Day 2 Torre Vasco da Gama to Vilafranca de Xira 2nd June

We had an early night last night as we knew we had a long day ahead of us, it was a shock to all of us when the alarm went off at 0530 and we realised we had to get up and walk, we left the hotel at 0600 and headed straight down to the waterfront to see the sun coming up.

It really was beautiful, we hardly saw a soul as we walked onto Sacavem.

We then headed west following the river Trancao,we began to leave the suburbs behind and at last were in the country. We welcomed the softer surface under our feet .

I have only been away from the office for two days and they have already cleared my desk !!

Soon the dog on a blog and cow on a blog appeared

Followed by this beautiful horse.

The sun was soon beginning to make its presence felt and we were not even five miles into the walk.

There are beautiful flowers on this section and as per my last Camino Poppies every where.

It was soon time for our first stop, we have decided to stop every five miles and get our boots off and have a 10 minute break and some food.

I am pleased to say by the time we hit 10 miles it was only 1000 hrs, we needed to beat the sun as it was getting very hot already.

All too soon we were back on the roads, the last 6 miles had been a lovely walk.

 

Thankfully there were short stages of getting off the roads

Nice legs!! Back onto the road again and heading towards Povos de Santa Iria which is on the river Tejo.

Thankfully a cafe came into sight we were ready for a break, it was becoming very hot indeed.

The next section was really beautiful as we walked on a raised decked pathway with stunning views over the river.

By now the sun was blistering down and we had walked 15 miles

Back onto Tarmac as we entered Alverca do Ribatejo and we walked along the busy N10.

We stopped for lunch and it was only when we sat down that I realised I was in grave danger of over heating. We drank  3 litres of water in rapid succession, I was not feeling too tricky.

The water and food began to make me feel better, I have learned that we need to take on more fluid, if the weather stays like this.

Lunch was soon over and with our spirits lifted we headed for our final destination Vilafranca de Xira.

A lot of today's walk has been through Industrial Estates

It was not long before we had to stop for some shade and a foot inspection.

Thankfully we were soon walking alongside the river again, by now we had walked for 20 miles and we were slowly becoming exhausted.

Poor Barney !!!

At last the end was in sight but we couldn't resist the temptation of getting our boots off and soaking our aching trotters in this pool, It was bliss and our feet felt so much better for it and it really lifted our spirits and helped us through the last mile.

Thankfully within 30 minutes we arrived at our hotel, we were exhausted but elated, we had walked 23 miles in the hottest conditions I have ever walked in.It was straight into the bar for a beer.

We had shower then back down to the bar and I think this photo sums up how we all feel.

Today has been a tough introduction to the Portuguese Camino, the weather has sapped our strength, all the Tarmac has tested our knees.

Yotty  who has not really trained due to the short notice really shone and rose to the challenge.

Thankfully tomorrow we only have to walk 12 miles, then it gets really serious.

We still have not seen any other walkers.

Stats

Walked 23 miles

Duration 8 hours

Walked so far 28 miles

Only 353 miles to go

 

avem