Chapter 23
Hola Peregrinos,
Welcome to more ‘Tales from the Trail.’
I’m now holed up in a hostel on the outskirts of Sore-toe (😜) , sorry, I mean Porto, having walked 26 miles/41 km today.
I’m just 16km from Porto Cathedral: a 3.5 hour walk in the morning.
I’m super chuffed.
But boy I’m bushed!
I can now make my target tomorrow, meet my wife Nicky at the airport at 1.30 and then enjoy 4 days of no walking in a lovely European city. 😜
Before it all starts again on Monday afternoon, with my younger sister, Lizzie.
On that happy note: back to yesterday!
One of my favourite all time films, is the timeless western classic ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’
It stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford, as 2 small time, mistake ridden outlaws, trying to land a decent enough heist to hang up their guns for good.
The song ‘Raindrops keep falling on my head’ features in that film.
I love that film: “Who are those guys?” 🤷♂️
It is a lovely song, performed by an artist I have never heard off.
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that “it won’t be long till happiness steps up to greet me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqa2ATBROeQ
The iconic scene when Paul Newman rides a rusty old bike around a yard, with his girlfriend Etta, clinging on to the front (for a reverse ‘croggie’ or ‘backy’, depending if you hail from the north or south of Britain), – is the stuff of cinematic legend.
“Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn’t mean my eyes will soon be turning red
Crying’s not for me
‘Cause I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining
Because I’m free, nothing’s worrying me”
The song choice was nailed via a WhatsApp chat with some of my old university friends.
Sarah, my chief editor for these blogs, made the suggestion, after I told them it was a wet day on the trail on Monday.
Jane and Charlie both agreed.
Who am I to argue with such a formidable trio?
In fairness, It’s lovely song and its lyrics were pretty apt.
And I had already decided to choose it anyway.
‘Cause I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining’.
Or the pain!
It encompasses bit of a similar philosophy to Camino Steve’s:
“It is, what it is!”
(Thanks for all your corrections from a distance Sarah. I frequently call you a pedant: it is really a roundabout compliment!❤️)
Monday’s walk was a big shift!
I knew it would be and I knew rain was forecast.
Previously, we only had one 20 minute long, heavy shower and a bit of drizzle later as we finished a stage, over a week ago,
The likelihood was that Monday’s walk was going to be the longest of the whole journey and that I would have to attempt it, in a way that best managed my sore feet issues.
I didn’t set out on the trail until 07.55.
I had opted for the ‘in house’ breakfast option for €5 extra: it was decent.
Coffee on repeat, fresh bread, orange juice, butter, jam and cereal.
It got considerably better when the kind hearted cook offered me scrambled eggs!
I was in heaven.
Eggs!
I’d been dreaming about eggs: craving them in fact.
Portuguese cafes just don’t seem to offer them.
On the Spanish Camino’s, eggs: omelette, tortilla, scrambled or boiled are all the rage.
I’m ’Gollum like’ in my appreciation of “eggssssessss.”
That breakfast was great value and it actually sustained me for most of the day.
Once I started, the trail walking was easy.
Not the greatest visual spectacular, but never gruelling and mostly on quiet roads.
When it was on the more uneven tracks, it was because I was up to my usual habit of recent days:
Shortcutting!
I amused myself by photographing anything that I found interesting or made me smile.
There was a lot going on actually.
Vineyards.
‘Froggy going a courting’.
I saved a snail who had got midway across the road.
I tossed him/her into a field.
He probably wasn’t that thankful. Who likes a ‘tossing’?
But it certainly made me feel good.
A lifesaver.
Anyone else remember a children’s book called ‘The interminable trudge of Samuel the Snail.’
You could replace it with ‘The interminable trudge of Martin the Peregrino’.
A farmer was ploughing his field and scattering.
We gave each other cheery waves and fist pumps.
He then gently and kindly indicated……
That I was going the wrong way! 🙄
A team of gardeners were tending a roundabout display.
Log collecting was in full swing in the eucalyptus woods.
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned….”
Not only was I tarnishing my pilgrim purity by shortcutting, but I was coveting other people’s wood collections now!
Every Camino tempts me.
I long for timber.
