Lisbon

I arrived in Lisbon last night after what seemed like the longest flight in the history of aviation. I thought I would never get here. I was delighted to find that my hotel was only a 30 minute walk from the airport. The most difficult part of the walk was finding my way out of the airport terminal. But once I did it was a lovely walk.

My hotel is right on the Camino, but a little over 3 miles north of the cathedral. I had originally planned to officially begin the Camino on Monday. But since I was quite free today I decided to take the metro to the cathedral and walk those first few miles back to my hotel. The cathedral was beautiful and obviously quite old. It was built in 1150 on Roman foundations to replace the former mosque.

Inside the cathedral I lit a candle and prayed for guidance, safety, and spirituality on my journey. I also bought a beautiful crystal rosary to accompany me along the way.

Outside of the cathedral I saw my first Camino marker, a yellow arrow beside the blue arrow marking the pilgrimage to Fatima. The two routes are the same until Santarem where the route to Fatima turns to the west.

The route today was very pleasant along narrow winding cobblestone streets until I reached the pedestrian path along the Tagus River (Rio Tejo). The man at the Cathedral office gave me a small pamphlet Camino guide listing the street names through the city. It was extremely helpful because sometimes the yellow arrows were hard to find. Soon I was back at my hotel. I went to the store and picked up some food for the next segment of the Camino.

I will continue the walk on Monday because tomorrow I will be running the Rock 'n' Roll Lisbon Marathon. I will be retracing some of the route from today, but of course with a different mindset. I think it will be a survival mindset considering how hot it is here. Running in temperatures near 80 degrees Fahrenheit is going to be a bit of a shock for this Alaskan!