing at all. So, overall I think my iPhone was enough and I certainly don’t regret traveling without a regular camera.

Extra thought: Somebody said today that I’m lazy. I nearly answered him.

Here are a couple truisms regarding my journey to Portugal:

— They have not learned the fine art of queuing in Spain! Don’t try to get on a bus. Just sayin’!

— Bus ridin’ is a lot easier than walking!

Anyway, it was a relaxing 4 hour ride to Porto. I found a hotel quickly and jumped on a “red” open-top tourist bus to see the city since the weather was very pleasant.

At one point along the route, there were several restaurants grilling fresh fish outside along the river. Not sure exactly what I ate, but I think dorado, and it was delicious.

Just across from the restaurant as I was waiting to catch the bus again, a man asked me if the “Fluvanna” on my shirt was from “Fluvanna County, Virginia?” There were a retired couple from Midlothian (an hour east) on vacation and happened to be at the same tourist bus stop in Porto, Portugal!! Small world.

Anyway, Porto is a big and beautiful city as I had heard. A lot of amazing sights, beautiful architecture, and what looks to be a vibrant night scene.

Dinner tonight was an in-room thing after a quick trip to the market. Cheeses, meats, bread, fruit, and a $2.00 bottle of nice red wine! All for less than $15!

Heading to Fatima tomorrow morning, and then on to Lisbon on Sunday or Monday.

Extra thought: Glass coffins. Will they be popular? Remains to be seen…

I returned to Santiago this afternoon by bus and will stay here for the night. I am heading to Porto, a reportedly beautiful city along the Portuguese coast on Saturday morning. I’ll spend a couple days there before I travel to Lisbon, Portugal, on Monday.

I’ll also sightsee for a couple days in Lisbon before I fly home on Wednesday, October 16th, after 46 days goofing off in Europe!

More updates along the way!

Extra thought: Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but it gets boring so I go back to being myself.

Beautifully warm and calm morning with some cloud cover, but no daylight when I headed out on my last hike. The birds were singing, the ocean was roaring whenever I was within a half mile, and as the sun began to rise, some spectacular views of the Spanish coastline.

The trail was nearly deserted the whole way – only about a dozen pilgrims in 5 hours of walking to Muxia. But there were many heading from Muxia down to Finistere. And the small seaside town of Muxia is really pretty. It sits out in a rocky peninsula jutting out into the ocean.

So here are some of today’s sights and scenes…

Extra thought: Absolutely no alcohol beyond this point…so start chugging now.

More later…

Thirty kilometers until my final hiking stop. Then busses, trains, planes, and sightsee walking only!

Extra thought: They say you learn from your mistakes. That’s why I’m making as many as possible. Soon I’ll be a genius.

What a great day! Perfect weather, enjoyable companions to walk alongside, and a final 30 kilometers to the “End of the World!”

Started with a quick breakfast at our delightful bar/restaurant from last night, followed by a 5-6 hour hike through incredible scenery to the ocean.

The last 3 uphill kilometers from the town of Finistere to the Lighthouse at the end of the world were also filled with awe that we were completing a journey of almost 600 miles! And the views along the last stretch were amazing, too.

A few flowers…

And my room for the night!

Extra thought: I’m not saying I’m Batman, but so far nobody has seen me and Batman together in the same room.

I’m here at the end of the world!!!

This was a 40 kilometer day, but with beautiful weather! The topography is also changing as I get closer to the coast. More rocky outcroppings and different vegetation. I’m also walking up near many windmill turbines and you can hear their distinctive hum along the trail.

I also walked again today with Howard and Keith, both fast walkers and enjoyable companions. We’ll finish our journey at the ocean tomorrow before they head back to Santiago.

Dumbria is a collection of 10 buildings in the boondocks! No services or stores whatsoever except for the albergue (15 beds total) and its bar/restaurant. But the albergue is a couple kilometers from the bar/restaurant! So they shuttle us down to the albergue by car after checking in and will pick us up at 7 pm to take us back to the restaurant for dinner. Then a drive back down after dinner. In the morning, we have to walk there for breakfast if we want something before we hit the trail.

Here are some of the scenes from today’s journey:

A few flowers for today…

Only 30 kilometers tomorrow to reach the Atlantic Ocean! And them on to Muxia up the coast on Saturday to complete my walking. That will be a big – YAHOO!

Extra thought: If you ever get an email about pork, ham, salt, and preservatives, don’t open it. It’s spam.