The hike from Tomar to Alvaiazere was 33+ km. The temperature was again in the 90s. We were up early in Tomar at 4am to beat the heat as much as possible for this long all-uphill day. In the end, we still did not roll into Alaiazere until 3:30pm... way too late to be hiking in the sun.
We left the hostel at 5am and hiked by headlamp. The trail went to single track pretty quickly. A rarity on this Camino. The last time we were on single track was... The early morning out of Santarem. That did not go so well as it was hard to navigate. This day was like a flashback. It also did not go so well. We wasted valuable 'cool' temperature hiking time trying to find the route.
'Cool' is relative, as even in the predawn hours it is warm. Each day we are smear-on sunscreen around 9am and by 11am it is oppresively hot. If we plan it right, we are done hiking by noon, or shortly thereafter. Any time after that we are at risk of broiling. Water is in short supply and if you are caught out on the trail in the afternoon, you are at risk of dehydration as well. This was our situation going into Santarem.
You cannot carry enough water to compensate in this type of climate. The more water weight you carry, the more energy you expend, resulting in the need to carry more water... and so on.
Most of the hike was in eucalyptus forest mixed with olive, fig, and cork trees. We had no protection form the sun (shade) for the last six miles until we finally rolled into Alvaiazere.
As we staggered into town, we were met by a fresh, upbeat, vibrant Bonnie Schwartz. We looked like the walking dead. Bonnie showed us the way to the hostel in town and we went through the check-in process in a zombie-like state. One of the most amazing things about this hostel was that it had AIR CONDITIONING!! The first we have seen in Portugal.
Bonnie is a friend and retired National Park Service Ranger/Superintendent of Parks. She is joining us for a few days on the trail to see a bit of Portugal.
The evening dragged-on as we did laundry and waited for dinner at 7pm. Dinner at a local place was like a traditional pilgrim dinner. We collapsed in our hostel at 8:30pm and did not wake until nearly 7am.
Having a shorter day on Saturday (only 13 kilometers) was more a necessity in order to recover than a plan. We had breakfast at a local cafe and started hiking at 9am. We were done and checked-in to our room by 12:30. I ran into a Portugese man who spoke German and who was one of the people running the Albergue. He helped by letting me know how to find the hostel, the price, etc.
Tomorrow is looking like an 18km day, so we will have to be up early again.
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