Days to catchhup!

Ola,

Amazingly still walking! I left Azambuja the next morning & thought I'd see how far I could get. I did run into a woman I'd met at the hostel in Lisbon at Azambuja, maybe we'll catchup again.

The terrain was a bit less boring with lots of fields of tomatoes, again not much shade so my hat was firmly on my head. Part way along I met a Frenchman, Jake, who spoke several languages but not English. I didn't keep walking with him as he was way faster than me. Then further on I heard someone call out 'Bom Caminho', turned & saw a woman coming from a farmhouse. Turned out to be another pilgrim who'd been looking for a loo. So we chatted, her name's Betsy & she's American, & walked on together.

The day was really hot, I think around 40c, & finally in the arvo I gave up, couldn't go on. I thought if I did I'd get heatstroke. So I sat in the shade of some grapevines on my pack & Betsy went on to see if she could find anyone. We were in a 9km stretch of remote sandy tracks but Santarém was visible in the distance. I realised, after she had gone, that I could ring the next hostel as I had printed their details. So I did & asked them to send a taxi out to pick up Betsy & then me. It was only a distance of about 4 km. In the meantime Betsy had found a woman who drove out to get me. So she drove us until we met the taxi then we went on to the hostel. Manuela, the lady, wouldn't accept any money either, lovely lady. Anyway we checked in at the hostel, showered, did the washing, & went to a bar! Liquid outside, liquid inside, plus food. All is good!

I was too tired to write a thing that night!

The next day was a bit cooler thankfully as we went on our pilgrims' Way. Another lady was behind us as we left Santarém & we traded places a couple of times as we stopped for groceries, or food, etc. The terrain was more green, more interesting along the Way too. No more stubbled fields or sandy trails, yay! Anyway we stopped at Ameiro das Milhariças fairly early in the arvo, not wanting to overdo it, & there was the Frenchman! The other lady, Maria Antonette & an Italian, was able to speak with him, Jack, Jacques, each of us seemed to say it differently. He speaks several languages just not English, & has done seven Caminos. I was the only newby, drat it. There was a Mass in the village that night so the four of us attended that then went out for a meal at the local association hall. We all got on well in our various languages & decided on our next night's meet at Minde.

Jacques was first away, then Maria Antonette, then Betsy & I. We didn't see Jacques again till Minde, he is a fast walker. We stopped in a cafe for a break & Maria was there, great, & the woman I'd met in Lisbon & Azambuja, Michelle, & it turned out Betsy had met her too. So we told her where we were stopping & to join us there if she wanted.

Well, that was a challenging day, mostly because of a steep, narrow, rocky path up & down a hill just before Minde. Betsy & I started climbing & Maria was a little behind us. That was a tough climb! When we finally got to the top that was it. No way were we going down the other side. Michelle was at the top when we got there & Maria didn't stop, went on by road. So after a break did we, down the road, the longer, safer way. Jacques had climbed down the other side & fallen & hurt one knee, we learnt later.

Minde was our stop for that night & now I'm stopping for tonight. I'll write more tomorrow night.

Blessings to all! Adeus

A misadventure!

Ola,

I started out well yesterday, walked about 8km before realising that I had left my small bag on the floor of a public toilet a few kms back! It is difficult to go to the loo with both bags on & from sheer stupidity I had forgotten to pick it up again! So I walked back to the loo but it was gone! It contained all the valuables & essentials including my passport & cards. (I had taken the precaution of copying my passport page & tucking it down the bottom of my big bag.) Anyway the maintenance & gardener man was there & he had found it & called the police. Such an honest man! But the Police Tourism Office was back in Lisbon! So I bused partway & walked some more to get there. All was good, the police thought it was funny & I had my bag again. The only thing missing was my Australian SIM card. Easy enough to fall out of it's holder with all the handling & fossicking. By then I had wasted about four hours so I caught a train further on & just walked the last, pleasant, riverside section to Villa Franca de Xira, my destination. I was exhausted!

Today I managed to cram! my small bag inside my backpack so that didn't happen again. But now my backpack is heavier & my neck & shoulder muscles are complaining. Hopefully they'll get stronger quickly. It was about 38c today, so a bit taxing with the change in weight distribution as well. I'm working on it.

Today's walk was to Azambuja, not too far, fairly boring scenery at this time of year though I did pass a thermoelectric plant & a field of wilted sunflowers. A lot of road walking which is a bit scary with the big trucks so I caught a train the last section, all of one stop, lol. I think I will train or bus to avoid the worst of the busy roads when the trail goes there. Those big trucks are daunting close up! I'm learning the angles, eh. I'll put the pics, not many, on fb tomorrow night.

Anyway, off to sleep now. Blessings to all my family & readers. Oh, Kimi is practising standing up! He's only supposed to be learning to crawl while I'm away! Lol!

Adeus,
Gail Frances

Discovering Lisbon

Ola,

This hostel puts on a great breakfast, cereal, roll w/ham & cheese, then some sort of white melon plus juice & tea/coffee! Tasty. Wandering around Lisbon was interesting & fun.  I went to the Sé Catedral first & got the first stamp in my credential. Now I can sleep in an albergue (pilgrim hostel) tomorrow night. I wandered along the Rio Tejo for a bit - it's wider than the Thames & the Brisbane rivers & I was surprised to see the Golden Gate Bridge there. I'm told it is smaller than the original.

