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• June 15th, 2014
• Tomar: Hostel Tomar 2300 (€15 in a female dorm)
• Weather: Still hot, 36 degrees 

I left at 4:45am and the abundance of arrows showing the way put a huge smile on my face for the first couple of hours! The route was along a quiet country road surrounded by fields with birds chirping, sprinklers watering the crops, 2 curious foxes, horses, bulls and a lovely sunrise.

Leaving Golega, the ‘horse’ town early

Nice and cool in the early morning

Sunrise on the camino

I walked past an exquisite Quinta and according to google, “The first historical record of Quinta da Cardiga goes back to 1169, when the first king of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, donated the lands already cited as “Quinta da Cardiga” to the Templar Knights.” The attached buildings are not quite complete ruins, but are on their way. Yet the main house still looks beautiful and ancient with ivy covering its front. I stood looking at it for a long time and took many pictures. Hopefully someone will bring it back to life… Turn it into a museum or a hotel or something to open the doors and let you inside to witness the history going back 8 centuries.

Quinta Cardiga

Quinta Cardiga

Quinta Cardiga

Quinta Cardiga

So it was a great start to the morning until I arrived at the eucalyptus forest. The arrows were lacking (I think peeled off the trees with the bark)… then I got lost, started following ribbons thinking this might be the way… but they brought me to the highway which I’m pretty sure wasn’t the Camino because I missed out on the next few towns!

2017 – the arrows are much better now through the forest, nailed and painted onto posts 

It’s not the greatest of signs, but at least it’s there

These are NOT camino ribbons! (I found out the hard way)

I continued along the highway, not the safest choice but at least there was a shoulder to walk on.

See the camino arrow on the post

After not too long I noticed arrows on the highway and realised I was back on the Camino, a little surprised the camino would go along the highway. I passed a dead snake with a diamond head, which my Aussie survival instinct says is not a friendly snake but I have no clue what it was even after googling Portuguese snakes. I showed the picture to an old man in the first cafe I came across, 24km into my journey, and although he couldn’t speak English, when I used google translate to ask if it was poisonous, he said no… Still when I finally found camino signs again and they pointed me along a route that was an overgrown dirt track, I wasn’t so keen to be walking through the long grass on a hot day in shorts!

2017 – the Camino still does walk along the highway, but only for 2km and with a generous shoulder

I arrived at the beautiful and friendly Hostel Tomar 2300 (€15 in a female dorm) in Tomar at 1:30pm and after showering and washing clothes, I slept like I’d been sleep deprived for a week. When I woke I decided if I was going to have any chance to see the sights of this medieval Knight’s Templar town then I was going to have to stay another night. Tomorrow I plan to sleep in then leisurely stroll around the town taking in the sights and then sleep some more 🙂

The path eventually comes off the road and onto this track

The main street in Tomar

Next to the railway line

There was a festival in the main square

A 16th century chapel on the outskirts of Tomar

There was a festival in the main square

Artwork in the Tomar 2300 Hostel

A 5 Euro, 3 course pilgrim’s dinner including the beer! At Taverna Antiqua

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