Camino Portuguese 02: Vila Franca to Azambuja

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Camino Portuguese: Day 02 – Vila Franca de Xira to Azambuja

After waking up at 05:00, I met Alan in the breakfast room of the hotel before we set out for the day. The hotel included a free breakfast, but it wouldn’t start being served until after we had left. However, the hotel staff agreed to let us have some coffee early this morning, which was very kind of them. Alan and I each had a quick cup of coffee and then we prepared to start the day’s walk.

At 05:45 we left the hotel and headed back to the route of the Camino. We had to cross to the other side of the train tracks to reach the path, and we took advantage of the elevator to reach the pedestrian bridge again. The morning was cool and slightly breezy. The sun was slowly coming up, but it was hidden behind a curtain of clouds, which helped keep us from getting too hot as we walked.

We walked past a small marina area before finally reaching a dirt and gravel pathway. This was more like what the Camino should be, but it was short lived and soon we were back on the roadway. The shoulder along the roadway wasn’t very big and we were both a bit nervous as cars zipped by us as we walked.

Alan and I made very good time walking this morning and we soon reached the small town of Carregado. We had to cross back across the train tracks to reach the town itself. Directly across from the train station was a small café where we stopped for a rest and to have another cup of coffee. I was hoping to have a small sandwich for breakfast, but they just had a variety of pastries on offer this morning. We each got one with ham and cheese that was quite good.

While we rested, Thinh called me and we got to chat for a little while. He was very tired today – he said he hadn’t slept very well the night before. He was with his friend Tung, working at a coffee shop in Hanoi. Thinh first tried to video call me, but it was far too loud in the café for me to be able to hear him. Even though we only got to talk for a few minutes, I loved hearing from him. I was missing Thinh like crazy and he was missing me as well.

When Alan and I left the café, we had roughly 12km left to walk to reach our destination for the day, Azambuja. The Camino route led through the town for a little bit and we walked past a power plant that resembled a nuclear plant, but it was some other type of power plant. We then had to walk for a long time along a major road, again without much of a shoulder for us to safely walk along. The cars were good about moving aside for us, but it was still a bit neve-wracking.

After several kilometers along the road, the Camino eventually turned off onto a dirt and gravel road. This was much more relaxing for us to walk along and we didn’t pass a single vehicle during that stretch of the walk. Not once today had we seen another pilgrim along the Camino, which surprised us. At one point along this dirt road we thought we saw two pilgrims ahead of us, but they turned out to be some locals.

The small town of Vila Nova da Rainha was our next stop. While the weather had remained cool and cloudy, we were starting to get a bit warm and tired from the long walk. The weight of my backpack was beginning to wear me down. I think if I didn’t have to lug my heavy work laptop with me the weight would have been more manageable. However, I had to work throughout my trip and thus the work laptop was a necessity. As the day progressed, I became increasingly glad that I have caved and paid for luggage transfers for the majority of the days until I reached Porto.

We had a short break at a café in Vila Nova da Rainha, where I had a soda and a pasta del nata – my first one of this trip to Portugal. These custard pastries originated in Portugal and are insanely delicious! Our break was a short 15-minutes and then we set off so we could reach Azambuja. It was only 09:30 by the time we left the café and it wouldn’t take more than two hours for us to reach Azambuja.

The route continued along the dirt and gravel path for the rest of the way to town. Alan and I began walking at our own paces, though we remained a short distance from one another. I could feel what I thought were two blisters on my feet as I walked, which caused me some slight pain. I think that being able to walk without my heavy bag will help improve my walking and hopefully prevent additional blisters. Fingers crossed!

Around 11:00 we reached the outskirts of Azambuja and had to once again cross the train tracks – we had crossed them several times throughout the day! The town was larger than I expected and it was only a short walk before we reached my hotel for the night. Alan said several times during the walk that I shouldn’t bother pre-booking my lodgings – he thought showing up and finding a place was the best method. However, both yesterday and today, he followed me to my hotel so he could stay there as well – benefitting from my planning!

When we reached the hotel, I used the door code they provided to enter, but found that there was no reception or front desk. We ran into another guest from the Netherlands and talked with her for a bit. I messaged the owner of the hotel and learned that it was not yet time for check-in, so Alan and I decided to walk to a nearby café to wait until 14:00, when I could check in. I also put Alan in touch with the owner so he could arrange his room for the night. He ended up paying more than I had via Booking.com, which I found amusing because he had kept saying how Booking.com always charges more.

The café had a huge variety of pastries available, but neither of us fancied having any more sugar today. We ordered coffees and sat down to hang out for a couple of hours. While I did some work, the café put out some lunch options that looked appetizing. When I finished working, I ordered a pork schnitzel with rice, which was very tasty.

As we ate, the owner of the hotel happened to come in and we recognized one another from our WhatsApp profile pictures. She had a friend with her who then walked us over to the hotel so we could check in. The hotel is in an old house and was very cute. My room was simple, but comfortable. I got my pilgrim passport stamped and then spent the next several hours working, showering, and relaxing. I did indeed have two blisters, but they weren’t too big. They had popped, so I cleaned them and put antibacterial cream on them.

At 19:00 I met back up with Alan so we could get dinner together. We had considered going to a nearby restaurant that offered a pilgrim meal, but Alan had discovered that the place had poor reviews. Instead, we went to a barbecue restaurant across the street. We could smell their food from the patio of the hotel and it smelled so good! I ordered some pork, sausages, rice, and beans. There wasn’t anywhere to sit at the restaurant, so we took our food back to the hotel to eat. Everything was delicious – the bean had bits of pork mixed in with them, and the slices of pork I had were perfectly salted. The only problem was that we both ordered too much food and we couldn’t finish everything!

Once dinner was over, we walked over to a nearby grocery store in search of protein shakes and ice coffee for the morning. We found the shakes, but could not find any iced coffees. I needed some tape to attached my luggage tag for tomorrow’s transfer, so we went to another store that had quite an eclectic assortment of goods. I managed to find the tape I needed, along with a tiny air freshener for clothing that I could use in my backpack. I also bought myself a new hat to wear for the Camino – not a baseball hat, but a large brimmed sun hat. The sunburn on my head had turned into blisters, which were oozing in my hair (gross, I know!). I was so happy to find the hat!

Alan and I then returned to hotel so we could relax and get to bed early. We were getting an earlier start to the day tomorrow and thus needed some sleep.

Distance Walked: 22.29 km
Steps Walked: 29,245

Total Distance: 58.59 km
Total Steps: 77,161