Chapter 12
Hola Peregrinos,
It’s Good Friday, 3rd of April and at 3.30 today Camino Steve and I arrived in Lisbon.
No time for great photos.
We have collected our 3 Credentials (Pilgrim Passports) from the cathedral – We walked 20 miles/34 km to get here today.
Tomorrow we start the second leg of this trip that walks from the tip of Portugal to the top of Spain.
Surely there is only 2 of us?
Camino Steve and me.
That’s correct.
But in Porto, on 20 April, my youngest sister Lizzie, mum to Hannah, for whom this walk is dedicated, will be joining me walk the Camino Portuguese ‘Porto to Santiago’ route.
Lizzie will need a Credential too.
That’s why we have 3 Credentials.
Obviously that is in the future: a pretty near future now.
By then Camino Steve and I will have a half full Credential of stamps, representing the hostels, cafes, bars and restaurants that we will visit on our ‘Road to Porto’.
This was my son Jake with his completed Credential in 2017.
Jake had just recovered from 2 major life saving operations on his brain in 2024 and 2016 to walk the whole of the iconic Camino de Santiago from SW France to Santiago de Compostella, with me, his dad, his brother Harry and Lizzie’s oldest son Daniel.
Jake’s words at the end of his Camino 2017 were:
“This Compostella holds more value to me than my A Level certificates.
My genuine hope for Lizzie, is that in some small way, walking ‘The Way of St James’ can have a similar emotional impact on her, as she tries to move forwards with her life after such a tragic event last year.
Apologies for a long introduction.
But context is everything and you now may better understand why walking another Camino, (my 8th) holds so much significance for me.
From that ‘long rewind’ back to yesterday’s leg (Thursday) of our epic journey.
We all need a Nigel in our lives.
I’ve known a few Nigel’s in my time: including Nigel from my Monday walking group back in Yorkshire, ‘The Midweek Wayfarers’.
Nigel celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday.
With a slight Tolkienesque twist:
Gandalf:
“Nigel Jackson; 70 years old? — who would believe it? You haven’t aged a day.”
Happy birthday Nigel! Sorry about that photo taken in a cold and wet day above Meltham.
Camino Steve knows a Nigel too: a good friend for sure.
On Thursday, his friend Nigel led a Camino inspired walk through ‘the streets of London’ (🎵) to show support for our Camino.
Steve like me is an active member of a walking group.
His group meets on the first Thursday of every month.
Nigel was the main man yesterday and he and the boys, in a touch of ‘Cockney Class’ posted a photo of them with a phone showing 11.11am, the time that many people use every day to acknowledge with gratitude, something that is a blessing in their life.I
It is called ’The 11:11 Movement’ and is a thing on the internet.
Zoom in if you don’t believe me. The time on that phone says 11.11!👌
Clearly, without making him cringe with embarrassment, Camino Steve is a blessing to those boys!
Take the compliment Steve.
Most of them support West Ham apparently.
“I’m forever blowing bubbles”.🎵
Completely deluded football supporters maybe.
But no fools.
They know their ‘own’ and know when someone is genuine and who demonstrates the values of the ‘West Ham Way!’
‘We’re only making plans for Nigel!’
A lovely touch Nigel.
Thanks for thinking of it.
Yesterday’s walk was exceptional.
We anticipated a long, hard, hot and brutal walk.
We got as good a walk as any and this was supposedly the most boring of day of our walk yet.
We got out by 07.20 , just as the sun began to rise.
The cranes that I had criticized yesterday, were resplendent in the morning sun.
5 minutes later we were walking on a hard sanded trail that took us for 6 miles across the wet rice fields between Lagoa Formosa and Comporta.
My photographs cannot do it justice.
A unique morning light show that was simply jaw dropping for those 2 hours.
In almost every field we saw storks breakfasting on the mudflats or in the flooded ditches.
New wildflowers joined our exposure list: yellow irises I think?
I’m no botanist
But I do appreciate real beauty!A
Ask my wife!❤️
Long elegant reeds and grasses swayed gently in the cool morning breeze.
Spring, Portuguese style, was in full swing.
Sometimes you don’t need to look across.
You can also look up and down.
Beauty is all around us, despite man’s consistency in trying to mess it up.
Muddy rice field patterns: beautiful!
Delicate cobwebs, forged by a myriad of spiders overnight, flickered in the morning beeeze.
We were truly spellbound and I don’t use that word lightly.
I’m guessing we were somewhat dazed by the beauty we saw on Thursday morning.
Those 6 miles, even without breakfast, flew by.
But the visual delights weren’t over.
As we entered Comporta village we were welcomed by ‘Stork City’.
From every vantage point, a beautifully constructed stork’s nest was on display, policed by their watchful owners.
They were everywhere.
Our brains needed a quiet moment and our bellies certainly required breakfast.
So we pulled over at the fantastic Almo Comporta for a sumptuous breakfast.
Poached eggs with sourdough toast and the best coffee I’ve had so far in Portugal.
Not cheap.
But sublime. (almocomporta.com)
I got talking to Bergonia, her daughter Paula, Juan and Xavi.
They were from Madrid.
On holiday for a 4 night break.
They were heading home on Thursday.
Such lovely people.
The conversation just flowed.
Paula and Xavi followed our conversation even though they had less confidence in using spoken English.
Yes, football was mentioned.
They were Barcelona fans.
Living in Madrid?
