Caminho de Tejo (Fatima) 2024
I find myself with holiday days that need to be used up and Jocelyn is planning to go away with the girls on a sun-seeking trip to the Canary Islands without me! Having said I won't be walking this year, I find myself in an unfit, slightly overweight state that needs rectifying. So, it's time for a Camino, at the end of November, I'm sure the weather will be fine.
The Caminho de Tejo to Fatima - (Note the Portuguese Camino spelling) from Lisbon in the South of Portugal to Fatima is 157km long and I plan to walk it in 5 days. The first 3 days are shared with the Camino de Santiago, the Portuguese route from Lisbon to Santiago. After that, the path splits into two with one path leading off to the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima and the other continuing north towards Coimbra, Porto and Santiago.
I've wanted to do this trip for a while but not everybody shares my enthusiasm for visiting a different Marian shrine. So, this is an opportunity to walk it on my own and as many of you know, I do love a good shrine. As shrines go, this one is fairly modern. In 1917 three shepherd children experienced six apparitions of the Virgin Mary describing her as 'a lady more brilliant than the sun.' And so, the pilgrimages began... better pack my rosary beads for this one.
22nd November 2024
Well I’m as ready as I will ever be. Woefully under prepared, I just packed my backpack today and haven’t done any walking with it. I’m hoping it will just feel natural and I can get on with it without any problems.
I checked all my accommodation bookings and it looks like I prepared that side of things as well as possible. There are just 2 hostels that you can’t book in advance and that’s fine by me. Other hostels had already been fully booked by the time I got round to it so I have a few private rooms in shoddy 1 star hotels to look forward to. It’s going to be a luxury trip.
23rd November
After almost 3 hours wedged between 2 other men on a Ryanair flight to Lisbon, we landed at about 12:30pm. I then jumped on the tube for the 45 minute ride to the Cathedral. You don’t see much from a tube train window but at least there was plenty of space on the tube and it was very cheap.
I found the Cathedral and purchased my credential (pilgrim passport). I expected a special one for Fátima, after all it is their national shrine but they just gave me a Portuguese Camino de Santiago one.
I set off down to the Tagus estuary at about 2.20pm and walked out of the old part of the city into a run down stretch of the bank with little communities of homeless people living in tents under underpasses and beside the railway tracks. One little group of tents outside a derelict shop had 2 Christmas trees set up, fully decorated with tinsel and baubles.
Eventually I found myself in a more modern riverside development that stretched on for miles into much nicer suburbs with parks and restaurants.
I stopped for a break on the riverbank and lay down on a wooden sun lounger as it was 21 degrees and I wasn’t in a hurry. Despite the good weather (much better outlook than the long range forecast) it still gets dark at 5.20pm. Just as the sun was going down I spotted my first route markers, a pair of arrows, one blue one for Fátima and one yellow one for Santiago. It was right at the point I needed to make a diversion off the path to find my accommodation.
Despite wearing the same walking shoes I had on last year I had noticed hot spots on my feet after only a few kms and stopped to apply some anti friction cream. I think my shoes must have stretched over the past year as I now have 3 blisters on my feet. Can’t believe I’ve got blisters after only 12 kms.
I’m now laid up in my AirBnB room having performed surgery on my feet. It’s nothing new but I could have done without this. I thought there was a noisy toddler out in the hallway but when I went to look it turned out to be a cat.
24th November
I walked out of the city just after 7am. The Camino used to head inland and behind the suburbs but recently a wide wooden walkway has been constructed that crosses the marshy wetlands that border the estuary. It was about 6km long and popular with joggers and cyclists out for their weekend exercise. Signs promised flamingos but it was mostly seagulls and egrets.
The camino then alternated between industrial areas, new, old and totally derelict and more waterfront paths full of sweaty Portuguese joggers. There are quite a lot of square cobblestone paths which I recall from previous Camino’s in the north of the country. I find them hard to walk on.
Twice today I have passed shelters for homeless cats. The second one had accommodation for eight cats plus cardboard boxes for latecomers.
I’ve suffered a bit with my feet today. They’re still sore from yesterday and i have a couple of deeper blisters. I wore two pairs of socks today but that’s just set off my heat rash.
I checked my shoes and found that the back of the soles are worn through with holes in several places. I should probably have got new shoes before I left when I noticed the inside lining had a hole by the heal. Never mind.
I didn’t meet any other pilgrims on the way today. Tomorrow night I’m staying in a Municipal Albergue so will probably catch up with anyone else then, if there is anyone else.
25th November
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.
26th November
My right foot had become very painful yesterday as I waited for the Albergue to open. Once in and showered I examined the blister to find it much larger than yesterday and surrounded by bruising. I could hardly walk and it began to swell and ache.
I was alone last night in a 16 bed hostel. I even managed to get a pilgrim menu in the local restaurant. It’s the camino experience without any other pilgrims.
I decided to make some contingency plans as there was no way I would walk 32km on this
foot. I am going to take a train to Santarem, get myself to a Decathlon Sports shop and buy new shoes. I might ignore the booking I made in Santarem and walk a short 5km to another municipal Albergue in a village. This will give me a much reduced walk tomorrow and might make finishing possible even though I have to take a train.
I went into a pharmacy and bought some compeed to put over the blisters. Ive always avoided using this stuff as once it’s in place you can’t remove it. My feet do feel a lot better this morning and I’m keen to get moving again.
