Our flight to Lisbon was overnight and we arrived when the sun was coming up on September 2. We had joined Pat and Jean in Boston and flew together.
Jean helped us find the cathedral that is the starting point of the pilgrimage Camino Portuguese. We had our pilgrim passport book stamped and planned to start the hike the following day after spending the day in Lisbon.
Time to look around and enjoy a beautiful evening (after finding our hostel and dropping our packs!)
The next morning, we were ready to go early, and looked forward to walking out of the city and finding what was ahead. We wanted to be pilgrims...
Hiking out of the city...
After a half day, we trail took us along the water. The tide was out and look what we found.
Flamingoes feeding in the flats! Quite a thrill! 
We noticed the heat was building, but we believed we would find fountains in the small towns ahead. No problem.
Soon the trail went off road, and we started to hike along a small canal. On and on we went, all afternoon, with no shade and our water soon disappeared. A farmer appeared and offered us more water which we gratefully received. Again, on and on we went, eventually going over 8-9 miles with no shade and arriving on the road near a small orchard. It was almost 5:00 and we were dangerously out of water again.
We stopped along the road to rest and try to plan what we could do. We didn't know the tmperature was over 100 degrees but we knew we were in a dangerous spot. We thought perhaps,we would leave packs with two people and other two would take water bottles ahead to find water. While we talked we heard a tractor coming through the orchard. We yelled "help" several times. He drove away!
Happily, In a few minutes, we heard the factor coming back to the gate of the orchard and this time he saw us and stopped. He spoke English. We told him of our plight, and he said wait a minute! He drove off but returned in a few minutes with a gallon of water. We said you are our angel! He said "no, I am a man that loves God." He was so kind and caring of us. He gave us pears from the trees and offered us a ride. We said we wanted to try to make it on foot, He told us of a cafe 2 kilometres ahead. There we could get dinner and possibly find a bed for the night. Yeah! We were so happy, but it was a.very long road !
So our first day had been a surprise! The guide book had not been a help and did not really describe the trail. After an almost 20 mile day in 100 degree heat, we were grateful for safety and help from strangers and the man who truly was an angel to us. We all had blisters (except Jean) and knew we needed to regroup as we continued to follow the yellow arrows on our way,to,Santiago!
The unusual heat was to continue for two more days, and we had to heal our feet. Where we would
go? More coming in few days.😍
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