Day 10 - To Vale de Figueira

To Santiago de Compostela: 511.5 km
Walked today: 14.8 km
Total walked: 135.4 km

Another hot day our way comes.  Everyone seems to have hiker rash or blisters or both.  The blister on the bottom of my left foot is kind of sore so we decided to plan a few easy days to give it a chance to heal.
We had breakfast with Annie the nurse from Sweden and walked with her.  We left a bit before 7 am, passing through the gate of Santiago and then a steep trail down the hill. 
When we arrived to the train tracks we had to wait a few minutes because a train was coming.  I started to chat with a man that was also waiting to cross.  His name is Carlos Alberto.  We were lucky to meet him.  After the tracks there are not many arrows for the camino, but he told me he was walking our way.  He must've walk with us at least 2 km.  Our conversation was pretty funny, he trying to make sense of my Spanglish and I trying to understand his Portuguese.  He is another example of how nice the people around here are to pilgrims.
We walked again through fields of tomatoes, grape vines and olive trees.  Half way, a couple from Iceland caught up with us.  They had stayed with Mario also, Maria and Shteiner (or something like that).  They passed us, then Annie went ahead as I started to slow down.
By 10:30 am we had walked the 12 km to Vale de Figueira.  At a little plaza we found all three of them taking a rest.  

Vale de Figuira is a village of 2000 people, it is said that it was founded by the Romans. The name comes from the many fig trees that covered the region. It is now a land of horses, bulls and "campinos" cattle herders.  It is also famous for its olive oils. It is a nice little village.

We left our friends and walked another kilometre to the train station and took the train back to Santarem. Tomorrow morning we will take the train from Santarem and continue our pilgrimage here at Vale de Figueiros.

We went out for lunch at a shopping centre that is only a couple of blocks from the hostel and i dtagged the girl into the movie theatre.  While on the line a couple of teenage girls taught us how to ask for popcorn: pipoca. A movie may be a first for a pilgrim but the theatre is air conditioned and I was off my blister for the afternoon.
Back at the hostel, we found Annie, she took the train back also but another 10 km farther.
So now I am resting the foot, and waiting for dinner.  Teresa is going to make
another Portuguese fish dinner for us.

The pictures are on the way out of Santarem, tiles in a house with Our Lady of Fatima, Brenda and Annie on the trail, Maria and Schteiner from. Iceland and tiles in the Santarem train station.

Today is May 13, the day of the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. A very special day in Portugal.  While we are still a few days away from Fatima, we will attend mass here and ask her to pray for our families, our priests and nuns, our fellow pilgrims and our Portuguese hosts that are so nice to us.

Hail Mary full of grace, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.