Last evening was delightful with just a mile walk to a lively walking street with lots of restaurants to meet their friend, Erica. We had a delicious dinner with great conversation, learning about her interesting life as an expat living in Portugal for the past 7 years. Ended the evening finding some great vegan gelato.

We finished our stay at the Poets Inn, walking out into the city, heading to the Tagus River. This is such a beautiful city, charming us with all the tiled exteriors and many murals.

Eventually we stopped at a small bakery for coffee and I had my first taste of pasteis de nata, a national favorite egg custard tart in super flaky pastry. Fabulous! This was my first but most certainly will not be my last.

We reached the riverside walkway and headed north. We finally saw our first actual Camino signs! The ubiquitous yellow arrow and scallop shell. This walk gave us even more a flavor of the city going through multiple neighborhoods, some better than others but with a good deal of construction and renovation going.

Eventually we reached the Parque de Nações, a large urban park with many amenities. Situated right along the river and just before you reach the Vasco de Gama bridge (which is 12 kilometers long!) it’s a lovely spot. We stopped for lunch at a great restaurant called Honest Greens. We sat outside under a large covered area filled with plants and ate a delicious meal. I was thrilled to also get an iced latte. More get up and go after that, which I proved I needed. While eating we could watch the gondolas passing by over the river’s edge leaving from a tower which stated it was the highest building in Portugal, the Torre Vasco de Gama.

We barely got going again when I began to feel a hot spot on my left foot. Stopping to check revealed the start of a blister. Darn. I think it was due to all the heat as well as the walking with a full pack. Ah, well, a blister bandage in place plus fresh socks helped.

Later the walk lead us onto a new wooden walkway which changed the original Camino path. Overall a huge improvement as it took us out of contested city areas and had us walk on this elevated wooden walkway over the swampy river edge, along the tidal estuary. The walking was much easier on that surface than on all the concrete and the cobblestone sidewalks made of white limestone. Along the way we saw quite a few birds, being pleased that along the walkway were signs depicting many of them. But our favorite? Flamingos! Something none of us would have expected to see. They were out along the tide flats feasting on something. Not only were they fun to watch but beautiful as they took off in mass, flying in arcs showing off the beautiful pink lower feathers.

The boardwalk was not busy, with mostly a few cyclists and runners. We didn’t see any other pilgrims. At about the 3 km mark we began looking for an exit to head to our evening stay, but to no avail. Then we passed 4 km, then 5 km and still no way to exit. Hmmm…And along came Paolo, a cyclist who stopped and got off his bike to chat. Full of info about the walkway, the local area and his personal health that led him to cycle 20 miles a day. Whew! Through his guidance we were finally able to exit into an industrial area where Mandy called for an Uber to take us up into the town residential area to a local guest house she had booked. The host greeted us with a huge grin and welcomed us into a lovely accommodation.

I was thrilled to put down my pack and take off my shoes. A shower with the added luxury of a large, fluffy towel made it all the better. We were tired and with no local eateries Mandy ordered pizza from Uber eats. Yay! Bellies filled and beds to sleep in, we’re happily all doing our evening writing or other electronic chores.

Today was a warm 79 degrees but thankfully we mostly had a nice breeze off the water. Total mileage was 11.75 miles. Slowly cranking it up.