Lisbon to Porto March 17 2026

Lisbon to Porto

Santarem

March 17, 2026

To day was a 33 kms walk so there was a lot of serious worry that this was too long a walk for us.  I was quite concerned as my physical preparation for this Camino is not very good.  Ken has a ankle issue and Karen a pulled muscle issue.  

The hotel we were at was about 7 kms out of town and we had been driven out by taxi last night so this morning we jumped in the taxi back to town and were  dropped off at the start of the Camino trail. The trail took us across the railroad tracks and wandered off through a bunch of farms.   It was pretty easy walking as it was mostly along nice flat back roads.  The roads were not very busy but when you got passed by a truck there was a lot of dust, making it better to step off the road until the dust settled down.  

We came to this one section of the trail which was on top of an old elevated rail bed.  It was quite interesting as it gave you an elevated view of the surrounding country side.  Walking down the trail in the weeds was fun.  

I was surprised at the number of stork nests there were along the trail.  Practically every tall object had a nest on it and a pair of nesting storks attending it.  They seem like really graceful fliers but their landing onto the nest seems like it involves a lot of wing flapping. 

At the 15 kms mark we came to the little village of Valadara.  It was about 11:15 and it was the decision point as the trail wandered off where there were no roads until you reached Santarem where we are staying.  Take a taxi or continue on walking the remaining 18 kms.    Ken, Karen and myself opted to take a taxi.  Barb opted to continue on walking.  Ken called an Uber and 15 minutes later we were seated in an electric Kia and on our way to the hotel.  Less than 20 minutes later we were checking in to our hotel.

Tonight's hotel is a stunning apartment with a marvelous balcony where Ken and I spent the afternoon sipping cold beer.  

Terry