Camino Portuguese 06: Tomar to Alvaiázere

Saturday, June 07, 2025

Camino Portuguese: Day 06 – Tomar to Alvaiázere

It was a struggle to get up this morning – I was worn out from the daily walking this week, but I knew that my body was now adjusting to the strenuous effort. My feet had recovered over the night and the blisters from yesterday no longer hurt. If the pain from the blisters had not gone away, there would have been zero change of me walking today.

I woke up at 04:00, much earlier than when I had set my alarm. I was unable to get back to sleep, but I stayed in bed for a while, cherishing the rest. As I was leaving, I saw another pilgrim getting her backpack together for the day. Pilgrims were clearly out walking this part of the Camino, but I just failed to see anyone throughout the day. Perhaps I leave earlier than most others?

The Camino route led out of town towards a small river and it was here that the path narrowed from a dirt/gravel road to a narrow footpath which was heavily overgrown with plants. It was peaceful being out in nature this morning, enjoying the trickling of the river and chirping of birds. I walked past an old damn along the river and, later on, walked beneath of Portugal’s major highways.

From the Buen Camino app, I knew that today would be hillier than the previous days and this began only a short distance outside of Tomar. The path had become a dirt road again and I climbed up and up, which was tiring. I was now entering a more mountainous region of the country and this brought with it a change in scenery. Gone was the farmland of the previous days, replaced with rolling hills with villages tucked away in the distance.

After walking about 9km, I stopped at a café to have a quick cup of coffee. There was nothing else open this morning and the café only had drinks for sale – nothing to eat. I had already found another café further along the Camino where I planned to have breakfast.

Drinking fountains began to appear somewhat more regularly today in the towns through which I walked. The weather was getting increasingly warmer each day and I was very cognizant of replenishing my water supply as frequently as possible. The path soon returned to a paved road and led up a very steep hill. I was hot and tired by the time I reached the top of the hill.

The café where I planned to have breakfast was nearby, but I was disappointed to discover that it was closed this morning! I checked on Google Maps and found another place to eat about two hours away. Having no other choice, I pressed on with the walk. The best part of this morning’s route was the ample shade provided by the many trees lining the pathway.

I was very hungry by the time I reached the next café, but also relieve to find it open. I bought a chorizo sandwich, along with an iced tea, and large bottle of water. The sandwich was surprisingly good and the drinks refreshing. I rested there for about 30 minutes to give my feet some time to recover.

It was along the next segment of the route, along a tree-lined dirt path, that I spotted another pilgrim ahead of me! He was walking at a brisk pace and I was unable to catch up with him, but I was definitely not entirely alone on the Camino. A house along the pathway had a basket hanging from the fence full of oranges, with a sign stating that they were free for pilgrims.

I made one final rest stop for the day roughly 9km from my destination, Alvaiazere. I had a fruit juice and a pastel de nata. I stayed about 15 minutes before hitting the road again. This final stretch of today’s walk was quite brutal. Gone were the trees and shade, leaving me sweltering beneath the sun. There was a strong breeze that helped to cool me down a bit, but I was desperately missing the shade.

I finally reached Alvaiazere around 14:00 and made my way over to my hostel for the night. This particular lodging was famous on the Camino, both for the friendly owner and the amazing stamps he put in the pilgrim passports. Carlos greeted me warmly and set about putting the stamp in my passport. He placed two ribbon in the book, with the name of the city and the albergue (hostel) on them, along with a small key and Santiago cross. He affixed these to the passport using sealing wax, which he also used to place the seal/stamp as well. He then dribbled some yellow wax along the passport to indicate the yellow shells and arrows that pilgrims follow each day. It was incredibly unique and special – this stamp is what made me pick this albergue to stay in for the night.

I cooled down and relaxed in my room for a little while. Thinh and I had a video call to catch up on the day as well. I then went across the street to a nearby café to have a soda and ice cream. I spent some time there reading my book. It was a wonderful afternoon. For dinner tonight, I walked over to a kebab shop where I had a kebab pizza, along with a beer. I was surprised to find many foreigners in the town as I walked to/from dinner, and many of them had young children (so they were clearly not walking the Camino). I wondered what had brought them to this tiny town, but I never had the opportunity to ask anyone.

Before heading to bed tonight I needed to do some rescheduling/planning for later on in my trip. My original plans for after leaving Europe were to do some island hopping in the South Pacific (Tonga, Tuvalu, and Solomon Islands) before joining my cruise. However, I received a notification that one of my flights had a major schedule change that would no longer fit with my travel plans. It was also impossible to find another flight to replace it with since there are not a plethora of flights between these islands. I therefore had to make the difficult decision to cancel the island-hopping portion of the trip – it was clearly not meant to be this year. I would still go on the cruise, and the changes ended up being relatively easy. As a small bonus, I would now be going back to Hanoi for a week before the cruise so I could spend some time with Thinh!

The rest of the night was spent relaxing at the hostel before bed.

Distance Walked: 33.94 km
Steps Walked: 45,527

Total Distance: 195.54 km
Total Steps: 259,680