Chapter 20
Hola Peregrinos,
Welcome to the latest episode of ‘My Tales from the Trail’ – a daily update of the journey Camino Steve and I started 18 days ago, on the most southerly tip of Portugal: Cape St Vincent.
We are trying to walk around 600 miles/1000 km to Santiago de Compostella, a historic pilgrimage city, which has attracted millions of Christians and non Christians alike to walk to to its cathedral.
According to tradition, St. James the Greater brought Christianity to Spain shortly after Pentecost, probably around the year 44 Ad, before returning to Jerusalem to be martyred. Legend holds that he evangelized the Iberian Peninsula.
You can taste the history and culture of these walks.
There are many Camino’s both across Iberia and the wider European region.
I’ve walked the most popular, ‘The Camino de Santiago,’ 2.5 times.
This is my first experience of the Camino Portuguese.
I love it.
Coupled with ‘The Fisherman’s Trail’ which follows the coastline from Cape St Vincent to Lisbon, this is the best long distance trail I have ever walked.
It has been a visual delight.
Tough, hot and long.
But it really has been a memorable challenge.
This is not a challenge to be taken lightly.
Camino Steve and I are experienced Camino walkers
We usually make decent decisions and our 2 brains solve problems pretty well together.
But we too struggle and we have to strive on this long walk.
At times the routes are tortorous.
Unrelenting.
Today was our 11/12 day of walking 30 km – 18 miles!
Yesterday it was 28 degrees when we walked!
It has often hurt.
My feet have suffered on every long distance Camino I’ve done.
I’ve had to be so careful to manage any foot damage.
Careful?
Because if you don’t, your Camino will finish.
I’ve seen it before: in 2017, 2023 and 2024.
Sadly it happened to one of our fellow walkers, only this week.
Glenn, from Hertfordshire, England is our age.
A seasoned walker and fit.
He started the Camino Portuguese in Lisbon, last Saturday.
By Tuesday his camino had finished.
His feet were wrecked.
On Wednesday Glenn had to have 2 toe nails medically removed in hospital and he is currently unable to have medical support for flying home before Sunday (tomorrow) at the earliest.
If he flew, he would be uninsured!
He can’t walk! His feet are so sore.
So he can’t even explore the town he waits in.
Glenn is stuck in a simple provincial Portuguese town praying that he gets the go ahead to fly home tomorrow.
Battered feet he may have.
But his philosophical nature is worthy of so much praise.
Glenn wrote an update in our WhatsApp group chat on Friday:
“Hi All, little update for you. Another hospital visit this morning, I can’t fly yet! Need to go back Sunday & possibly Tuesday.
On the positive, I’ve got a camino stamp none of you have (& I hope you never do).”
He didn’t send us photos.
They were too graphic apparently.
A sobering tale for any Peregrino on ‘The Way!’
I feel for him!
That could be any one of us.
It’s not all glory on the road to Santiago!
The Camino is going nowhere of course.
I hope he will return and walk it.
I’m pretty confident Glenn will return and adapt this future Camino, by applying the knowledge he learned about his feet, on this one.
The Camino is going nowhere Glenn.
It calls you back!
I’m not comparing my feet issues with those of Glenn.
Mine are not as bad!
Fortunately, I have managed to keep my issues in check.
Just!
I walk a lot at home and never really have issues.
Just like Glenn.
But every Camino I’ve walked, has taken its toll on my feet.
I’ve had blisters before and managed to control them to a point.
I’ve currently got 4.
All under control so far! 🎉
I’ve had shin splints.
Managed to control that too.
The battered soles issue that I have suffered on all of my 4 long distance Camino’s has been very challenging at times.
I clearly remember my secondary education as an 11 year old in Bristol, England.
It wasn’t the happiest: a very rough, tough all boys Catholic secondary school, run by the Christian Brothers.
The problem was that one or two of them weren’t particularly Christian when it came to corporal punishment.
I got the strap once!
6 hits on the palm of my hand with a leather strap about 2 foot long.
I was ‘strapped’ for some petty misdemeanor.
I wasn’t really naughty.
A bit of a rascal from the age of 12-13 perhaps.
But honestly, I wasn’t terrible!
I remember my hand hurting like mad, throbbing and pounding.
The sensation on both my feet at the base of my toes is often the same.
It is very painful.
I treat it every day to prevent it worsening.
