Chapter 16
Yesterday, on my 14th day on the trail, I met my first Camino Angel of 2026.
Her name was Paola.
Her angelic appearance can be independently verified by at least 12 of my fellow travellers.
More about Paola in a moment.
First some context.
My walking buddy, Camino Steve and I, have been walking every day for the last 2 weeks, during which we have clocked up over 240 miles: nearly 400 km.
My Health feature on my iPhone says: “Higher for 13 days!”
No kidding! 🙄
Camino Steve and I are trying to walk from the tip of Portugal, in the extreme south west, to the top of Spain.
We are now on one of the multitude of long distance walking paths that make up ‘The Way’ and conclude in Santiago de Compostella.
Our path is called the Camino Portuguese and is approximately 380 miles or 600 km long .
These paths are historic pilgrimage routes that have attracted millions of other walkers for over 1,000 years.
We literally feel like we walk in ‘The footsteps of Giants’.
The most famous route is ‘The Camino de Santiago’ or ‘The Way of St James’ and starts in south western France.
I’ve walked that route 2.5 times and actually met Camino Steve during our walk in April 2023.
The Camino Portuguese starts in Lisbon and meanders through Porto before finishing at Santiago.
The Camino fascinates me.
Every year or 2, it seems to ‘call me’. (Blondie) 🎵
I’m now walking my 9th Camino.
From a personal and individual standpoint: this is my best.
My 2017 Camino Frances, with Harry, Jake and Dan, will always be the most special🤣
After all, Jake had miraculously come through 2 x 10 hour long surgery to remove a benign tumor from the core of his brain.
The irony that 8 years later, he has proceeded to become a big hit in the nuclear industry as a ‘nuclear geologist’ is never wasted on me.
They must have left a bit of brain in there, post surgery!
A Camino is a unique personal experience: especially on the Frances and Portuguese routes as it provides the traveller with opportunities to meet so many other Peregrinos, who come from every corner of the world.
Sometimes the walk is beautiful, often ordinary and occasionally brutal.
The engagements with other pilgrims are always amazing.
Up until Easter Sunday, Camino Steve and I had experienced non stop beauty on our 400 km long trek.
Sunday was not one of those days.
Unless you perceive a power station, commercial distribution warehouses and electric power stations as such.
It was a shorter walk, but with 90% continuous a exposure to industrial sights and significant time for us, where we walked a long hot and busy road.
But that’s the Camino.
Great on many days: tougher on a few.
Isn’t that an analogy for life anyway?
So on Bank Holiday Monday, we were relieved to find ourselves back on a beautiful, non-tarnacced track that connected our overnight stays in and Azambuja with Santarém.
It has been a time of change for us.
The Fisherman’s Trail was very special. So is this Portuguese Camino already.
But they are very different.
We will now travel with a growing company of Peregrinos, in what is effectively a ‘Camino Bubble’.
This Bubble could burst at any time, if a Peregrino falls significantly out of step with the others.
A number of us seem to walk a similar distance each day, so whilst we may walk in smaller bubbles of 1, 2, 3 or 4, during the day, we often reconvene as a bigger bubble at night for dinner, chat and post walk recollections.
On Saturday, as we left Lisbon, we met big hearted Michael from California.
He is the drug daddy!
All legit: worry not.
He had the biggest backpack that I have ever seen.
He carries a 200g pot of ibruprofen.
He is my ‘dealer’ at the moment.
His supplies are helping me just about manage some foot pain and blisters: mostly on my right foot.
On Monday our company had swelled to around a dozen.
A mixed nationality bag of companions, who represented in alphabetical order Australia, France, Germany, United Kingdom and USA.
Great people: fun, kind, engaging and hard core.
Most of us have a foot problem or two.
We chat about it, we share pain management ideas, we share our potions and lotions and we try to problem solve and cheer each other on .
No one moans.
Some dry humor and rueful shrugs of the shoulders perhaps..
We all know one thing.
It is what it is.
The Camino is intrinsically linked with some pain.
And as you know, the saying goes:
‘No pain no gain!’
One thing that was unexpected was the start time for our dormitory of sleepers.
At some point, a peregrino in the bunkbeds arose.
They then made a racket, meaning the whole throng were awake at around 05.10 and everyone had shipped out of the hostel and onto the trail by 06.00.
Crazy!
We were just as culpable as the others.
My suspicions on who was the noisy rouser?
Australia!
There are currently 4 suspects, but my finger of suspicion lies over Marica (Miko: her new nickname) and a compliment from me to her in my nick- name shortening world).
I’m holding back on condemning Australia per se.