I ventured down narrow streets, into a few churches, found something called 'Second Home' which is some initiative to encourage entrepreneurs & small businesses by matching people/businesses in what seems to be a sponsored space. You can google that. It started in London a few years ago & opens here in December.

So much history here. The Portuguese developed their own style of tiling the facades of their houses so I had to take a pic of that. Oh, today's pics are on fb. There is definitely a difference between Portuguese custard tarts in Brisbane & the real thing here in Portugal. The difference made me laugh - here they use flakey pastry which seems almost impossible to find in Brisbane. I've missed it since I migrated. They taste great! Also a speciality is fresh sardines, not from a can, seen on most menus.

Finally I decided to sit for a while & hopped on a Red Bus, then a Green Bus for a couple of hours. Great way to see a place. There are some lovely parks. My first stop along the Way tomorrow is in the Parque Das Nações which is pretty big, I gather.

Anyway, it's late & I need my feet to sleep well. They've got a lot of work to do, lol.

Adeus

I welcome me to Lisbon!

Ola,

London was cold, wet, & dismal this morning but now Lisbon is warm, sunny & predicted to get even better. Yay! I'm settled in at my hostel & I've been on a Yellow Bus Tour to get a quick overview of the central city. In some ways Lisbon reminds me of Athens, but not as neglected & rundown. Must be all that history, lol. 

Oh, I had to go & wander around the Kath Kidston store at Heathrow airport, enjoy that place even when I can't buy anything.

Tomorrow I shall head for the cathedral & get my credential for the Fatima pilgrimage. Then I shall just wander the city. I've only got one day so I won't try to see all the 'must see' places, just enjoy the look & the vibe. I've got to get my steps up again after two days of 'no activity' & sadly I need to do some washing already, reality bites!

Sorry, I'm still working on how to add photos.

Adeus,

Gail Frances

I'm in London again!

Hello, folks,
I'm in London again, off on another overseas trip, this one mostly on my own two feet! Tomorrow I fly to Lisbon in Portugal & gradually I'll walk my way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I'm looking forward to doing this & really hope I succeed.
My UK cell no is +44 7756 353004 Texts only though. It's all cheaper on fb anyway.
I've never been to Portugal before & only to 3 cities in Spain. Now I'll see these countries from the ground up, lol!
Wish me 'Bon Caminho'!
Gail Frances

Crete, Santorini & back to Athens

Hello all, 

Life keeps intervening but at last I shall continue my narration. 

We stopped at Crete & I didn't feel like joining any of the optionals so went for a walk into the nearby city of Heraklion. Cretans have been growing grapes for about 4,000 years so definitely are great wine producers. I never had a drop! In my defence, it was morning & we sailed on about 12pm. I enjoyed my meander around the town though.
In the afternoon we cruised into Santorini, a beautiful island. I joined an optional tour by bus to the top of the island to the town of Oia & it's so close neighbours. Oia is lovely! Except for the tourists, lol. The white houses & churches with blue domes that are in all the pictures - they're real, they're v striking, & absolutely beautiful. The streets are just lanes really so it gets really crowded really quickly. Well worth the walking up, down & roundabout. Our descent was by funicular down to the Old Port, short but steep, & then by small boat to the cruise ship & then we were sailing again back to Pireaus Port & Athens.

Okay, this is short 'cos my iPad is running out of charge. The next post will finish the saga, all sighs of relief to be inaudible please.

Bye,

GailFrances

Grecian Islands - Rhodes, Crete, Santorini

Kalinichta,

Cruising on, we docked at Rhodes for the next day. I joined an optional tour of the historic Old City 'it's ramparts & palaces built by the Knights of St John during the Crusades'.  Some amazing buildings, mosaics, furnishings, all great to see & wander around. I was the only one from our group to do this tour to the Old City & Philerimos so it was a bit strange to be with other people. You get used to being with the same people each day. But all the others chose to do a tour of Lindos & the Temple of Athena. I chose the tour I did to have a look around a Byzantine church - I really like the Byzantine style. The church at Philerimos had the added attraction of a special Stations of the Cross, but it's not in the church. The Stations are set outside along a pathway, I'd guess about 300m, leading to  an extremely large Cross. I took a photo of each of the Stations & the Cross & will eventually do something with them, not sure what yet. I'm glad I went there. Even with all of us tourists, I found it quite peaceful there. There was a flock? of peacocks, peahens & various ages of chicks meandering around too.

A little story about meandering - when I was working in home furnishings in Christchurch there were distinct motifs for various regions, like the bird in a cage for French style. I sold quite a few pieces of furniture with the rectangular Mediterranean motif, also known as the Greek Key, & just took it for granted. In Greece it is known as the Meander design. While there I bought a silver ring with the motif & love it. Anyway the Meander design takes it's name from the river Meander, a river with many twists, mentioned by Homer in The Iliad apparently. Hence the term 'meandering' meaning wandering this way & that, etc. Interestingly when we went to Kusadasi in Turkey & did the tour at Ephesus, the guide kept talking about the Turkish river Meander, which I now know is an historical name for the Buyuk Menderes River in Turkey. That got my attention so I asked our Cosmos guide, not the Turkish guide, how come? She said the river in Turkey was named by the Greeks when they invaded & ruled Turkey many centuries ago. I don't know if the Turks would agree with that, lol.

Anyway, I enjoyed seeing Rhodes & after the tour went back into the town with a few of our regular group, just for a meander & a bit of window shopping. Then it was time to get on board again & cruise away.

Audio!