Ibruprofen gel and pills (supplied on demand by my drug lord ‘C’Amigo’ Mike from California: ‘The Yank with the Tank!’
Sheep wool.
Compeed.
Heel gel implants taken out or put in.
Cold water bathing.
Long swimming pool soaks.
Toe nails clipped.
Trail shoe insoles taken out or put back in.
Walking in Crocs.
Walking in trail shoes.
I’ve tried them all.
But those feet still shriek!
I’ve come to realise that I have Nothhern European feet and that walking in hot and hard surfaces Portugal and Spain, takes its toll on this retired pen pusher, who must have soft feet as well as soft hands!
Glenn’s story could be so easily Martin’s story!
Friday’s walk was another long one.
So hot!
28 degrees from 12-4pm.
I was dripping!
But it was beautiful.
We saw so many simply beautiful things.
Our ‘Camino Bubble’ had popped that morning.
Camino Steve, Mike, Donna from Australia and I were now the advance party.
A mini bubble.
I have to push on.
My wife Nicky lands at Porto airport at 1.50pm on Wednesday afternoon.
And I want to be there to meet her!
“I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it”. 🎵
At the time of writing, on Saturday at 5.30 pm, I still have 120 km to go.
In just 3.5 days.
That’s tight!
It is doable though.
Sore feet or not.
We walked well again yesterday.
My call for short cutting was rewarded with a swelling in the number of followers
3 dutiful devotees followed where I led!
A vintage tractor raced up the steep hill: the lady driving it, was taking no prisoners!
Every short cut worked.
But a couple of hills in 26-28 degrees did challenge us all.
It was so hot!
Camino signs proliferate.
Some are beautiful.
Donna and I stopped and shouted our greetings to a distant figure who we thought was our German C’Amigo, Eva.
Mike mercilessly mocked us when it became obvious that it was a Portuguese lady of considerable age who was working her property clad in wellies.
Such a sweet lady though.
She insisted on showing us her sheep and lambs.
Both the black and the white versions.
We saw hot pigs and cool orchids.
We toiled up more hot hills.
The Kate Bush’ musical reference is pure irony!
We did no running!
We toiled!
Mike’s much reduced rucksack must still weight 18 kg.
He’s a machine!
That was a hot gig!
Trust is big on Camino.
I’m pleased to report my devotees trusted my navigation.
I shaved 4 km off the official stage total.
We never took a wrong turn.
30 plus km was more than enough thank you.
34 planned kilometres in the official distance planner, would have been torture.
We finally found a cafe where we could down some coke’s.
We picnicked in the shade.
Donna ‘painted’ her socks!
Cheese and tomato sandwiches.
Honestly! They were so good!
Then it was back for the final push to our hostel. 7 km by road: very hot tarmac!
Or an unknown number of kilometers on a Martin Moorman ‘Alternativo!’
Mike doubted!
He questioned!
He tried to lead the others astray!
But they believed!
And they were rewarded.
One short hill climb, then a beautiful path through the hills.
It was (almost) level!
We were rewarded with a shot of a farmer, chilling with his goats.
As you do!
Half an hour later we had reached our accommodation.
Wow!
Some walk
Some heat.
Some foot pain.
But gratitude for special company and an amazing number of simple, yet so special, experiences!
I’m walking this 600 mile trek, in part to celebrate the beauty of life.
2 years ago I had suffered with a bout of depression, fueled by lots of bereavement, retirement, relocation and renovation fatigue.
So much change in one fell swoop.
All summed up in one 4 letter word!
LOSS!
But I wasn’t lost. I was found: we are never lost!
Things changed for the better; especially once I began to appreciate what I had, rather than yearn for what I had no more.
I also walk this journey for the Jones family in France.
My youngest sister Lizzie, Dave and their surviving 6 children, yearn the loss of beautiful Hannah every day.
They want her legacy and life to positively impact young children locally.
Hannah’s charity will fund a story book for every school starter in local primary schools.
Hannah loved reading.
She wanted to be a teacher.
I was a teacher!
I walk for Hannah too.
If you wish to sponsor me, please follow the link below.
Thank you so much if you do!
Thanks for the read.
Buen Camino.
Martin x
Ps: Today we reached Coimbra!
What a lovely place!
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!
Do sorry! This knackered pilgrim has run out of time for stupid quiz questions!
For today at least! 😜
Martin Moorman 