They have enough condemnation in their national identity anyway: convicts, mutineers etc etc.
I don’t want to be heartless and fuel it even more.
Besides: they are brilliantly good fun and they made me belly laugh on repeat, at last night’s communal dinner.
I think I have quite a lot in common with Jenni, Donna, Lisa and Miko from Cairns in Australia.
They work in schools, just like I did. They talk a lot, they are social and they are excellent fun.
Back to our walk yesterday.
Whilst we all sleep together and travel the same route, we mostly walk the stage at our own preferred individual pace.
It was another big one!
20+ miles.
For those who operate metrically, that is 34 km.
Thankfully it was cooler and it was beautiful.
Morning has broken (Part 14).
Those sunrises really get me!E
Every time!
It reminds me that life is a gift.
Embrace it MM.
The terrain is changing.
Still very flat, but now the land is more in use for agriculture.
The fields are huge and just continue as far as the eye can see.
There are few boundaries but lots of gateposts.
Why so many gate posts if there are no boundaries.?
Mystifying?
Wildflowers are much less prevalent than on the Fisherman’s Trail that we completed last week.
Poppies are currently on point.
I love a blood red poppy!
The Trail followed an old elevated flood defence bank.
At times we walked on it.
Other times beneath it.
Its basic purpose is to contain the vast River Tagus and protect the houses and farms in this area from flooding.
It floods regularly.
It was a spectacular structure.
At one point, Camino Steve walked on top of the bank whilst I kept abreast at the bottom.
Beautiful houses that were perhaps centuries old, hid below its protective shadow.
There’s a lot of hysteria about wisteria in these parts! 😜
Local workers, preparing to plant trays of seedlings in massive fields, gave me a cheery wave.
So gracious!
Me, a privileged westerner, ‘holidaying’ whilst they grafted!
I felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.
I have so much.
Appreciate it!
But the wave and “Hola” was genuine.
A man worked un-scaffolded on a roof.
I winced!
I thought of 2 of the many Mike’s I know who had a nasty accident or near miss when they were up a ladder.
Mike, my daughter in law’s dad, broke both his arm, falling off a sliding ladder.
Mike, my predecessor as Headteacher at a special school in Halifax, walked away, scot-free, when his ladder slid down the wall.
Ladders are dangerous.
No ladder, even more so.
This man was slipping around like ‘a cat on a hot tin roof’.
I didn’t ’Hola’ him.
I thought he might fall off and I didn’t want that responsibility on my conscience.
We stopped for a quick coffee,
I subtly snapped a local guy having a 09.45 beer!
Early!
Very!
His face told a story without the need for words.
One hour later we met Paolo: our ‘Angel of the Camino’.
She popped up out of the blue.
Sat trail side alongside the Vespa she had travelled in, Paola was selling snacks and drinks by donation only.
What a great business idea.
What a lovely lady.
She runs a local alburgue and drops down every day for a couple of hours, to serve Camino trekkers.
We chatted for a long time.
A lovely exchange!
Her timing was perfect, as Paolo was offering snacks about 10 km into a 16 km stretch without any shops, cafes or bars.
A cold carton of orange juice was the perfect tonic.
I saw Eva from Germany, back on the flood bank, enjoying a private swing.
So relaxing.
So peaceful.
Simple pleasures that provide life long memories.
Horses cantered in the breeze.
It was a cooler day and they were relishing a heat free morning.
A beautiful house, surrounded by lakes stood in splendid isolation.
We passed the old laundry.
Back in the day, the ladies of the village would handwash the family clothes here.
Tales would have been told.
Gossip shared.
We are so blessed with our first world washing machines.
Handwashing at a place like this was the norm, back in those days.
Typically, our walk concluded with a 6 km road walk.
Ouch!
My soles shrieked again.
Hard work with a very hot 250 metre jelly-legged, hill ascent.
Thankfully our hostel accommodation was superb.
Our whole ‘Camino Bubble’ enjoyed a Peregrino menu of ‘Pork fillet’ either with fat, or without.
Amazing!
What a day!
Who believes in Angels?
My hand is up! 🙋🏻♂️
Thanks for the read.
Buen Camino.
Martin x
This is a very long, 600 mile sponsored walk for a very deserving cause.
Any help you can give will help to promote my lovely niece Hannah’s legacy.
He was killed in a drink drive road traffic accident.
A life full of promise, lost in a moment of madness.
If you do sponsor me:
Thank you so much.
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!
Yesterday’s Question:
Answer: The Way
Today’s Question:
What is the Spanish word for pilgrim?
Martin Moorman 