I bet they keep that quiet.
They were very respectful when I mentioned Bristol City.
Secretly though, I think they had never heard of them. 🙄
Welcome to my footballing world!
They asked where we were walking and seemed quite surprised when I told where from and where too.
Inevitably ‘Why’ followed.
So I told them a little bit about my first Camino with my 2 sons and nephew in 2017.
My ‘Celebration Trek’.
Then I told them about my 2 solo Camino’s in 2023 and 2024, when I had struggled so badly with retirement, relocation, loss of purpose and loss of loved ones.
‘My Trial along the Trail’.
They were respectful and inquisitive.
I told Xavi, on the right, that he was punching (🥊).
He didn’t understand at first, but his girlfriend Paula got it straight away.
That line always goes down well with the ladies.
We hugged our goodbyes.
A genuinely warm and uplifting exchange: the first of many I’m sure as we near the start of the Camino.
These long distance footpaths, which carry much historic, spiritual and emotional significance seem to do this.
People chat at a deeper level, much more than they do at home, if they meet on a Camino walk.
Yes we chat trivia, but often we get quite raw in the details of life that we share.
An hour later, Camino Steve and I were walking an 8 mile stretch of long straight Portuguese tarmac.
We talked deep issues, alongside the inevitable banter.
Banter is what we boys do quite well.
We passed more beautiful sights.
Frescos and more stork nests.
Estuarine boardwalks and fishing stations.
Distant views of Lisbon across the mudflats.
And a solo cockle picker finding his hidden byway across the drained estuary.
The inevitable trees, framing a future view. “Possibly stone pines” according to my retired Headteacher friend, Andrew Fisher.
Thanks Andrew!
The road stretched on and on and it was warm.
But we were never bored or bothered.
We passed only one other walker all day: walking the opposite way to us.
We both saluted each other.
Smiled.
He laughed giving me a double arm raised fist bump.
We walked on in our opposite directions, both touched and uplifted by a momentary, ‘close (chance) encounter’.
We stopped for lunch under a large tree on a beautifully manicured and watered lawn outside a luxury gated development.
Camino Steve commented wryly that the wealthy proprietors probably wondered who the 2 tramps were!
Speak for yourself Steve. 😜
Lunch was simple, yet so delicious!
Tomato’s, bread, “goats cheese from the mountains” and a very childish (schoolboy humour) pattern of satsumas and banana.
“Grow up?”
No thanks!
I hope I never grow up.
And then came our ‘Brucie Bonus’ as Camino Steve likes to call them.
A phone call to the ferry company confirmed we could save 3 more miles of tarmac trudging.
Foot passengers can catch the car ferry.
This was confirmed by ferry operative Fernando at the ticket booth.
What a guy.
We separated singing ‘Fernando‘ 🎵 by Abba.
That stupid song gave me ear worm for the next hour!
The day that ‘never stopped giving’, delivered for us once more.
3 miles saved!
A 17 mile day instead of a 20 miler! 🎉
The 3pm lime green ferry from Troia to Setúbal, dropped us off on the waterfront at 3.25pm.
We passed a massive metal recycling depot on the quayside.
The metal glistened in the sun.
All that was left was for us to zig zag our way through the streets of Setúbal to our hostel, some 20 minutes away.
Such a lovely town.
I would definitely go back.
Our day’s journey was complete.
On Easter Saturday we will start the Camino Portuguese.
A final delight awaited us that evening.
A 12 minute walk rewarded us with a stunning prawn dinner.
With bread, olives, chips and drinks it cost €20 each.
More like £60 each in London according to Camino Steve.
As I lay in bed and pondered this ‘day of all days’ a musical memory and a Setúbal visual returned to me.
In the ferry, as I sat down for the journey on the upper deck, “A sky full of stars”🎵 by Coldplay, began to play.
Hannah loved Coldplay.
‘Everglow’ was played at her funeral.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the packed out old church.
Or in the large crowd who couldn’t even get into the church, as so many mourned the loss of someone so young and so special.
That was then.
July 2025.
This afternoon I looked up as we walked through Setúbal.
A sunflower arrangement was over our heads.
Sunflowers were Hannah’s favourite flower and are the dominant visual for the charity that bears her name.
Les Histoires d’Hannah.
I felt my niece’s absence.
I felt her family’s grief and I wished with all of my heart that it was not so.
And that in essence is why I walk all these miles.
To make a difference in her name and to celebrate her legacy.
If you wish to join the growing number of sponsors of my walk, I would be so grateful.
The link below takes you to my funding page.
Thanks for the read.
Sorry it is a longer one.
It was ‘Such a Perfect Day’. 🎵
Buen Camino.
Martin x
Ps the answer to yesterdays question:
How long is the Camino Portuguese?
Answer:
The Camino Portugués from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela is approximately 610–650 km (380–403 miles)long. This journey typically takes 25–30 days to complete.
Today’s Question:
Which other famous Roman Catholic shrine lies 1 day’s walk, west of the Camino Portuguese between Lisbon and Porto?
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!
Martin Moorman 
oh the end of todays read got my eyes watery. 🌻🌻
hope you dont mind u keep commenting.
We learnt when we were in Portimao that the storks return to the same nest each year, and you cannot remove them as it causes too much stress.
they had built them on two chimneys on a house in Portimao so they had to build two more chimneys and make them stork proof 😅
Noticed you had another good result today ⚽️
sleep well
x
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