My heel/ankle seems to be doing a bit better. I made an attempt to buy 600mg of ibuprofen and was told I needed a prescription for it. I shared I’ve been purchasing it for almost a month...
Then I went down the street and successfully made the purchase, go figure...
Tomar is described in my book as “the quintessential medieval pilgrim town”. The Templar castle was breath taking and I am so glad that we did not miss it! Every inch of it was amazing. We entered from a park which meant scaling a small wall to get in, but that was fun and full of laughs. The rate was worth it, not to be missed.
A million pictures could be shared...
We arrived at Tomar exhausted, but the energy in the city is wonderful. Many people stopped us to wish us a great journey and a Buen Camino!
We were greeted by a cute dog who belongs to a store owner. He had no collar and the owner said, ”all he wears is a Batman shirt.” When he said this the dog got all excited and started barking!
We stayed at another amazing hostel, called 2300, it was an awesome location. We got a private room. We were too exhausted to enjoy the town upon arrival, so I made the decision to take another rest day. It might be a benefit that I have so much ankle/ heel pain as it has made me prioritize to enjoy these towns more than we normally would.
Tonight we are among several young pilgrims. We have a great crew, cooking together, laughing together and sharing information. From our window and porch we look down at a busy street and can see the castle on the hill! Super happy to be here!
Fátima is a pilgrimage site of its own. A sanctuary where Mother Mary presented herself 101 years ago to three Shepherd children. I went back and forth on whether to include it in this trip. Back and forth on if to walk it or not. I had concluded that if we were to do it then I wasn’t going to walk it, it’s a side trip and not the pilgrimage we are on.
We woke in Golega, and slept very well! It was pouring outside. We packed up and went to the closest place for coffee. My ankle/heel was killing me. There in the restaurant the girls were massaging my foot. When I got up to go to the bathroom, they would later tell me they discussed that they were worried about me and that they wanted to show me support no matter what it involved. We already looked like drowned rats having come in from the rain. I didn’t know what to do, new shoes, more ibuprofen than I should take...
It occurred to me we could get transportation to Fátima, do this side trip and go from there. Rainy, cold and windy!!! Fátima is usually approached from Santarém, Golega or Tomar so it just fit into our plans. Our taxi driver was a recent widow, who was very nice. As we rested in the car, he talked about his wife and showed me pictures, that then made me tear up. We got out and gave him huge hugs.
Fátima was very busy, filled with “ made in China” religious items and almost resembled stores you’d see at Disney but with a different theme. We did have a wonderful lunch where our server claimed relationship to one of the little shepherds Mother Mary visited. We bought candles and made prayers to many!
