Chapter 10
We are only 2 walks away from Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.
Flip me!
That milestone has crept up on us quickly.
Blink …….. and you miss it.
Today our target destination is Carvalhal, a small village/town, 2/3rds of the way from Sines to the town of Setúbal, an estuarine town just one days walk from Lisboa.
On a map, it doesn’t look far, but we still have a couple of 25-35km walking days ahead of us.
But that is all in the future.
My focus in this chapter is our walk from Sines to Melides: 33km / 21 miles long, We completed that walk on Tuesday 31 March.
We knew our walk to Melides would be a long and a hot one.
With that in mind, we agreed that an early start would be best, but we had to be practical: after Sines, there was no breakfast options for 10 miles.
There was no option for anything.
Fortunately a cafe, just 60 metres down the street was open at 07.00, so we grabbed a coffee and toast there and we were still on our way by 07.30.
We followed a road through the outskirts of town as the sun rose to the east.
The road was busy, but the temperature was perfect for walking.
On the outskirts of town, we passed the ‘Golden Arches’.
Camino Steve was crestfallen.
Apparently he is never happier than when he goes for a McDonald’s.
It’s all the rage in Wanstead, North London.
I celebrated that ‘near miss’, by quickening the pace and soon we were walking on quiet country lanes, as the world started to wake and warm up.
The trees in these parts are amazing.
They provide a visual spectacular especially in the early morning light.
Coupled with the spring wild flowers they create a beautiful sight.
What are they?
My gut says yew, but what do I know?
(See the end of this blog where I ask for your botanical help.)
We navigated as we walked, choosing forest tracks and dune trails that took us near the sea but never quite bought it within sight.
We could often hear the ocean roar though.
Such power in the world’s second biggest ocean, which covers approximately 20% to 25% of the earth’s surface.
We saw no other walkers all day.
Again.
We could start to take it personally.
We really aren’t that bothered.
Once we start the official Camino’s in Lisbon and Porto, we will see people aplenty.
Apart from our lunch stop in a small town called Vila Nova de Santo André, we saw no other people until the last 1km walk into Melides itself.
Whilst we missed close contact of the ocean, we still enjoyed a fantastic walk.
The Eucalyptus woods provide brilliant footpaths and cooler walking.
The elegantly tall trees give great shade cover on hot days and provide a scented assist as you follow the trail.
Scented?
Definitely according to Camino Steve.
Less obvious to me: but there again, I was born in the West Midlands and whilst I have no accent, I swear the legacy of that birthright has affected my nasal sensitivities for life.
Camino Steve did endorse my observation that ‘Eucalyptus for Men’ would be a great brand name for a top Parisian fragrance house.
I’ll probably write to Yves, Miss Dior or Chanel with that idea after we finish this trek.
Worth a few million pounds surely?
We saw a big cricket, brilliantly camouflaged against the vegetation.
We stopped to remove some clothing layers at a wooden hide.
It was getting warm.
We didn’t hang around though.
The hide seemed to have become home to a colony of local bees.
An uneasy peace agreement had broken out.
But those bees were buzzing!
We found the shin bone of the the last human to have taken this track and thanked our lucky stars we had a good walking app, signal and charge.
My 11.11 alarm went off.
I’ve set it on repeat whilst I’m on this trek. A pausing moment, each day of this walk, for me to give thanks for what I have.
But today I was particularly thankful for my youngest son Jake.
Back in the UK, as I prepared to depart for Portugal, Jake had insisted I take his crocs (branded) as back up shoes instead of my own Aldi ‘Crucs) which were definitely unbranded and fur lined!
Great for British winters but not so good in hot and sunny Portugal.
Those Crocs were a lifesaver later on when the blister on my left little toe started to whine.
I walked the last 4 miles in Crocs ‘n Socks, pain free.
A great shout Jake. Thanks!
So I was particularly grateful for my blister-ease and a pain free finish.
I learned on my last Camino that there is a 11.11 movement.
So now I set my watch for 11.11 and pause for a thought.,
In truth it all sounds a bit too ‘hippy dippy’ to me, but each to their own.
Besides I love the principle of remembering to be grateful.
It costs nothing.
At times the trail was tough: the deep sand tracks can be a hard thing to walk through.
Sand also fills your boots and abrasively ‘grits’ your sore feet and blisters.
Thankfully more trees and wild flowers lifted our spirits.
After 10 miles of walking, we reached the town and enjoyed a cold coke before hitting the Intermarche supermarket for lunch.
We were both craving some salad, so bought a pasta salad in ‘eat from the box’ form, bread, tomatoes, crisps and satsumas.
Such lovely food.
So much single use plastic in that salad though.
