Mud & Sunshine

My room last night looked down on a railway crossing. A bell rang every 15 minutes or so as each train approached. Some through trains added a blast on their horns to make sure everyone knew they were coming. Despite this distraction I slept quite well. 

After a bit of road walking I ended up on a trail that ran alongside the railway line. It was a sand and gravel trail softened by overnight rain. In places it was a bit muddy but preferable to a hard road surface. I was clearly the only one on the trail as there were no other footprints on the path

I spotted quite a few small birds that I’ve never seen before along with some storks that I did recognise. The trail went on and on for almost 20km. I stopped for a 5 minute break about half way and sat on some concrete railway sleepers. There was the option to divert into a small village but I didn’t want to walk extra on the road in the hope that the only cafe there would be open.  

The only other event was passing a sewage treatment facility with an overflowing pipe that poured like a foul smelling fountain into a ditch. It smelled like rotten eggs. 

As I was about to enter the town of Azambuja a cycling pilgrim passed me. He seemed as pleased as I was just to meet another pilgrim. He also confirmed that he hadn’t passed any other walkers that day. 

I picked my way through the usual fly tippers rubbish pile onto a road and opposite an Aldi supermarket. I decided to stock up on food and then walked the final km into the centre of town. 

I got my pilgrim passport stamped at the tourist office and ate lunch in the town square in front of a picturesque church and then went inside to look around. Amazingly it was actually open and empty. I said midday prayer and then sang the Angelus in front of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Wonderful acoustics. 

I scouted out the Albergue, the pilgrims hostel, and am now drinking hot chocolate in a cafe while I wait for it to open.