I managed to get a taxi from the train station to Decathlon, bought new shoes and walked out of the nice suburbs into the countryside. I’m glad to be walking again even if it’s only 5km to the next Albergue. I’m just happy to be away from the train line and all the filthy rubbish that’s everywhere. I think fly tipping is just normal in Portugal. Even out of the cities, every picnic area is full of rubbish. The sun is shining now and it’s about 17 degrees. The only negative thing is that I’m constantly walking on the side of the road and it’s not that safe.
I got to the Albergue at 3. It’s some kind of community centre. Nobody there but a notice on the door gave a number to call. The guy told me i have to wait until 6pm to get in so I went back down the hill to sit in the sunshine outside the locked church in the village. The restaurant in the village stopped serving at 3 and won’t start up again until 8 so as it started to cool down I managed to find a cafe where I killed time reading my book and drinking 60 cent cups of black tea.
I walked back up the hill in the dark to meet the guy for 6. At 6.15 I called him again and he said he’d be there at 7. It was getting cold, I waited until 7 then walked back to the cafe and asked the lady to call me a taxi.
I’m now in the original private hostel I booked in advance that I would have walked to if I hadn’t caught the train. It’s in the city centre so I can get some food.
I met an Asian guy in the hostel who lives in Benidorm, he said he only comes here to visit friends, otherwise he wouldn’t bother as it’s just as boring as his village back in Pakistan.
I’ve looked at the route for tomorrow and it’s about 90% on roads again. I’m having second thoughts now about walking. Maybe I’ll just get a bus, there’s more chance of making it there alive.
27th November
I had a good think about things last night and decided that I should stop walking. I booked a bus to Fatima, 10.45 in the morning and I also managed to book another night in the same hotel. It’s close to the basilica so I can easily join in with whatever services they have.
I’m a bit disappointed but walking on my own on mountain roads with cars travelling at 60mph isn’t very safe. I suppose it will be more of a Walsingham type of pilgrimage from now on. Good food, private en-suite room and all of that. I will have to wait and see.
I had imagined that I would have met other pilgrims and walked with them but it just wasn’t to be. In some ways though this has been the most spiritual pilgrimage I’ve ever been on. I’ve had a lot of time to think and pray. I’ve been more intentional about the things people have asked me to pray for. And it’s not over yet.
I finally arrived in Fatima. There are statues of Mary for sale everywhere, even in the bus station. I walked past endless tat shops full of these things but none of them have the same look as the one in the church in Azambuja. I could have sworn she was looking at me, like really looking at me. It was a bit surreal and I spent ages in there.
I wandered up to the basilica, a huge modern building that looks more like a Jedi Temple than a cathedral. At first glance it looks like a circular concrete monstrosity but then as I walked around it and went inside I realised that there are no pillars holding the roof up, it’s just one massive church inside filled with seating. It must seat thousands of people. It’s the biggest building of its kind that I’ve ever seen. It’s so simple it could be a modern Protestant church yet it has a feel about it that suggests otherwise.
I walked across a massive open air area that could contain tens of thousands of pilgrims and joined in with Angelus prayers at a chapel full of pilgrims at midday. The modern chapel had an open side so it was easy to accommodate the overspill of pilgrims trying to join in. This was then followed by a rosary, all projected via speakers.
There was a smoothly paved path down one side from the basilica to the chapel, about 100 yards long that people were walking along on their knees during the rosary prayers. I then walked up the steps to the church of the apparitions which was a more modest sized, traditional church building.
There are probably 200 or more pilgrims here. There are 11 masses and about 10 rosaries said each day so I will join in with some of these tomorrow.
28th November
I think this will be my final post. Thanks for all the prayers and words of encouragement. My old walking companion Bauke has been keeping in touch by text which has been a great support. I’ve been faithfully praying for all those who asked for my prayers and many more who need them, especially today as I’ve had a lot of time for reflection.
I heard today that my friend Chris died suddenly yesterday. An old soldier and a lovely kind man who was one of only a few SAS soldiers to get their faces published in the newspaper at the Iranian Embassy Siege. His widow Gill was pleased when I text her to say I was going to say prayers for him at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.
I also lit a candle for him and one for all those I’ve been praying for, both of which were quickly consumed by the towering inferno that was the votive candle stand. Honestly, it was like one of my barbecues but ten times worse.
The modern concrete space ship style basilica of the Holy Trinity really is an incredible space. It holds the silence in a way that makes you want to stay just a little bit longer. I worked out that it must seat 5,000 people. With its sloping floor and no support pillars you could see the altar from any seat in the building.
I attended the mass in English this afternoon in the Chapel of the Apparitions. The only problem was that it was in Italian. I don’t suppose they had a priest who could do it in English.
Despite nodding off to sleep a few times, I managed to get myself out to the chapel of the Apparitions again for 9.30pm rosary prayers. This was followed by a candlelit procession of the Holy Sacrament around the square with around 300 pilgrims in attendance. The monstrance was carried by the priest under a huge canopy until he arrived back in the chapel and then gave Benediction.
Tomorrow I’m getting the bus at lunchtime back to Lisbon ready for a 6.10am flight the following morning. I’m looking forward to coming home now and to our Advent Sunday services and the buildup to Christmas. I hope to return to Fatima one day, it was a very spiritual place.
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