24 km with “popular art” and other things that the path provides

Another day of 24km

T3:E12 – Alvorge / Conímbriga

The Algarve is very popular for the places I've been to. When the owner of the hostel saw where I was coming from, he said that he had already spent holidays in the Algarve – and his eyes even lit up. 

At the hostel in Alvorge (I realized that people here have to spell the name of the land, because outsiders tend to say alforge) there was an Italian couple, two Portuguese and the famous Argentinian “El Ressonador”, who had dinner at the our side. He comes well prepared (he said right away that we had to taste the cheese when passing through Rabaçal), he is on a tour of France, Spain, Morocco and Portugal and the thing that surprised him most here was the absence of children and people on the street and the lack of support, like cafes and pastry shops. He's really right, I've seen that in these last stages.

By the way, Alvorge derives from the Arabic “al burdj”, which means “the fortified tower”.

This stage was also quite pleasant, practically flat terrain, among cork oaks, olive trees and other good vegetation (a few eucalyptus trees).

When we passed through Rabaçal, we made a technical stop for refueling – and there were so many cheeses, of so many species and with such good appearance that, if it weren't for the weight, I think I would have brought a few. So I was just salivating.

You may have noticed that I sometimes use the plural, because the Portuguese woman and I are walking together. It is pleasant to walk alone, but it is also pleasant to have company. And it is the Path that provides us with this, in this case, the good company of P.

After until Santarém the blue (Fátima) and yellow (Santiago) arrows point in the same direction, now the yellow arrows point in the opposite direction to the blue ones, that is, the blue ones to the south and the yellow ones to the north. That's why today we've come across pilgrims going to Fátima and we've passed a couple of foreigners, who are going to Santiago, stopped with technical problems with their feet. Of course we offered help but they said they didn't need it. One of the things I have noticed is the increase in “popular art” related to the Caminhos, but still very much linked to the little shepherds.

We also came across some kids who were riding their bikes, who greeted us and we heard “Eh! These speak Portuguese!!!”.

After a place called Fonte Coberta there was a bridge built during the Filipino dynasty and we crossed to the other side. We started to wonder why we didn't see yellow arrows or signposts, we consulted the gps and had to walk backwards. The signal we missed was huge, a real traffic signal.

Already at the hostel, in Conímbriga, a Spaniard arrived (from Barcelona, ​​he stressed) who had come from Lisbon and we found the Argentine again. It's going to be (yet) a sonically lively night.

Another day of 24km.

Read the other episodes of Season 3 of The Walker saga:

Episode 1 - Next to the Lisbon Cathedral, Season 3 of the Walker saga begins
Episode 2 - Today we don't have leatherettes
Episode 3 - Misadventures of a man from the Algarve in the midst of old age
Episode 4 - Between dirt road and tarmac, to the catfish fisherman weighing 10 kilos
Episode 5 - The miracle of the wayside fountain
Episode 6 - A headbutt to the bunk, a very bad dog and a finale with soaking feet
Episode 7 - The Walker in the Land of Saramago
Episode 8 - From Vila Nova da Barquinha to Tomar, there are Vhils and “Caça Brava”
Episode 9 - In Casais, the walker was received with bells
Episode 10 - A walk of almost 24 km and lunch at Casa do Benfica
Episode 11 - The Walker found “naked man” and arrived in Alvorge

 

Read some more!
 
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