I’d spotted a river nearby and wondered if a river picnic could be a thing.
Unfortunately, on our 5 minute journey there from the supermarket, I had a mad navigational moment, meaning that Camino Steve, me and our freshly bought lunch, did a full 360 degree exterior tour of a big Bricomarche store.
Bricomarche?
Think B&Q.
Bricomarche is the Portuguese equivalent
Before reaching my river, we found THE picnic spot of all picnic spots.
A bus shelter.
Not just any bus shelter: a beautifully decorated one.
You might scoff: we did too when we prepared to scoff our picnic!
That bus shelter was perfect: shaded, beautifully decorative, with a bench with integrated combination backrest and it didn’t stink of pee.
Perfecto!
We ate like kings and there was even a bin across the road for our rubbish!
B I N G O!
The small things in life are so often the best.
And in this sort of trip you really appreciate them.
It was pretty hot now.
I mischievously asked Camino Steve what he would do if the bus to Melides pulled up now.
In other words was he a ‘purist Pilgrim’ or a ‘plagiarizing Pilgrim?’
Would he ‘stay or should he go!”’🎵
Would temptation to take the transport option, be too tempting?
His eyes glazed over a bit and he never actually replied.
Fortunately his spirit of resolve wasn’t actually tested in real time.
And as seems pretty usual for me, the bus never turned up anyway! 😜
That was a lovely lunch by the way!
We followed beautiful country tracks for the next 2 hours.
The sights were simple, but stunning in their simplicity.
We heard a donkey braying in the field at least 5 minutes before we saw it.
We came to an elevated bridge spanning a babbling brook.
The temptation was too strong.
My blister had been hurting for a while. So we took a break.
I bathed my toes and then Croc-ed my feet.
I know it’s graphic: but it is real and sore.
But not too sore thankfully!
Meanwhile Camino Steve lounged in the long grass in the shade.
Magical.
With renewed ‘Pep in our Steps’, we walked past fields of carrots, growing in what can only be called sand.
This was the first time we had seen agriculture on an industrial scale, during the 9 days of our trip.
Thousands of tiny seedlings had germinated under the insulating mesh.
It was hot: tough work for these 2 guys.
We finally made Melides at 4.30pm after 9 hours of walking.
Our Airbnb accommodation was perfectly placed for a refreshing Sagres and a minty Magnum.
The supermarket was straight across the road.
After 43,000 steps and 21 miles we felt like we deserved them both!
I asked Lizzie to share something that would help you to understand the fun loving daughter, she lost last July.
Hannah was great fun.
Here, second from the left, she was photographed as one of the bridesmaids, at her sister Maria’s wedding. Her other 2 sisters, Sarah Megan and Bethan stand to her right.
Lizzie wrote:
“There’s a roundabout off the A68 at Junction 9 that Hannah christened “Rabbit Roundabout.” That’s what we call it, at least—I very much doubt anyone else does. It earned its name because it’s home to at least two rabbits.
The quickest way home from the airport is to take the first exit, but more than once I’ve circled the roundabout twice while Hannah scanned the grass verges, hoping for a glimpse of them. Sometimes I’ve even taken that route instead of the Albi road just so she could look. And, if I’m honest, I’ve done the same when I’ve been alone—looping around twice just so I could tell her I’d seen one.
One night in May 2024, I was driving back late from Toulouse airport. As I came off at Junction 9 and approached the roundabout, my headlights caught both a fox and a rabbit. That discovery earned a couple of extra laps before I pulled over to text Hannah. Photos of that conversation sit alongside this memory.
In September last year, two months after her death, I was coming back from another trip. I took the same exit, thinking about Hannah. As I approached Rabbit Roundabout, my headlights lit the grass, and there—clear as anything—was a rabbit, sitting in full view.
And, hearing Hannah’s voice in my head, I drove around twice, just in case there were more, before continuing on.
I wished more than anything that I could tell her I’d seen one.
Tell her that I still look.
That I still take the roundabout twice.
And that I always will.”
If you want to sponsor me as I walk the heights of Portugal, you can do so through the link below.
Thank you so much if you do and massive thanks to everyone who has already done so.
Thanks for the read.
Buen Camino
Martin x
Martin Moorman is a 61 year old retired Headteacher who lives with his wife Nicky, daughter and her family in North Yorkshire, UK.
Happily married for 36 years, Martin and Nicky have 3 grown up children, all happily married too. In his spare time Martin loves walking, photography, football, renovating cooking and talking rubbish to anyone who will listen!
The Quiz questions are back!
What is the name of the incense burner traditionally swung at the ‘Pilgrim’s Mass‘ in Santiago Cathedral?
Martin Moorman 