I’m obsessed with stockpiling it quicker than Nicky burns it in our wood burner.
She’s a burning fiend:
“Never happier”.
And why burn 2 logs when 7 will do?
I crave forgiveness for breaking the 10th commandment!
I saw wall tile icons on people’s homes.
1964 was a really top quality year: I’m sure you will all know that? 😜
I saw graceful and shapely trees.
I love snapping trees.
I was reminded yet again, that “the best things in life are (often) free”. 🎵
There is so much beauty around us: we just have to be open to it and appreciate it.
I saw majestic buildings and sadly, many buildings that had lost their majesty and lustre.
I saw houses clad in ceramic tiles.
In the UK’s damper climate, that would cause issues I suspect.
A tiled house would be very damp because it couldn’t breathe.
The Portuguese climate is a different gravyvthough.
There is so much real estate that is standing empty in Portugal.
Why I have no idea.
Such a shame as some of these buildings are amazing and of course across europe there is a lot of homelessness.
Surely they have a better purpose than crumbling?
Even on this wet day it was quite warm.
Another non descript shortcut, dropped me into Agueda.
Non descript short cuts are very satisfying.
You incorrectly believe that no one else is aware of them.
I’d walked non stop for 3.5 hours and apart from a toe gripe or two, I was feeling pretty good.
Now I thought of Jenni from Australia, who is a stage or two behind me after having a rest day in Coimbra.
There you are Jenni: that is a proper umbrella!
I had nicknamed Jenni, ‘Mary Poppins’ on account of her own umbrella that she uses primarily to protect herself from the sun.
We swapped photos later.
Her brolly was up for the rain.
Rain prevailed across the trail today.
Jenni seems to like her ‘Mary Poppins’ nickname.
It suits her.
‘Mary’ refuses to shortcut.
Ever!
She’s a ‘pure pilgrim’:
Unlike this sinner!
The 4 Aussie girls are very sun conscious.
They cover up obsessively: with good reason of course.
Jenni sent me a photo of Evan from Norwich, that she took the other day, whilst on the trail.
She claimed it was the ‘best photo of the whole trip!’
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course.
But her claim has SOME merit!
Seriously, that was a great shot Jenni.
And great athleticism Evan.
I suggested she might make page 3.
Better than that, she made the feature photo of this blog.
“Fame. (She’s) going to live forever!’ 🎵
Her timing was perfect: Evan was suspended in motion!
I stopped for a drink and a cashpoint in Agueda.
A pretty little town.
They like their rainbow colours in Agueda.
They seem to like any colours.
Even the children’s playground had brightly daubed lamp posts.
From Agueda I had a 12 km home straight.
I could go down ‘The Way’ the yellow arrows pointed.
Or I could make up an Alternativo’.
How long do you think that inner debate lasted?
1 second!
Then it was eyes down for some serious short cutting.
I cut off a huge swathe of the trail, as it looped east.
Tall elegant chimneys appeared.
Their original purpose?
For smoke of some description.
“No s*** Sherlock?”
Such an incisive observation!
The yellow flowers returned.
Beautiful.
I love those ‘yellow hot pokers!’
Actually, they are wild lupins,
Or so I’m led to believe.
But they also wind me up.
My good friend Mike supports Norwich City FC. They play in canary yellow,
His shower play my team Bristol City this weekend.
He thinks his tinpot shower will win.
Fat chance.
We’ve just appointed a 78 year old former England manager: Roy (Woy) Hodgson!
‘Woy’s Weds’ will win! 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️
I truly hope so.
Or Mike will be unbearable and my phone may temporarily develop an answering problem!
The rain came down with a bit more force.
A rain gutter waterfalled its overflow onto a cactus leaf in a planter and nearly drenched me.
Sore feet or no sore feet, I side stepped like a bullfighter.
When a shortcut involves crossing a huge industrial estate, finding beauty is a bit more challenging.
Even so, those yellows worked their damnedest!
That industrial estate was ‘Mordor: The Sequel’.
‘Murder she wrote’ for my shrieking soles.
In time, industry waved goodbye and eucalyptus forest trails beckoned.
That track was so rough.
Not great when you are walking delicately anyway.
