Day 2 – Alverca do Ribatejo to Azambuja – 09-May-2018
The second official day on our camino started out at around 6:30, with a walk out of Vila Franco Da Xira. The path out of town was not an easy one at all, with a considerable amount of roadside walking, which was not really enjoyable. The traffic was particularly busy and walking along the roadside was somewhat threatening. These conditions persisted for quite some time; by the time we got to the next town, we were all quite strung out and tired.
The latter part of the trail into Azambuja was considerably more pleasant, with most of the trail following in parallel to the river Tagus (Rio Tejo in Portuguese). We had the privilege of coming across many Fatima people during the days walk, and we really begun to get an appreciation of the number of people converging on the area due to the 101 anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to 3 Portuguese children; for these locals it’s a big deal.
One of the great aspects of any Camino is the meeting of people who are on the journey, and our first night in an official Álbergue has again presented such opportunities. We are sharing the dorm with Czechs, Italians, Dutch, French, Polish Irish etc, and of course, 4 Ozzies, each person with their own story, each person with their own reasons for being here, each person with their own expectations, and so on.
We reached Azambuja age around 12:00 midday, had some lunch and then started to figure out how we might get to our intended destination, which was approx 19kms out of town. No Uber, no taxis and no hope, or so we thought. Whilst we were wandering around the town this gentleman approached us and advised us that we could get lodging at a local Albergue for 6E, which we jumped at
The Albergue administrator (Carlos) was exceptionally kind and even more helpful; he went far beyond what you might expect in terms of helping us find accommodation, even in the next town (Santarém), as he appreciated that the shortage of accommodation in the area was of concern to all people travelling.
The afternoon was spent looking around the town, having a beer in a local bar and eventually having dinner at an informal restaurant with a bunch of other travellers.
Back to the albergue for an early night, as tomorrow will be a long day.