“Can’t go through it (in Crocs), got to stumble round it!”
At the hostel, I collapsed into a chair and started chatting to 2, 20 year old Danish girls: Illa and Matilda from Copenhagen.
They were lovely: so easy to talk too. They speak great English.
A little later, they invited me to eat dinner with them.
2 more ‘Camino Angels’ had arrived.
The nearest restaurant was 1km away and I really didn’t fancy more walking.
Out of the blue, they stepped in.
It was so nice.
Vegetarian bolognese with wraps, served with my half bag of pasta and garlic that I had carried for a week and some beers that I bought from the bar downstairs.
Gustavo from Brazil donated hard boiled eggs. I ate 4: absolutely amazing.
More eggs!
Benedict from Hungary joined us too. He was super happy to have a new President back home: Victor Oban was defeated in the elections over there, this week.
That’s the hostel element of Camino living.
Unique, uplifting and totally restores your faith in human nature.
A real ‘League of Nations’ dined together.
Such lovely people.
An experience where kindness and hospitality are freely offered every day.
Those Danish girls truly did save my bacon! 👌😜
By the way:
Did I give you the walking stats for Monday?
Of course I did!
I just think they deserve a repeat.
Some walk! 😜
Surpassed only by today’s follow up!
Before I finish, just a few more thoughts on how you can hopefully manage feet issues, should you try something similar.
One of the biggest leadership influences on my life and career, has been Sir David Brailsford: the man who led British Cycling to become the most dominant force in world cycling for over 10 years.
Under his leadership stars like Jason Kenny, Laura Trott, Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish became household names.
Brailsford’s winning philosophy was based on his theory of ‘Marginal Gains’.
The attached link gives a very interesting and thorough explanation as to how a series of tiny individual changes, that on their own, can seem very innocuous, can actually combine to make a marked improvement in performance.
https://jamesclear.com/marginal-gains
That’s actually how all those cycling superstars developed into world champions.
I’ve tried to use the principle of ‘marginal gains’ in my treatment of the feet issues, I’ve experienced on this, and every long distance Camino.
Basically, I have tried anything and everything.
If I ever developed pain, or a ‘hotspot’, I immediately stopped and changed something.
Anything!
Try something.
I never tried to ‘walk through it’.
So today was no different.
I wedged my last 2 pieces of sheep wool around my sore little toes.
I took out my insoles.
I was prepared to change into Crocs and stopped at a pharmacy to buy some more ibruprofen and Compeed.
My heel was hot spotting, so I applied Compeed. It remained painful, but thankfully, it never developed into something more unpleasant.
The trouble with a foot problem, is that we automatically try to reduce the pain, often by walking differently, by positioning our shoe in the foot differently or ‘shying away from the pain’.
That’s how a ‘battered soles’ pilgrim has now got 3 additional blisters that hurt: one on each little toe and a new one on my right heel.
I’m convinced that one hotspot has led to others.
With all that in mind, I am also convinced that I have soft Northern European feet too.
I walk a lot at home, but not normally 20 miles every day for 21 consecutive days, and rarely in the hot temperatures we have been experiencing out here.
By changing and adapting, I’ve managed to squeeze through 2 x 40 km plus days to get to the relief of my ‘Porto Pause’.
I don’t share this thinking to big myself up, or to inadvertently criticise people whose feet do get in a real mess.
Poor Glenn had a nightmare scenario: I guess through no fault of his own, his feet are even softer than mine.
The poor guys feet were a real mess.
The point I’m trying to make, is that we can all apply the principle of ‘Marginal Gains’ to any aspect of our lives; wherever we want to make an improvement.
If, like me, you are interested in self improvement, then applying David Brailsford’s principle might be a good way to do it.
Just a thought: it certainly works for me.
And I find it a very fascinating subject
Thanks again for the read.
Thank you too for supporting me to get to within 3 hours of Porto.
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!
Unfortunately I’ve been a bit remiss in answering the Camino related question from 4 days ago: here goes.
Name 2 of the 3 most popular nationalities in The Camino trails.
Spanish, American, German, with South Koreans a close 4th.
I really can’t be bothered to ask another question tonight!
Sorrreeeeer! 😜
Martin Moorman 